Lithuania vs New Zealand
International – Friendlies
Date: Sunday, 17 November 2019
Kick-off at 14:00 UK/ 15:00 CET
Venue: LFF Stadionas.
LITHUANIA
Lithuania hammered by Portugal as miserable Euro 2020 campaign they were brought to an end with just one point to their name and they are now without a win in their last 19 games.
Run that stretches back to March 2018 when they beat Armenia in what was a rare victory for them, but with their official EURO 2020 dream is over, they will now begin to build towards a tilt at qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
Lithuania could use this game to blood some fresh faces as they attempt to put poor qualifying campaign behind them and they will need to improve at both ends of the field after managed just five goals in their eight games while conceding 25.
NEW ZEALAND
The first match of New Zealand during the 17 months ended in disappointment as they were beaten by Ireland and they now go to Lithuania as they look to build on a somewhat disjointed performance.
After such a long period without a match, it is not surprising that the All Whites are not able to come out on top but they will be disappointed at the way they fell away after taking the lead thanks to strikes from Callum McCowatt.
West Ham defender Winston Reid may have to sit this contest after he was substituted in the first half in the game against Ireland but it could just be a precaution in what was his first match in more than one year with a knee injury.
Lithuania vs New Zealand prediction
If we look at recent form Lithuania, we can observe that the host has lost all recent games. Their previous victory in a competitive match was in July 2018 against Sri Lanka. Since that victory, Lithuania has not leapfrog up the opponent in both home and away.
Even so, the home team has lost against a strong team play like Ukraine, Serbia, and recently Portugal. their previous meetings with Portugal in the road rage of Cristiano Ronaldo saw rain on them in a 6-0 loss.
Cristiano asked about his fitness after getting replaced at Juventus in two recent clashes of the Italian club and Lithuania got an answer to the critics with a hat-trick.
In addition, most of the teams they face are in a higher position than they were in the rankings. Additionally, Valdas Urbonas and men were out of the Euro qualifiers. They are currently at 132 in the FIFA rankings.
New Zealand has shown better form in matches lately. They have managed to take three wins in the last ten games. But the victory was against the Solomon Islands, Chinese Taipei and India experienced a relatively lower teams in international waters.
In addition, New Zealand is in 121 places in the FIFA national team rankings.
All Whites have managed to record two of their last three victories in matches away from home. Also, Lithuania has won the Baltic Cup championship 11 times. So, it will not be a walk in the park for the New Zealand players in LFF Stadionas.
In addition, the players Lithuania holds the home ground advantage in the game. Despite their achievements at home in recent times is not enough, we can rely on the hosting team to prove otherwise in ninety minutes. So, it is safer to go with a double chance in the game.
Since both teams have been on a good platform in scoring, we can expect goals to be produced at both ends of the field.
