Lithuania national football team

The Lithuania men's national football team (Lithuanian: Lietuvos nacionalinė futbolo rinktinė) represents Lithuania in international football and is controlled by the Lithuanian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Lithuania. They played their first match in 1923. In 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union; the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match thereafter against Georgia on 27 May of that year.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Lithuania women's national football team.

Lithuania
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Rinktine (National team)
AssociationLithuanian Football Federation
(Lietuvos futbolo federacija – LFF)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachEdgaras Jankauskas
CaptainFedor Černych
Most capsSaulius Mikoliūnas (101)
Top scorerTomas Danilevičius (19)
Home stadiumDarius and Girėnas Stadium
FIFA codeLTU
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 143 Increase 1 (21 September 2023)[1]
Highest37 (October 2008)
Lowest148 (November 2010)
First international
 Lithuania 0–5 Estonia 
(Kaunas, Lithuania; 24 June 1923)
Biggest win
 Lithuania 7–0 Estonia 
(Riga, Latvia; 20 May 1995)
Biggest defeat
 Egypt 10–0 Lithuania 
(Paris, France; 27 May 1924)
Baltic Cup
Appearances29 (first in 1928)
Best resultChampions (1930, 1935, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2010)

Although Lithuania has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, nor the UEFA European Championship, they have successfully participated in the regional Baltic Cup tournament, which takes place every two years between Lithuania and their Baltic rivals, Latvia and Estonia. Lithuania has won the Baltic Cup championship 10 times out of 29 appearances, and only Latvia has won it more frequently. Despite this Lithuania holds the record for winning the most consecutive Baltic Cup championships, four titles in a row from 1996 to 2000.

From 2012 until 2022, the national team played their home matches at the LFF Stadium in Vilnius.

History
Lithuanian football team at the 1924 Summer Olympics

On 24 June 1923, Lithuania played their first ever game, at the Lietuvos Fizinio Lavinimosi Sąjunga Stadionas, resulting in a 5–0 loss against Estonia. In 1924, Lithuania entered the 1924 Olympics in France, losing 9–0 against Switzerland on 25 May 1924. Two days later, Lithuania suffered a 10–0 loss to Egypt, a record defeat to date. During the early years of the Lithuanian national team, Lithuania regularly played Baltic neighbours Estonia and Latvia, with Lithuania's first win coming in a 2–1 away win against Estonia on 24 August 1924 in Tallinn. In 1930, Lithuania won the third edition of the Baltic Cup in Kaunas.[2] On 13 October 1940, Lithuania played their final game for just shy of 50 years, a 4–3 win against Latvia, following the first Soviet annexation of the country.[3]

Lithuania's first game following the declaration of independence in 1990 was a 2–2 draw against Georgia in Tbilisi on 27 May 1990.[4] In the 1990s, Lithuania established a respectable presence in the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers: third place in their group in both Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup qualifiers. In the Euro 2004 qualifiers, they were once again contenders for qualification and managed an away draw with Germany and a home win over Scotland; however, a 1–0 defeat to Scotland in the final game ended their hopes. Although finishing fifth in their 2006 World Cup qualifying group, Lithuania were nevertheless competitive.

Lithuania drew with world champions Italy 1–1 in Naples in a Euro 2008 qualifying game on 2 September 2006, in the first competitive game that Italy played since the World Cup final.

On 6 September 2008, Lithuania defeated Romania 3–0 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier. The victory was regarded by many as "a historic win."[5] It was followed by another successful 2–0 performance against Austria in Marijampolė on 10 September 2008.

Results and fixtures
Main article: Lithuania national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022
16 November 2022 2022 Baltic Cup Lithuania  0–0
(5–6 p)		  Iceland Kaunas, Lithuania
Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium
Penalties
19 November 2022 Baltic Cup 3rd Estonia  2–0  Lithuania Tallinn, Estonia
16:00 (UTC+02:00)
  • Zenjov 65'
  • Peetson 89'
 Stadium: A. Le Coq Arena
Attendance: 1,563
Referee: Vitalijs Spasjonņikovs (Latvia)

