The Lithuania national football team (Lithuanian: Lietuvos nacionalinė futbolo rinktinė) represents Lithuania in men's 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.
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Nacionalinė komanda (National team) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Lithuanian Football Federation (Lietuvos futbolo federacija – LFF) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Edgaras Jankauskas | ||
| Captain | Fedor Černych | ||
| Most caps | Saulius Mikoliūnas (101) | ||
| Top scorer | Tomas Danilevičius (19) | ||
| Home stadium | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | LTU | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 137  1 (4 April 2024)[1] | ||
| Highest | 37 (October 2008) | ||
| Lowest | 148 (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 | |||
| Appearances | 29 (first in 1928) | ||
| Best result | Champions (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
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.[3] 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.[4]
Lithuania's first game following the declaration of independence in 1990 was a 2–2 draw against Georgia in Tbilisi on 27 May 1990.[5] 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."[6] It was followed by another successful 2–0 performance against Austria in Marijampolė on 10 September 2008.
Results and fixtures
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
2023
Bulgaria| 17 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Lithuania  | 1–1 | Bulgaria | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 16:00 UTC+3 |
| Report |
| Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium Attendance: 14,230 Referee: Jakob Alexander Sundberg (Denmark) |
Lithuania| 20 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Hungary  | 2–0 | Lithuania | Budapest, Hungary |
| 20:45 UTC+2 | Report | Stadium: Puskás Aréna Attendance: 58,274 Referee: António Nobre (Portugal) |
Montenegro| 7 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Lithuania | 2–2 | Montenegro | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 19:00 UTC+3 |
| Report | Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium Attendance: 11,328 Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden) |
Serbia| 10 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Lithuania | 1–3 | Serbia | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 21:45 UTC+3 |
| Report |
| Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium Attendance: 8,586 Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Germany) |
Lithuania| 14 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Bulgaria | 0–2 | Lithuania | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| 19:00 UTC+3 | Report |
| Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 6,916 Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia) |
Hungary| 17 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Lithuania | 2–2 | Hungary | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 21:45 UTC+3 | Report |
| Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium Attendance: 5,349 Referee: Juxhin Xhaja (Albania) |
Lithuania| 16 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Montenegro | 2–0 | Lithuania | Podgorica, Montenegro |
| 20:45 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Podgorica City Stadium Attendance: 3,647 Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal) |
Lithuania| 19 November 2023 Friendly | Cyprus  | 1–0 | Lithuania | Limassol, Cyprus |
| 18:00 UTC+2 |
| Report | Stadium: Alphamega Stadium Referee: Marcel Birsan (Romania) |
2024
Lithuania| 21 March 2024 Nations League play-out | Gibraltar  | 0–1 | Lithuania | Faro/Loulé, Portugal |
| 20:45 | Report |
| Stadium: Estádio Algarve Attendance: 207 Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia) |
Gibraltar| 26 March 2024 Nations League play-out | Lithuania | 1–0 (2–0 agg.) | Gibraltar | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Report | Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium | ||
| Note: Lithuania won 2–0 on aggregate and remained in League C, while Gibraltar were relegated to League D. | ||||
Estonia/
Faroe Islands| 11 June 2024 2024 Baltic Cup | Lithuania | v | Estonia/ Faroe Islands | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| UTC+3 | Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium |
Kosovo| 12 October 2024 2024–25 Nations League | Lithuania | v | Kosovo | Kaunas, Lithuania |
| 15:00 | Report | Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium |
Coaching staff
| Position[7] | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Edgaras Jankauskas |
| Assistant coach | Andrius Velička |
| Assistant coach | Vaidas Sabaliauskas |
| Fitness coach | Georgas Freidgeimas |
| Goalkeeping coach | Audrius Paškevičius |
| Analyst | Rokas Pranaitis |
Managers history
| Name | Nat | From | To | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjaminas Zelkevičius | | 1990 | 1991 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 33.33 |
| Algimantas Liubinskas | | 1992 | 1994 | 29 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 29 | 48 | 24.14 |
| Benjaminas Zelkevičius | | 1995 | 1997 | 29 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 45 | 41 | 41.38 |
| Kęstutis Latoža | | 1998 | 1999 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 27.78 |
| Robertas Tautkus (caretaker) | | 1999 | 1999 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Stasys Stankus | | 2000 | 2000 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 25.00 |
| Julius Kvedaras (caretaker) | | 2000 | 2000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Benjaminas Zelkevičius | | 2001 | 2003 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 41 | 21.05 |
| Algimantas Liubinskas | | 2003 | 2008 | 50 | 18 | 6 | 26 | 54 | 65 | 36.00 |
| José Couceiro |  | 2008 | 2009 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 15 | 40.00 |
| Raimondas Žutautas | | 2010 | 2011 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 25.00 |
| Csaba László | | 2012 | 2013 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 28 | 12.50 |
| Igoris Pankratjevas | | 2013 | 2015 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 31 | 23.81 |
| Edgaras Jankauskas | | 2016 | 2018 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 14 | 50 | 11.54 |
| Valdas Urbonas | | 2019 | 2021 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 49 | 20.83 |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | | 2021 | 2022 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 29 | 15.38 |
| Reinhold Breu (interim) |  | 2022 | 2022 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Edgaras Jankauskas | | 2023 | present | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 25.00 |
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the international matches in March 2024.[8]
Caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2023, after the match against Cyprus.
