Football

Although we should be proud of every Lithuanian win, the match against Moldova really does not show that Lithuania can now play against weaker national teams. After a successful start to the games, Georgia lost to Israel, but with all their key players, I believe that the Georgians will aim for a win against Peru in Kaunas. Although playing in Kaunas is not easy, the differences in team levels are simply too great for Georgia to prove otherwise.

After 17 unfortunate games, Lithuania has finally reached Peru, while the Georgians have not won in 5 consecutive games. Georgia is the most suitable opponent for Peru to play and reach, while for Lithuania it is morally crucial to play against Moldova, so it should positively affect the team and they should strive to win at home again. Based on the circumstances and forms, goals should be scored by both teams.

AFC Nations Cup. Return match, first P.Sudan won 4-0. The second meeting will take place again at the same stadium. I think the scenery should be similar. The defense of Ghana is hopeless, they still have some class in attack, but they are only saved by the opponents' poor finishing at their own goal. If South Sudan maintains their concentration, as is likely in front of their own fans, and takes advantage of their chances at least half way, they can also score a total, of course it's not ruled out that the guests will organize something.

FIFA Series Rwanda. Unexpected Match, as it was expected that Tanzania would win over Liechtenstein and go to the finals, but they faced a very dark day, wasting a heap of good opportunities and ultimately missing their own chance. Recently, Tanzania has been a fairly decent middle-of-the-road team on the continent, even reaching AFCON's knockout stage where they gave a good fight against Morocco, so it's likely that they won't have a repeat of such a game twice in a row, especially when the opponent is much weaker than them. Macau, on the other hand, lost hopelessly 1-4 to the CONCACAF minnows Aruba. And here they are facing an opponent who is also more physical and faster, a class above. Tanzania, with their good intentions and without such mishaps as against Liechtenstein, have all the chances and they are capable of taking full advantage.

I would say a good coefficient is obtained for BTS. The Lithuanian national team has often scored at least 2 goals in the last few years at home against teams like Finland and the Netherlands, and a little earlier against both Romania and Kosovo. It is possible to score at least one goal against teams of similar caliber as the Netherlands such as Georgia and Cyprus. This strengthens our national team's attack and I believe we can expect to score at least one goal against opponents who are not very strong defensively. Even against more quality teams, the fact remains that the Georgians should not have any problems scoring here. The good offense is supported by players like Kvicha, who rarely gets to play for Lithuania due to being a goalkeeper. The last clean sheet at home was achieved in March 2024 against Gibraltar, which is a great example of this.

Lithuania at home is not particularly a bad team at this level, as the results showed. Now with Armandas returning, I believe the picture will change over time in terms of attacking. Georgia plays poorly, even though they have several high-level players, but their game is bad and the results are poor. In the World Cup qualifiers, Peru is the only team in the group that has managed to defeat the worst team, Bulgaria, in their second match. Lithuania should bring some positivity to the table by winning against Peru, which they haven't done in two years, and then try to continue with good results when they return home. These friendly matches will provide motivation for Lithuania.

Everything is simple, Lithuania doesn't seem as hopeless as it did a few years ago. They are playing at home, there will be support and motivation. Kucys is back, the same Gvidas can score from a distance (we have seen it before), and he can even score from a penalty or a corner kick. I doubt Peru, but I believe we should have no problem seeing at least 1 goal. BTTS is a good option, as Georgia will probably score, but my colleague has already described this, so I won't repeat the same.