N. Kesminas: "Lithuanian football needed a more decisive decision”

2026-11-04 13:10

The European football world has a new Ballon d'Or winner, Kaunas Žalgiris have triumphed once again in the Lithuanian championship, while the English Premier League continues to produce unexpected results and increasingly louder talk of changes. All this was discussed in the latest episode of 7 Added Minutes by football commentators Nerijus Kesminas and Ervinas Kvitkauskas.

The hosts also discussed the appointment of Lithuania's new national team coach Mindaugas Čepas, Diego Moreira's outstanding performance in the Milan derby, and the challenge awaiting Kaunas Žalgiris in the UEFA Conference League. The latter topic was accompanied by particularly sharp criticism from Kesminas of the Lithuanian champions' coach, Željko Sopić.

Kane won the Ballon d'Or—unexpected, but logical?

This year, Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane received football's most prestigious individual award—the Ballon d'Or—for the first time in his career.

The 33-year-old Englishman played 65 matches for club and country last season, scoring an impressive 73 goals. With Bayern, the striker won all three of Germany's major football trophies, while with the England national team he secured third place at the World Cup.

Nevertheless, Kesminas admitted that the voting result came as a surprise to him.

It surprised me at first, but when you put the numbers together—73 goals in 65 matches... He won everything in Germany and finished third at the World Cup with England. It is logical, especially since there was no clear favorite, the commentator said. Perhaps Lamine Yamal's current form overshadows everything, but if we assess his entire year, including that World Cup, it wasn't all positive.

I really didn't think they would choose Kane, but when you go over everything in your head, it now seems logical.

Kvitkauskas, meanwhile, did not hide his joy at the Englishman's triumph. In his opinion, Kane's impressive statistics were not the only factor in his favor—his versatility on the pitch should also have counted.

I was happy, Ervinas admitted. Before that, I thought the World Cup, all the hype surrounding Yamal on social media and everywhere else... Kane is a quieter personality who solves things more on the pitch. His versatility also impresses me. We can see that he can play safely, start attacks— all these things are truly impressive.

I understand that when assessing the year, you can't let sentiment take over. But I imagine this was probably Kane's last chance to win it—for a striker of that level, who has broken so many records.

Kaunas Žalgiris defended their title, but Kesminas sees a bigger problem

Kaunas Žalgiris triumphed once again in the Lithuanian football championship. Željko Sopić's team defended their title and became national champions for the second consecutive year.

They did what they had to do. Logically, that's how it should have been, Kesminas briefly said of the Kaunas club's achievement.

However, the discussion quickly shifted from the title they had won to the Kaunas club's prospects for further growth. A strengthening organization and potentially increasing budget could provide more opportunities in the player market, but Kesminas doubts whether financial resources alone can solve Lithuania's main football problems.

It makes no difference, because the main problem is that you can't attract players to Lithuania, no matter how much money you have, the legendary commentator said. What can you offer them? One European round and then trips to Gargždai and Telšiai? They say, "No, thank you.” For the same money, they can go to the French second tier, where they will be seen.

Of course, you can offer astronomical sums, but that's only theoretical. You need a more competitive league and a higher ranking so that people take you more seriously. This isn't a question of money.

Kvitkauskas, meanwhile, tried to identify some positive aspects in Lithuanian football.

I'm happy that this year all four teams that qualified for Europe are strong and competitive and capable of increasing their budgets further, Ervinas said.

Yes, probably the four most interesting projects in Lithuania at the moment, Kesminas agreed, softening his tone.

As a reminder, next season Lithuania will be represented in UEFA tournament qualifying by Kaunas Žalgiris, Marijampolė Sūduva, Vilnius Žalgiris and Vilnius district's TransINVEST.

Kesminas disagrees with the choice of national team coach

There have also been changes in the Lithuanian national team. Following Edgaras Jankauskas's departure, the duties of head coach were entrusted, at least temporarily, to Mindaugas Čepas.

The specialist, who is well known in Lithuanian football, took charge of a team whose recent results have raised more questions than optimism. The national side failed to achieve its goals, and discussions about the team's future direction became one of the most important topics in the country's football.

Kesminas, who had previously demanded changes to the coaching staff, has not changed his opinion. In the commentator's view, Lithuanian football needed a bolder decision.

I was in favor of taking a risk and choosing a foreigner. I think we will once again hear that there were positive moments in the match, that we gave everything, that we failed to take our chances and so on, Nerijus said. If that remains the case and the results remain the same, what difference does it make? Let it stay—things can't get worse. We are already so close to the bottom.

But if we want a breakthrough, in my understanding, we need a foreigner.

Arsenal's triumph at Anfield was accompanied by questions for the referee

One of the central matches of the round in the English Premier League took place in Liverpool, where London's Arsenal defeated the home side 1–0, silenced Anfield and triumphed there for the first time in 14 years.

Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the match in the 16th minute. However, the main talking point after the game was not the goal itself but an incident in Arsenal's penalty area during the first half.

The London club's defender Jurrien Timber pulled Liverpool striker Alexander Isak by his shirt, but the referee's whistle remained silent. A penalty was not awarded even after VAR intervention.

Kvitkauskas saw in this situation a problem that has followed football officiating for years—players who play honestly often end up suffering because of it.

We have probably got caught up once again in a chicken-and-egg situation. To some extent, referees want to prevent simulation, but if a player doesn't clearly show that he was pulled by the shirt, if the entire team isn't aggressively appealing to the referee, then a penalty isn't awarded, Ervinas reflected. If we reversed the situation and swapped the teams, Mikel Arteta himself would probably have run onto the pitch and rushed over to the referee.

