Northern Ireland v Lithuania (12/11/2021)

WORDS: LIAM BLACKBURN

FACT FILE: LITHUANIA

• In 1924 Lithuania entered the Olympics in France but they were beaten 9-0 by Switzerland, who made it all the way to the final where they were beaten by Uruguay. • Also in 1924 Lithuania suffered what remains their record defeat – a 10-0 thrashing by Eg ypt . • The country was annexed by the USSR in 1940 and only regained independence in 1990. • Lithuania have regularly faced Latvia and Estonia in the Baltic Cup. The Lithuanians won their first Baltic Cup in 1930 and have won the tournament on 10 occasions, second only to Latvia’s 13. Their most recent triumph came in 2010. • Viaceslavas Sukristovas, who later won 26 caps for Lithuania between 1990 and 1997, was part of the USSR squad that finished as runners-up at Euro 1988. • Narbekovas and Arvydas Janonis were both part of the USSR squad which claimed Olympic gold at the Seoul Olympics. • In the first friendly after the country regained independence Narbekovas scored their first goal in a 2-2 draw with Georgia in Tbilisi on 27 May 1990. • Their first competitive game following independence was the 2-2 draw with Northern Ireland in Belfast . • Lithuania have never qualified for a World Cup finals or a European Championship finals. Their record in 11 World Cup qualifying campaigns is 17 victories, 16 draws and 40 defeats from their 73 games. Their record in seven European Championship qualifying campaigns is 20 victories, nine draws and 37 losses in their 66 games. • Lithuania have recorded some impressive results over the years, including a 0-0 draw with Italy in 2001. The Italian side that evening featured greats like Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Totti. • Two years later the Lithuanians drew 1-1 against Germany in Nurnberg. Tomas Razanauskas scored their goal . • In 2006 Lithuania held Italy again – this time to a 1-1 draw in Naples. Their goalscorer that day was the country’s all-time top scorer Tomas Danilevicius, who made two appearances for Premier League side Arsenal and was later at Dunfermline. After retirement he became president of the Lithuanian Football Federation.

INTERNATIONAL • Northern Ireland face Lithuania hoping to maintain their unbeaten record against the country after winning two and drawing one of their three games to date. • The first game between the two nations took place in April 1992 when Northern Ireland faced them in Lithuania’s first World Cup qualifier after becoming an independent country once again (following dissolution of Soviet Union) . Goals from Kevin Wilson and Gerry Taggart put Northern Ireland two up inside the opening 16 minutes, however Lithuania fought back with goals either side of half-time from Arminas Narbekovas and Robertas Fridrikas to draw 2-2. • The two nations met again in May 1993 in Vilnius and an eighth minute goal from Iain Dowie – his second for his country – earned Northern Ireland the victory. • Ian Baraclough’s side claimed their first victory of these World Cup qualifiers when winning 4-1 in Vilnius in September. Both Conor Washington and Paddy McNair scored from the spot , while Daniel Ballard and Shayne Lavery netted their first international goals. Bailey Peacock-Farrell made a crucial save from Arvydas Novikovas’ penalty. • That game, like all of Lithuania’s current home games, was played at the Lithuanian Football Federation Stadium, a 5,067-capacity ground which has an artificial surface. • Plans are afoot for a new 15,000-seater stadium to be built in Vilnius which is expected to be completed by 2025. • The first recorded match to take place in Lithuania occurred in 1911 - and in 1923 the Lithuanian Sports League was admitted to FIFA. That same year Lithuania played their first international as an independent state when they were beaten 5-0 by Estonia in Kaunas.

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NIR V LTU