One win and one loss. This was the result for the Lithuanians in their fourth consecutive qualifying “window”.
With four wins and four losses, our team is in fourth place, with four more games left to play before the end of the qualifiers.
But to qualify for the 2027 World Cup, one win in the “window” and fourth place in the tournament table will not be enough.
What awaits the Lithuanians in the fall and what lineup will we see in the next “window”?
When and against whom?
The next qualifying “window” will open in almost three months.
On November 26, the Lithuanians will host the Serbian basketball players at home, and on November 29, they will play away against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The exact locations of the matches are not yet known.
This will be the penultimate “window” of this qualifying cycle – the Lithuanians will play two more games early next year, at the end of February and the beginning of March (against the Turks and Serbs).
- November 26: Lithuania – Serbia
- November 29: Bosnia and Herzegovina – Lithuania
- February 26: Lithuania – Turkey
- March 1: Serbia – Lithuania
Tournament situation
Yesterday’s win against the Bosnians allowed the Lithuanians to reduce the gap to the nearest target – Italy, which has 5 wins and 3 losses. However, our team has already lost both matches against Italy, so to rank higher than this team, the Lithuanians will most likely have to collect more wins than them.
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Higher up the table is Serbia (6-2), and Turkey (8-0) leads Group J, having become the first team to secure a ticket to the World Cup.
Close behind the Lithuanians are Bosnia and Herzegovina (3-5) and Iceland (3-5), who also have hopes of qualifying for the world championship.
There are theoretical chances that the Lithuanians would need to win just one or two games to secure a ticket to the World Cup, but it is much more likely that three or even all four wins will be required.
Winning all four times would guarantee our team a place in the 2027 tournament in Qatar, and winning three times would largely depend on who the single loss would be against and how the results of other group matches would unfold.
It is worth emphasizing that Serbia, pursued by the Lithuanians, will play one more game against the group outsider Iceland, and Italy will play twice against Turkey, who, although undefeated, having already secured a ticket to the World Cup, may choose a more modest lineup for the remaining qualifying “windows”.
What can’t we rely on?
Unlike the just-finished “window”, during which the Lithuanian team could theoretically have all players available, the choice in November may be severely limited.
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