Lithuania vs Andorra Preview: Jankauskas Needs Control, Koldo Needs Proof

Lithuania host Andorra today in a Friendly International with a simple brief: no table pressure, but no room for waste either. Kick-off is scheduled for 16:00, with UEFA listing the venue as the Dariaus ir Girėno stadionas in Kaunas. The supplied match file is still in pre-match mode, with no score data available.

For E. Jankauskas, this is a control match. Lithuania arrive with a mixed but usable September: a 2-0 win over Liechtenstein, then a 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan. That is not a surge, but it is a platform. At this level, platforms matter. They give a coach something to sell, a dressing room something to trust, and a crowd something to believe before the harder nights return.

For Koldo and Andorra, the equation is different. The 0-0 draw with Gibraltar on September 27 stopped the bleeding after the 1-2 defeat to Malta three days earlier. Andorra’s results in 2026 have carried the old tension: compact enough to stay in games, blunt enough to let them drift away.

Match state

• Competition: Friendlies
• Round: Friendly International
• Date: 2026-09-30
• Kick-off: 16:00
• Home team: Lithuania
• Away team: Andorra
• Venue: Dariaus ir Girėno stadionas, Kaunas
• Match status: Pre-match; no score data available

Team news and formations

No official starting XIs or formations are available in the supplied match data.

That matters. Lithuania’s formation under E. Jankauskas is not confirmed, and Andorra’s formation under Koldo is not confirmed. No lineups, no bench lists, no tactical sheets. Any claim beyond that would be guesswork.

Still, the likely direction of the match is clear enough. Lithuania should be expected to take more of the ball at home, especially against an Andorra side that is usually more comfortable when the game becomes narrow, slow, and full of contact. Jankauskas will want clean circulation, second balls won high enough to keep Andorra pinned back, and enough width to stop the visitors from defending in a compact block all afternoon.

Koldo’s plan is likely to be built around patience and survival first. Andorra do not need to win the possession count to make this awkward. They need to keep the distances short, deny Lithuania rhythm between the lines, and make set-pieces feel like events rather than interruptions.

Recent form

Lithuania’s last five:

• 1-1 draw against Azerbaijan, September 27, 2026
• 2-0 win over Liechtenstein, September 24, 2026
• 1-0 loss to Estonia, June 9, 2026
• 1-1 draw against Latvia, June 6, 2026
• 0-2 loss to Georgia, March 29, 2026

Andorra’s last five:

• 0-0 draw against Gibraltar, September 27, 2026
• 1-2 loss to Malta, September 24, 2026
• 0-3 loss to Kosovo, June 7, 2026
• 2-0 win over Liechtenstein, June 4, 2026
• 0-1 loss to Iraq, May 29, 2026

The form line says Lithuania have the better momentum, but not by enough to relax. The win over Liechtenstein gives Jankauskas a reference point. The draw against Azerbaijan gives him a warning. Lithuania have shown they can score and compete, but they have not yet shown they can turn these fixtures into routine wins.

Andorra’s draw with Gibraltar was useful because it restored a bit of order. After conceding three against Kosovo in June and losing narrowly to Malta in September, Koldo needed a game where the defensive package held. He got it. Now comes the harder part: carrying that discipline away from home against a side expected to make the running.

What Lithuania must get right

Lithuania need tempo without panic.

That is the whole match brief. Against Andorra, the trap is obvious: too slow and the game becomes comfortable for the visitors, too rushed and it becomes exactly the kind of broken contest Koldo wants. Lithuania have to move Andorra side to side, keep the ball alive after the first clearance, and avoid turning promising territory into cheap transitions.

This is also a test of mentality. Friendly or not, home matches against smaller nations can become uncomfortable if the first goal does not arrive. The crowd grows impatient, the passing gets forced, and the underdog begins to smell a result. Jankauskas will know that the first half is not just about chances; it is about tone.

What Andorra must get right

Andorra must make Lithuania earn every metre.

Koldo’s side will not want long spells where Lithuania can receive facing forward in central areas. The visitors need their midfield screen to work, their back line to stay connected, and their clearances to have some direction. If every clearance comes straight back, the pressure eventually tells.

The key for Andorra is not only defending deep. It is defending with exits. A draw with Gibraltar showed they can keep a game tight. This match asks whether they can keep it tight while also carrying enough threat to stop Lithuania committing numbers forward without fear.

The stakes

There are no qualifying points on offer, but there is still value here.

For Lithuania, this is a chance to make September feel like progress: beat Liechtenstein, draw with Azerbaijan, then finish with a home win against Andorra. That would be a clean internal message for Jankauskas before the next squad decisions.

For Andorra, a strong performance would matter almost as much as the result. Koldo needs evidence that the Gibraltar clean sheet was not just a pause between defeats. Another disciplined away display would give him something real to build on.

Deal not done yet. Lithuania have the stronger recent argument, home advantage, and more pressure to play. Andorra have the kind of defensive patience that can turn a friendly into a long afternoon. The first goal, if it comes, will decide whether this becomes a Lithuanian control exercise or another Andorran resistance file.