Kesminas, for his part, urged people not to focus solely on the refereeing incident. In his opinion, even if a penalty had been awarded, it would not necessarily have changed the final outcome.

We can speculate about what might have happened, but the penalty would still have had to be scored... Based on the play, I would say it was perhaps closer to a draw, but Arsenal certainly did not deserve to lose, the commentator assessed.

Manchester City's defeats and doubts about the future

Another major topic in English football was Manchester City's recent struggles.

In mid-October, the Manchester side lost 2–4 at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, later managed to overcome Ipswich Town 3–2 and thrashed Athens' AEK 5–1. However, two defeats followed in the domestic championship: they lost 1–2 to Aston Villa and then suffered a 0–1 home defeat against Brighton.

First of all, Brighton deserve praise. They played well, especially in the first half, Kvitkauskas said. They really look very solid; everyone works as one organism. As for Man City, their problem is probably that if Erling Haaland doesn't score, then quite often nobody does.

Kesminas linked the team's failures not only to the problems visible on the pitch. In his opinion, the players' psychological state may also be affected by the club's long-running problems off the pitch.

Probably that global problem surrounding them as well. It cannot fail to affect the players' minds, Nerijus said. Although they publicly declare their belief that everything will be fine, I seriously doubt whether they truly believe it. When you are hanging in such a situation, when you don't know what will happen or what you are fighting for, I think it is extremely difficult.

Manchester United's crisis continues

The other Manchester club, United, found itself in an even more difficult situation.

Michael Carrick's team lost 0–2 to Chelsea in London at the weekend, extending their winless run to nine matches.

Morgan Rogers scored the opening goal in the 50th minute, and the visitors' situation soon became even more difficult. Lisandro Martínez was sent off for a foul in the penalty area, and Cole Palmer converted the resulting spot kick.

Another defeat intensified discussions about Carrick's future. Kesminas is convinced that the problems in the Man Utd camp have already gone beyond tactical decisions and results.

Changes are needed there; the big question is whether delaying them can bring any benefit, the commentator reflected. I think a subconscious conflict has already developed between the coach and the players.

When everything is pinned on the players, while the fans boo them and side with Michael Carrick, that must be felt in the dressing room. I think a shake-up is needed.

Kvitkauskas was no less harsh in his assessment of Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez.

You look at Lisandro Martínez and it seems as if he is deliberately throwing the matches, as if he doesn't care about anything... I watch his incidents and I don't understand them. It looks as though this isn't a world champion, but a player from the fourth-tier amateur league in the capital, Ervinas said, sparing no criticism.

Moreira's show and Inter's stagnation in the Milan derby

The highlight of the weekend in Italy's Serie A was the Milan derby. AC Milan defeated their fierce rivals Inter 3–1 at home.

The sensation of the match was 22-year-old Belgian Diego Moreira, who scored one goal and provided two assists.

Kesminas rated the young footballer's performance extremely highly.

Diego Moreira is the absolute MVP; that kid has a future... Of course, we only discovered that not long ago, but he will go far if he doesn't become another Rafael Leão, Nerijus said. The match showed his full potential. Even if he played at 90 percent of what we saw in this game, he would be one of the best players in Italy.

Meanwhile, the defeated Inter received considerably fewer compliments. Kvitkauskas was bothered by the Milan side's failure to make use of their attacking potential and their lack of sharpness on the wings.

It seemed to me that Inter really lacked attacking players and some kind of spark. Lautaro Martínez, while Federico Dimarco on the wing used to be more active... Ervinas reflected.

I completely agree, Kesminas said. In their best days, which were not so long ago, they would set the wings on fire, but we didn't really see that now. They live off what Hakan Çalhanoğlu creates in the middle of the pitch with the team.

It also seemed that Milan's pressing in the first half was an unexpected factor. But yes, I have been saying for the first time and not for the first year that Inter look like a stagnating team to me.

Kesminas ahead of Žalgiris' European test: This will be a more frightening beast

At the end of the show, attention once again turned to Lithuanian football. Kaunas Žalgiris, who defended their championship title, face another serious challenge on the international stage—a UEFA Conference League meeting with Swiss club Lugano.

Their opponents are a team showing solid form and currently sitting top of the Swiss championship. Lugano have also already demonstrated their strength in Europe, defeating Belgrade's Crvena zvezda and thrashing Spain's Getafe 5–2 away from home.

Kesminas showed no optimism ahead of the upcoming match. Moreover, the commentator was highly critical of Kaunas club coach Željko Sopić's public communication, particularly his earlier comments about the opponents' strength.

Probably nothing good awaits them, Nerijus sighed. If our coach says how powerful Brann are, then Lugano are probably twice as strong. That is shown both by the Swiss league, where they are top, and by the Conference League, where they have won two matches. This will be a more frightening beast.

However, what angered the commentator most was not the opponents' strength itself, but the message he believes Sopić is sending to his footballers before important European fixtures.

I don't know what Željko Sopić says in the dressing room, but if it is similar to what is being broadcast publicly, then it is an absolute village dance. With that attitude, with this deliberate cultivation of a lack of confidence in the team, you will get a few goals conceded, Kesminas stated categorically.

Predictions

At the end of the show, the duo traditionally shared their predictions for the most intriguing fixtures of the coming week. However, because of the long weekend, this week's episode was filmed on Tuesday, so the results of some of the predictions are already known.