N. Kesminas: national team footballers are paramedics, not surgeons

2026-06-10 12:21 © Stop kadras

Football commentator Nerijus Kesminas shared his impressions of the performance of the Lithuanian men's national football team at the Baltic Cup tournament.

"June has come, and it became clear that Santa Claus will not bring gifts to the Lithuanian football team this year. The Baltic Cup was not fought for, which means that the annual plans have not been fulfilled.

Of course, there is still the bottom level of the Nations League for rehabilitation, but after the final of the Baltic League tournament, it is probably time to admit to ourselves - the fifteenth place in the FIFA ranking top ten is our place. Logical and consistent.

We are not the flagbearer of the region - a weak, let's note - regional football. The flagbearer is the Estonians, who on Tuesday dragged our guys around the Tallinn stadium as they wished and wherever they wanted.

And the Estonians, as coach Edgaras Jankauskas correctly noted, are not a team of the world’s top fifty. We are simply still further from elite football standards.

Despite everything, people love them - almost eight thousand fans came to watch the semifinal against the Latvians. Due to their desire and combativeness, it is probably impossible not to love them.

However, professional sports are such a thing: any battle can only be given meaning by one factor - victory. When there are no victories again and again and again, it remains to state: the team's potential ceiling is low.

We waved a month or two over the head of a Moldovan slaughterhouse - and back to the reality of the hungry. The next hunting trophy in football may have to be awaited for months, even when fighting to the last muscle and with darkness in our eyes.

This is like the saying: "A good person is not a profession.” You can twist and turn in front of the mirror with a white coat on your shoulders and a scalpel in your hands, but you won't perform a surgical operation. Only a surgeon can do that.

And our team’s football players are not surgeons. They are paramedics.

Sad, but that's the way it is. Yes, most of them are young, and some may have a bright future ahead, but let’s not have any illusions for the near future.

They are young, but they have already played enough to create at least one opportunity in the match against the Estonians. At least one - because a couple of shots from 20 meters that way over 90 minutes - are not opportunities.

Would a shake-up help the team - for example, a change of coach? Sometimes - and quite often - it works, but the effect is almost always short-lived. After that, everything returns to where it was or even worse.

I wonder if a shake-up for the sake of shaking things up is a suitable solution. If there is to be a revolution, we would want a plan that clearly defines where, when, and why it should lead us.

Is it possible? Just don't ask me.

Everything that has been laid out here - without any anger or resentment. This is the case when you would really like to be wrong, but after the Tallinn anabasis, the intuition whispers that we may not even compete with Azerbaijan, or perhaps even Liechtenstein this year. And not because there are many letters in their names.

It won’t be easy. Strength to you, boys. And we... We will stay with you, no matter how frustrating the results may be. Because due to their desire and combativeness, it is probably impossible not to love you.

P.S. A good therapy for the nerves of a Lithuanian fan could be the World Championship - there we beat others, not us. On Thursday we start the broadcasting marathon at the "Ozas” shopping and entertainment center "Plisuose”. I will wait for you there: 10 PM, Mexico - South Africa. Vamos,” wrote N. Kesminas.