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 | Lukas Paukštė | 25 September 1998 | 0 | 0 | Šiauliai | Serbia, 10 September 2023 |
| DF | Artemijus TutyškinasINJ | 8 August 2003 | 6 | 0 |  ŁKS Łódź | Serbia, 10 September 2023 |
| MF | Modestas Vorobjovas | 30 December 1995 | 32 | 1 |  İstanbulspor | Cyprus, 19 November 2023 |
| MF | Matijus Remeikis | March 28, 2003 | 3 | 0 | FK Panevėžys | Cyprus, 19 November 2023 |
| MF | Eligijus Jankauskas | 22 June 1998 | 9 | 0 | Šiauliai | Cyprus, 19 November 2023 |
| MF | Donatas KazlauskasINJ | 31 March 1994 | 32 | 2 | Šiauliai | Serbia, 10 September 2023 |
| MF | Gratas Sirgėdas | 17 December 1994 | 17 | 3 | Kauno Žalgiris | Serbia, 10 September 2023 |
| MF | Karolis Uzėla | 11 March 2000 | 5 | 0 | Kauno Žalgiris | Serbia, 10 September 2023 |
| MF | Deividas ŠešplaukisINJ | 2 February 1998 | 2 | 0 | Šiauliai | Serbia, 10 September 2023 |
| FW | Faustas Steponavičius | June 8, 2004 | 2 | 0 | PFK Botev Plovdiv | Cyprus, 19 November 2023 |
| ||||||
Player records
- As of 20 November 2023.[9]
- Players in bold are still active with Lithuania.
Most appearances
| Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saulius Mikoliūnas | 101 | 5 | 2004–2022 |
| 2 | Arvydas Novikovas | 93 | 12 | 2010–present |
| 3 | Fedor Černych | 89 | 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
.JPG)
| Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tomas Danilevičius | 19 | 71 | 0.27 | 1998–2012 |
| 2 | Fedor Černych | 14 | 89 | 0.16 | 2012–present |
| 3 | Antanas Lingis | 12 | 33 | 0.36 | 1928–1938 |
| Arvydas Novikovas | 12 | 93 | 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 | |
 1930 | Did not enter | Declined invitation | |||||||||||||
 1934 | Did not qualify | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||
 1938 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | |||||||||
 1950 to  1990 | Part of the  Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | |||||||||||||
 1994 | Did not qualify | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 21 | ||||||||
 1998 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 8 | |||||||||
  2002 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 20 | |||||||||
| 2006 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 9 | |||||||||
 2010 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 11 | |||||||||
 2014 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 11 | |||||||||
 2018 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 20 | |||||||||
 2022 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 19 | |||||||||
  2026 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||
  2030 | |||||||||||||||
 2034 | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | |
| 1960 | Part of the Soviet Union | Part of the Soviet Union | |||||||||||||
 1964 | |||||||||||||||
| 1968 | |||||||||||||||
 1972 | |||||||||||||||
 1976 | |||||||||||||||
| 1980 | |||||||||||||||
| 1984 | |||||||||||||||
| 1988 | |||||||||||||||
 1992 | |||||||||||||||
 1996 | Did not qualify | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 12 | ||||||||
 2000 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 16 | |||||||||
| 2004 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | |||||||||
  2008 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 13 | |||||||||
 2012 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 13 | |||||||||
| 2016 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18 | |||||||||
 2020 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 25 | |||||||||
| 2024 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 14 | |||||||||
  2028 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||
| 2032 | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 0/8 | 74 | 21 | 12 | 41 | 63 | 122 | ||||||||
UEFA Nations League
| UEFA Nations League record | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season** | Division | Group | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | P/R | RK |
| 2018–19 | C | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 16 |  | 39th |
| 2020–21 | C | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | | 41st |
| 2022–23 | C | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 14 | | 47th |
| 2024–25 | C | 2 | To be determined | |||||||
| Total | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 37 | 41st | |||
- *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
Honours
Head-to-head record
As of 19 November 2023.
| Opponent | P | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Albania | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
 Andorra | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
 Argentina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 Armenia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Austria | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 Azerbaijan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 Belarus | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Belgium | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bulgaria | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
 Chile | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Croatia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cyprus | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
 Czech Republic | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
 Denmark | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Egypt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| England | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Estonia | 51 | 21 | 8 | 22 |
| Faroe Islands | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
 Finland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
 France | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
 Georgia | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Germany | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Greece | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Hungary | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
 Iceland | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
 Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Iran | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Israel | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Italy | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
 Jordan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Kazakhstan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
 Kuwait | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kosovo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Latvia | 52 | 13 | 11 | 28 |
 Liechtenstein | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
 Luxembourg | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
 North Macedonia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
 Mali | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Malta | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
 Moldova | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Montenegro | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Northern Ireland | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 Norway | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Poland | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Portugal | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Republic of Ireland | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
 Romania | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Russia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
 San Marino | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 Scotland | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Serbia | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
 Slovakia | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Slovenia | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Spain | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
 Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sweden | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Switzerland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
 Turkmenistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ukraine | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
 United Arab Emirates | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
See also
References
External links
- Official website (in Lithuanian)
- Lithuania at FIFA
- Lithuania at UEFA
- All Lithuanian Team Games 1923–1930
- Reports for all matches of Lithuania national team
- Lithuanian football videos Lithuanian Football TV