2023
24 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Serbia  2–0  Lithuania Belgrade, Serbia
20:45
Report Stadium: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Attendance: 21,125
Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium)
27 March 2023 Friendly Greece  0–0  Lithuania Athens, Greece
18:00 UTC+2 Report Stadium: OPAP Arena
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium)
17 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Lithuania  1–1  Bulgaria Kaunas, Lithuania
16:00
Report
Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium
Attendance: 14,230
Referee: Jakob Alexander Sundberg (Denmark)
20 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Hungary  2–0  Lithuania Budapest, Hungary
20:45
Report Stadium: Puskás Aréna
Attendance: 58,274
Referee: António Nobre (Portugal)
7 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Lithuania  2–2  Montenegro Kaunas, Lithuania
21:45
Report
Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium
Attendance: 11,328
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden)
10 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Lithuania  1–3  Serbia Kaunas, Lithuania
21:45
Report
Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium
Attendance: 8,586
Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Germany)
14 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Bulgaria  0–2  Lithuania Sofia, Bulgaria
19:00 Report
Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium
Attendance: 6,916
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)
17 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Lithuania  2–2  Hungary Kaunas, Lithuania
21:45
Report
Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium
Attendance: 5,349
Referee: Juxhin Xhaja (Albania)
16 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Montenegro  v  Lithuania Podgorica, Montenegro
20:45 Report Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium
19 November 2023 Friendly Cyprus  v  Lithuania Cyprus
Stadium: TBD

2024
21–23 March Nations League PO Lithuania  v  Belarus
24–26 March Nations League PO Belarus  v  Lithuania

Coaching staff
Position[6] Name
Manager Lithuania Edgaras Jankauskas
Assistant coach Lithuania Andrius Velička
Assistant coach Lithuania Vaidas Sabaliauskas
Fitness coach Lithuania Georgas Freidgeimas
Goalkeeping coach Lithuania Audrius Paškevičius
Analyst Lithuania Rokas Pranaitis

Managers history
Name Nat From To Games Won Drawn Lost GF GA Win%
Benjaminas Zelkevičius Lithuania19901991 3 1 2 0 7 4 033.33
Algimantas Liubinskas Lithuania19921994 29 7 8 14 29 48 024.14
Benjaminas Zelkevičius Lithuania19951997 29 12 6 11 45 41 041.38
Kęstutis Latoža Lithuania19981999 18 5 4 9 15 24 027.78
Robertas Tautkus (caretaker) Lithuania19991999 1 0 0 1 0 3 000.00
Stasys Stankus Lithuania20002000 8 2 0 6 8 18 025.00
Julius Kvedaras (caretaker) Lithuania20002000 1 0 0 1 1 6 000.00
Benjaminas Zelkevičius Lithuania20012003 19 4 3 12 20 41 021.05
Algimantas Liubinskas Lithuania20032008 50 18 6 26 54 65 036.00
José Couceiro Portugal20082009 15 6 3 6 17 15 040.00
Raimondas Žutautas Lithuania20102011 16 4 3 9 11 22 025.00
Csaba László Hungary20122013 16 2 4 10 12 28 012.50
Igoris Pankratjevas Lithuania20132015 21 5 5 11 14 31 023.81
Edgaras Jankauskas Lithuania20162018 26 3 5 18 14 50 011.54
Valdas Urbonas Lithuania20192021 24 5 4 15 17 49 020.83
Valdas Ivanauskas Lithuania20212022 13 2 1 10 6 29 015.38
Reinhold Breu (interim) Germany20222022 4 0 2 2 1 4 000.00
Edgaras Jankauskas Lithuania2023present 8 1 4 3 8 12 012.50

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the international matches in September 2023.[7]

Caps and goals correct as of: 7 September 2023, after the match against  Montenegro

