Lithuania and Liechtenstein tangle again
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Article summary
Drawn to meet again in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Lithuania and Liechtenstein will first face off in Kaunas where the hosts will want to avenge their June defeat in Vaduz.
Article top media content
Article body
The lowest-placed sides in Group I meet again in Kaunas, mindful that they are set for two further meetings after being drawn together in the same qualifying section for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
• Liechtenstein are unlikely to complain about that given they ended a four-year wait for a competitive win against Lithuania in their first Group I meeting on 3 June. A Lithuania side decimated by injuries and suspensions went down 2-0, Philipe Erne's superb early opener and a Michele Polverino strike giving Hans-Peter Zaugg's men the points.
• "What we've achieved is unbelievable," said goalkeeper Benjamin Büchel after that rare Liechtenstein success. "You don't see this every day. It was a superb performance by everyone, but especially in defence where we were incredibly strong today. The whole team just gave 100%. I was constantly hoping we would not concede and in the end the whole thing is just incredible."
• It was only Liechtenstein's eighth victory in 123 competitive matches, and their first since October 2007.
• Lithuania's record in three games against Liechtenstein reads W2 D0 L1 (W1 D0 L0 at home).
• The nations' only meetings prior to the UEFA EURO 2012 preliminaries came in 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying, with Lithuania winning 2-1 in Vilnius on 9 October 1996 and 2-1 in Eschen-Mauren on 30 April the following year.