Gibraltar welcome Lithuania to southern Portugal for the first leg of their UEFA Nations League relegation playoff on Thursday.
This two-legged affair between two nations separated by 63 places in the FIFA World Ranking will determine who drops into League D, and who will remain in League C.
Match preview
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Following the last edition of the Nations League, League D will be shortened yet again, as it will now consist of just six teams, as opposed to seven and 16 in previous formats.
The upcoming adjustment is to cater for the fact Russia have been excluded from competing in UEFA competitions, while keeping the full complement of nations in Leagues A, B and C.
Latvia and Estonia have gone up from League D, but there is only one relegation spot to be decided, and it will be played out here between League C's poorest performing sides.
Cyprus and Belarus also finished bottom of their respective sections last time around, but both finishing on one point means Gibraltar and Lithuania are the sides to contest this playout.
The victors will remain in League C and be matched up with Romania, Cyprus and Kosovo, while the losers will drop into League D and meet San Marino and Liechtenstein.
Losing may not be too bad for either side though, as the next World Cup qualifying section will provide a playoff spot to the winners of the next League D campaign, and it is much more likely these two nations will have a better chance in that company, as opposed to staying in League C.
Gibraltar will be more focused on turning the tables after a dreadful 2023 though, just when they thought they were gaining some momentum after ending 2022 with back-to-back wins over Liechtenstein and Andorra.
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Ten games in 2023 brought 10 defeats, zero goals and 46 goals conceded for Julio Cesar Ribas's side, and in the process, they set the record for the heaviest competitive defeat in European history.
Their 14-0 thrashing away to France in November broke the previous record held by San Marino, who lost 13-0 to Germany almost two decades ago, and that evidently affected them, as a 6-0 home defeat to the Netherlands followed a few days later.
Gibraltar will be hoping a first-ever meeting with Lithuania can bring some positivity back to the camp after that chastening experience, but their upcoming opponents have been much more impressive of late.
Edgaras Jankauskas led his side to six points from eight games in Euro qualifying, finishing above Bulgaria, who they beat 2-0 away from home.
Lithuania were spoilers to some of the bigger nations in the section, holding both Hungary and Montenegro to draws on home soil, and they also drew with Greece away from home in 2023.
However, away form in general is nothing to shout home about, with 16 defeats from their 19 outside Lithuania, but that does not stop them from coming into this tie as big favourites.
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Team News
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Ribas has called up six teenagers to the squad this month, but much of the old guard remain, with 41-year-old skipper Roy Chipolina and 42-year-old attacker Lee Casciaro set to start.
Following the 14-0 embarrassment in France, eight players from that squad have been left out here, including Ethan Santos, who was sent off that night in Nice.
Nicholas Pozo and Aymen Mouelhi have also been omitted from the squad this time around after starting in that defeat to Les Bleus, but the former has not yet recovered from an injury picked up in November.
Jankauskas has made a surprise omission of his own in the Lithuania squad, as midfielder Modestas Vorobjovas has been left out.
Missing out alongside him are Artemijus Tutyskinas, Donatas Kazlauskas and Deividas Sesplauskis, who are all injured at present.
Edvinas Girdvainis will be targeting a half-century of caps for his country this week, an accolade he will accomplish should he feature in both legs.
Gibraltar possible starting lineup:
Coleing; Sergeant, R Chipolina, Olivero, J Chipolina; Ronan, Walker, Annesley; Casciaro, De Barr, De Haro
Lithuania possible starting lineup:
Gertmonas; Lasickas, Girdvainis, Lekiatas, Sirvys; Slivka, Utkus, Gineitis, Novikovas; Paulauskas, Cernych
We say: Gibraltar 0-2 Lithuania
Whether it would be more beneficial in the short-term to drop into League D given that a routine playoff spot could be on the cards is up for debate, but Lithuania will see this tie as an opportunity to claim two important wins which will help morale and their World Ranking.
Gibraltar had shown signs of improvement when being promoted to League C a few years back, but 2023 saw them regress heavily, and back-to-back defeats are likely this week.
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