England train in Lithuania
Monday, 16 November, 2009
The U21s trained in Vilnius ahead of their meeting with Lithunia on Tuesday
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To watch highlights from the session in Vilnius, click on the player on the right of the page
England trained in a chilly Vilnius on Monday ahead of their 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Qualifier with Lithuania.
The team used the facilities at the Vetra Stadium, home of Lyga A outfit FK Vetra, and venue for Tuesday evening's Group Nine showdown.
England were in good spirits during the session, following their 1-0 win over Portugal at Wembley on Saturday. Stuart Pearce's men are currently three points off group leaders Greece, but do have a game in hand, as they head into their last match of 2009.
The game kicks off at 6pm Lithuanian time (4pm GMT). We'll bring you updates here throughout the match.
Thanks to England's win over Portugal, and Lithuania's 1-0 victory against Macedonia on Friday night, the home side are level on points with Portugal, six behind England. They’ve scored three goals this campaign, thanks to Karolis Chvedukas, Eivinas Zagurska and Heart of Midlothian’s Arvydas Novikovas, but have conceded seven.
The last England team to play in Lithuania were the U19s who drew a UEFA Championship Qualifier 1-1 in April 2002. The team included current Senior Team players Glen Johnson, Carlton Cole and Darren Bent. Four days later in the return at Nottingham Forest, England won 2-1.
Hosts for Tuesday's game, FK Vetra, recently finished second in the Lithuanian Championship - their season runs from the spring through to the autumn - but it was FK Ekranas from the town of Panevėžys who retained their A Lyga title on a dramatic final day of the season last month.
Their neat stadium, has already hosted one English side this year. Fulham were in the city earlier this campaign for the first leg of their Europa League Third Qualifying Round tie. Roy Hodgson's team came away from the Lithuanian capital 3-0 victors.