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Emilijus Zubas (1990-07-10) 10 July 1990 14 0 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
12 1GK Edvinas Gertmonas (1997-05-13) 13 May 1997 7 0 Lithuania Žalgiris
16 3MF Vytautas Černiauskas (1989-03-12) 12 March 1989 4 0 Lithuania Panevėžys
1GK Lukas Paukštė (1998-09-25) 25 September 1998 0 0 Lithuania Šiauliai
2 2DF Linas Klimavičius (1989-04-10) 10 April 1989 39 0 Lithuania Panevėžys
3 2DF Markas Beneta (1993-11-08) 8 November 1993 18 0 Lithuania Panevėžys
4 2DF Edvinas Girdvainis (1993-01-19) 19 January 1993 44 1 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
5 2DF Kipras Kažukolovas (2000-11-20) 20 November 2000 3 0 Lithuania Žalgiris
6 2DF Artemijus Tutyškinas (2003-08-08) 8 August 2003 6 0 Poland ŁKS Łódź
13 2DF Justas Lasickas (1997-10-06) 6 October 1997 42 2 Slovenia Olimpija
17 2DF Pijus Širvys (1998-04-01) 1 April 1998 7 2 Lithuania Panevėžys
20 2DF Rokas Lekiatas (1998-11-07) 7 November 1998 3 0 Lithuania Šiauliai
7 3MF Deividas Šešplaukis (1998-02-02) 2 February 1998 2 0 Lithuania Šiauliai
8 3MF Matijus Remeikis (2003-03-28) 28 March 2003 0 0 Lithuania Panevėžys
9 3MF Donatas Kazlauskas (1994-03-31) 31 March 1994 32 2 Lithuania Žalgiris
11 3MF Arvydas Novikovas (1990-12-18) 18 December 1990 88 12 Lithuania Žalgiris
14 3MF Vykintas Slivka (1995-04-29) 29 April 1995 57 3 Greece Lamia
15 3MF Gvidas Gineitis (2004-04-15) 15 April 2004 7 0 Italy Torino
18 3MF Ovidijus Verbickas (1993-07-04) 4 July 1993 32 1 Lithuania Žalgiris
21 3MF Daniel Romanovskij (1996-06-19) 19 June 1996 9 0 Lithuania Šiauliai
22 3MF Paulius Golubickas (1999-08-19) 19 August 1999 22 1 Lithuania Žalgiris
23 3MF Eligijus Jankauskas (1998-06-22) 22 June 1998 6 0 Lithuania Šiauliai
3MF Gratas Sirgėdas (1994-12-17) 17 December 1994 17 5 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
3MF Karolis Uzėla (2000-03-11) 11 March 2000 5 0 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
3MF Klaudijus Upstas (1994-10-30) 30 October 1994 4 0 Lithuania Hegelmann
3MF Modestas Vorobjovas (1995-12-30) 30 December 1995 29 1 Turkey İstanbulspor
10 4FW Fedor Černych (1991-05-21) 21 May 1991 84 13 Cyprus AEL Limassol
19 4FW Gytis Paulauskas (1999-09-27) 27 September 1999 6 1 Albania Egnatia
4FW Armandas Kučys (2003-02-27) 27 February 2003 5 0 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris
4FW Faustas Steponavičius (2004-06-08) 8 June 2004 0 0 Bulgaria Botev Plovdiv

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Džiugas Bartkus (1989-11-07) 7 November 1989 12 0 Israel Ironi Kiryat Shmona  Greece, 27 March 2023
GK Ignas Plūkas (1993-12-08) 8 December 1993 1 0 Lithuania Kauno Žalgiris  Estonia, 19 November 2022
GK Marius Adamonis (1997-05-13) 13 May 1997 1 0 Italy Lazio  Estonia, 19 November 2022
DF Rolandas Baravykas (1995-08-23) 23 August 1995 35 2 Romania Farul Constanța  Greece, 27 March 2023
DF Vilius Armalas (2000-07-21) July 21, 2000 2 0 Lithuania Hegelmann  Greece, 27 March 2023
DF Saulius Mikoliūnas RET (1984-05-02) 2 May 1984 101 5 Lithuania Žalgiris  Estonia, 19 November 2022
DF Natanas Žebrauskas (2002-02-18) February 18, 2002 3 0 Germany Greuther Fürth B  Estonia, 19 November 2022
MF Domantas Šimkus (1996-02-10) 10 February 1996 30 0 Slovenia Mura  Greece, 27 March 2023
MF Tomas Kalinauskas (2000-04-27) April 27, 2000 2 0 Netherlands Den Bosch  Estonia, 19 November 2022
FW Karolis Laukžemis (1992-03-11) 11 March 1992 31 2 Lithuania Banga  Greece, 27 March 2023
FW Augustinas Klimavičius INJ (2001-04-27) April 27, 2001 6 1 Lithuania Hegelmann  Estonia, 19 November 2022
Notes
  • PRE = Preliminary squad.
  • WD = The player withdrew from the current squad due to non-injury issue.
  • INJ = It is not part of the current squad due to injury.
  • RET = Retired from the national team.

