Kaunas - S.Dariaus ir S.Girėno Tuesday kickoff 20:45 Central European 3:45pm ET / 12:45pm PT Recent form last six international results • LITHUANIA: LDWLLW 2-0 Poland (H) 0-2 Hungary (A) 1-3 Spain (A) 1-0 Czech Republic (A) 0-0 Scotland (H) 0-2 Belarus (H) • SPAIN: LWWLWW 2-1 Czech Republic (H) 1-0 Colombia (H) 0-4 Portugal (A) 3-2 Scotland (A) 3-1 Lithuania (H) 1-4 Argentina (A) Last meeting 8 October 2010 EURO 2012 Qualifier in Salamanca Spain 3-1 Lithuania 1-0 Llorente 47' 1-1 Sernas 54' 2-1 Llorente 56' 3-1 Silva 79' History Matches: 5 Lithuania wins: 0 Spain wins: 4 Draws: 1 Goals scored: Lithuania 1, Spain 11
MATCH IN DOUBT A harsh winter has left the pitch at the Dariaus/Girėno stadium with little grass and a UEFA delegation will inspect the pitch on Monday to see if the pitch is playable for Tuesday's scheduled kickoff. According to MARCA, if the match is postponed it will be scheduled for September or October (I don't see an open date that it can be re-scheduled on). Lithuania hosted Poland in a friendly on Friday despite similar concerns. Images from the match...
22-player squad GOALKEEPERS Iker Casillas .................... Real Madrid José Manuel Reina ............ Liverpool (ENG) Victor Valdés ................... FC Barcelona DEFENDERS Álvaro Arbeloa .................. Real Madrid Raúl Albiol ....................... Real Madrid Joan Capdevila ................. Villarreal Andoni Iraola .................... Athletic Club Carlos Marchena .............. Villarreal Gerard Piqué ................... FC Barcelona Sergio Ramos ................... Real Madrid MIDFIELDERS Xabi Alonso ....................... Real Madrid Sergio Busquets ................. FC Barcelona Santi Cazorla ..................... Villarreal Andrés Iniesta ................... FC Barcelona Xavi Hernández ................. FC Barcelona Javi Martinez ...................... Athletic Club FORWARDS Fernando Llorente ............... Athletic Bilbao Jesús Navas ....................... Sevilla David Silva ........................ Manchester City (ENG) Fernando Torres ................. Chelsea (ENG) David Villa ......................... FC Barcelona Juan Mata .......................... Valencia Lineup in 3-1 win over Lithuania last October... [LINEUP-4-3-3]Villa, Llorente, Silva, Cazorla, Busquets, Iniesta, Capdevila, Puyol, Piqué, Sergio Ramos, Casillas[/LINEUP-4-3-3] 76' Pablo for Villa 76' Aduriz for Llorente 83' Arbeloa for Sergio Ramos
I honestly believe that the match will go on as scheduled. The pitch may not be in the best of shape but what do you expect in March in northern Europe. Spain as the WC Champion and reigning Euro Champ has an obligation to play on Tuesday even if the pitch is worse then a Third division side in Spain. It may not be the Bernabeau or Nou Camp but it's Lithuania's home stadium and those are the conditions they are used to playing on and Spain now get's their chance to show their stuff! As for possible injuries that's part of life as a soccer player. Looks like Del Bosque may change his starting XI on Tuesday with Raúl Albiol, David Silva and Fernando Llorente getting the nod. The game will be shown live on ESPN 360.
MATCH STATUS UPDATE Despite the poor condition of the pitch, a UEFA delegate has informed the RFEF that "there is no risk of injury". However, the decision is non-binding and match referee Laurent Duhamel will make the final decision following an inspection of the pitch on Tuesday at 10am local time (9:00 CET). If the match is postponed, it will likely be played in June, with June 7th looking the most promising date. If this is the case, the rearranged fixture could jeopardize the status of the recently announced friendly against the United States scheduled for June 4th. The Lithuanian team conducted a training session inside the stadium on Monday.
Yes, UEFA has given the go-ahead, but the referee has the final say and we'll know his verdict tomorrow morning. Del Bosque and a few of the players have expressed their concern by saying that they feel the pitch is unplayable but that they'll abide by the ruling if it's decided game on. The team just completed their workout at the ground a few minutes ago.
Despite various descriptions like the Sands of Kaunas, a potato field and "like playing on a beach" by the Spanish players, French referee Laurent Duhamel has given his okay for the match to proceed following a pitch inspection and a meeting with UEFA delegate Rainer Koch and representatives from both of the countries football federations. Kickoff will be at the originally scheduled time of 20:45 CET. ESPN Deportes will begin their coverage at 2:30pm eastern U.S.
This photo was posted by Iniesta on his Facebook page about 15 hours ago. Right click and click on view image to see the original size. With the caption "We trained this afternoon and this how the "field" looks like, we still don't know if we are playing tomorrow...what do you think?" He is learning English...
Result Czech Republic 2-0 Liechtenstein 1-0 Baros 3' 2-0 M.Kadlec 70' GROUP I ......... Pld .. Pts .. GD Spain ................ 4 .. 12 ... +8 Czech Rep ......... 5 .... 9 ... +3 Scotland ........... 4 .... 4 ... -1 Lithuania ........... 3 .... 4 ... -1 Liechtenstein ..... 4 .... 0 ... -9
CONFIRMED starting lineup [LINEUP-4-4-2]Villa, Llorente, Cazorla, Xabi Alonso, Javi Martínez, Xavi, Arbeloa, Albiol, Piqué, Iraola, Casillas[/LINEUP-4-4-2] Most reports have Santi playing up front on the right. SUBSTITUTES: Valdés, Sergio Ramos, Busquets, Iniesta, Silva, Torres, Mata Reina, Capdevila, Marchena and Navas all discarded
Re: EURO 2012 Qualifier We should just hope this to end soon with a win and no injuries. Its really ugly out there.. it looks like they are running on frozen concrete .
Another long range effort hits the back of the net. I have no idea Del Bosque was thinking with that line-up; all of them [Xabi, Xavi, Santi and Javi] are central midfielders.
2-1 own goal. both of our goals were.. well, lucky. Finally! an actual goal. nice from silva and mata.
EURO 2012 Qualifier Fulltime Lithuania 1-3 Spain 0-1 : Xavi 19' 1-1 : Stankevicius 57' 1-2 : Kijanskas (o.g.) 70' 1-3 : Mata 83' GROUP I ......... Pld .. Pts .. GD Spain ................ 5 .. 15 .. +10 Czech Rep ......... 5 .... 9 ... +3 Scotland ........... 4 .... 4 ... -1 Lithuania ........... 4 .... 4 ... -3 Liechtenstein ..... 4 .... 0 ... -9
