Ž. Sopičius: we are the league underdogs, but in football, anything is possible.

2026-10-15 10:13 © L. Žemgulio

"Kaunas Žalgiris" football club arrived in England on Wednesday afternoon and reached the city of Brighton located in the southern part of the country.

Here, the team led by Željko Sopić will face a historic debut on Thursday evening – the Žalgiris players will play in the main stage of a UEFA tournament for the first time.

"Kaunas Žalgiris" will go up against the currently shining "Brighton" club in the UEFA Europa Conference League. The match will be broadcast live on TV6 at 22:00.

"We are very happy to be here and it will be an honor to step onto the pitch to play against "Brighton". I understand the situation and I know what position they are currently in. I watched a few of their recent matches, but you know – in football, anything is possible. We will give our all, and at the end of the day, we will see where we are," said the manager of the green and whites at the press conference.

English journalists congratulated the Žalgiris team on winning the LFF Cup over the weekend and asked Ž. Sopić whether his team celebrated for long.

"To be honest, we didn't celebrate much. And not only because of the match against "Brighton". We have four very tough matches ahead of us in a row – against "Brighton" and Bergen's "Brann" in Europe, as well as "Sūduva" and Vilnius "Žalgiris" in our league, which is very important to us, and there are only four matches left until the end of the season," the strategist shared.

During the press conference, Ž. Sopić also recalled the victory against Istanbul's "Beşiktaş" achieved in the summer.

"I have been in football for a long time and I understand everything perfectly. We are the underdogs in the Conference League and a club that is given one of the smallest chances to earn points and fight for a place in the next stage. On the other hand, the same was true when we played against "Beşiktaş". They didn't give us even 1 percent chance in any match to achieve something, and we overcame them at home. Of course, it's easier at home, but we'll see. We have prepared well," the manager of the Kaunas team elaborated.

Ž. Sopić also revealed that he will not change the team's playing style even in such a clash.

"We have our principles that we apply in the league. Of course, when playing against opponents like "Brighton", "Beşiktaş", or Zagreb's "Dinamo", you have to change something so that you are not as exposed as in the domestic championship. I can't change our style every few days, as there are very important matches coming up in the league. If I were to change the style every few days, we would lose everything," the coach shared his thoughts at the conference.

The conference also featured midfielder Vykintas Slivka, who joined the club's ranks during the summer.

"I am happy to be here and it will be a special day for our club – the first match in the main stage of a European tournament. We will give our all and strive for the best possible result," said the member of the Lithuanian national team.

"Many of our team players follow the Premier League battles, and we know very well what good form "Brighton" is currently in. I believe we will be ready for their intensity. It's football, and you never know what can happen. We know we are coming as underdogs, but we'll see," added V. Slivka.