Slovenia kicking off 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania
Slovenian coach Srečko Katanec wants the Slovenian team, ranked 59th in the world, to secure a win against the lower-seeded Lithuania, to kick off the new qualifying cycle "better than the last one".
When revealing the Slovenian roster last week, Katanec said he had gained some confidence: "In terms of scoring goals, dynamics of our players. I saw good things."
"If these hold up until the match against Lithuania, I can already smile. I haven't seen these things in the past," he added.
However, Slovenia has been known to suffer surprising defeats against weaker teams, such as Lithuania, which is 125th in FIFA rankings.
"Lithuania has changed several players recently...But they're not the problem, we need to be concerned with ourselves to make sure we're fierce and energetic," Katanec stressed.
Lithuanian coach Edgaras Jankauskas meanwhile said that Slovenia was the favourite, but that "favourites on the paper don't always win".
"If players believe me, that we're capable of fighting such teams...we'll be a tough challenge for everyone," he stressed.
Slovenia played Lithuania four times in the past, most recently in the qualifiers for the UEFA Euro Cup 2016. It won once, tied once and lost twice.
Slovenia will later on play also England, Slovakia, Scotland and Malta (Group F).