Player records
As of 18 October 2023[8]
Players in bold are still active with Lithuania.

Most appearances
Saulius Mikoliūnas is Lithuania's most capped player with 101 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Saulius Mikoliūnas 101 5 2004–2022
2 Arvydas Novikovas 91 12 2010–present
3 Fedor Černych 86 14 2012–present
4 Andrius Skerla 84 1 1996–2011
5 Deividas Šemberas 82 0 1996–2013
6 Tomas Danilevičius 71 19 1998–2012
7 Žydrūnas Karčemarskas 66 0 2003–2013
8 Aurelijus Skarbalius 65 5 1991–2005
Marius Stankevičius 65 5 2001–2013
10 Deividas Česnauskis 64 4 2001–2016

Top goalscorers
Tomas Danilevičius is Lithuania's top scorer with 19 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Tomas Danilevičius 19 71 0.27 1998–2012
2 Fedor Černych 14 86 0.16 2012–present
3 Antanas Lingis 12 33 0.36 1928–1938
Arvydas Novikovas 12 91 0.13 2010–present
5 Edgaras Jankauskas 10 56 0.18 1991–2008
6 Virginijus Baltušnikas 9 42 0.21 1990–1998
7 Jaroslavas Citavičius 8 24 0.33 1926–1933
Valdas Ivanauskas 8 28 0.29 1992–2000
Darius Maciulevičius 8 38 0.21 1991–2005
Robertas Poškus 8 48 0.17 1999–2011

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Was not invited
Italy 1934 Did not qualify 1 0 0 1 0 2
France 1938 2 0 0 2 3 9
Brazil 1950 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994 Did not qualify 12 2 3 7 8 21
France 1998 10 5 2 3 11 8
South Korea Japan 2002 8 0 2 6 3 20
Germany 2006 10 2 4 4 8 9
South Africa 2010 10 4 0 6 10 11
Brazil 2014 10 3 2 5 9 11
Russia 2018 10 1 3 6 7 20
Qatar 2022 8 1 0 7 4 19
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/11 81 18 16 47 63 130

UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
Spain 1964
Italy 1968
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992
England 1996 Did not qualify 10 5 1 4 13 12
Belgium Netherlands 2000 10 3 2 5 8 16
Portugal 2004 8 3 1 4 7 11
Austria Switzerland 2008 12 5 1 6 11 13
Poland Ukraine 2012 8 1 2 5 4 13
France 2016 10 3 1 6 7 18
European Union 2020 8 0 1 7 5 25
Germany 2024 To be determined
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland 2028 To be determined
Italy Turkey 2032
Total 0/7 66 20 9 37 55 108

UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League record
Season** Division Group Pld W D* L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 C 4 6006316Same position39th
2020–21 C 4 622257Same position41st
2022–23 C 1 6015214TBA47th
Total 18 2 3 13 10 37 47th
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
**Group stage played home and away. Flag shown represents host nation for the finals stage.

Baltic Cup
Main article: Baltic Cup (football)

Honours

Baltic Cup

Head-to-head record
Main article: Lithuanian national football team head to head

As of 17 October 2023.

See also

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  2. "MATCHES → international football results of Lithuania". eufootball.info. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  3. "International football MATCH: 13.10.1940 Lithuania v Latvia*". eufootball.info. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  4. "International football MATCH: 27.05.1990 Georgia v Lithuania". eufootball.info. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  5. FIFA World Cup Archived 30 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine uefa.com
  6. "Įvyko LFF Vykdomojo komiteto posėdis". LFF (in Lithuanian). 30 January 2023. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  7. "Patvirtinta Nacionalinės Vyrų Rinktinės Sudėtis" (in Lithuanian). futbolas.lt. 24 March 2023. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  8. Mamrud, Roberto. "Lithuania - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
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