The Group B game, attended by 60,000 fans who had come to welcome the Azzurri on their first competitive outing since they lifted the World Cup in July, ended in stalemate.

First-half goals by Filippo Inzaghi and Lithuania striker Tomas Danilevicius cancelled each other out.

"I'm disappointed with the draw, but as soon as the lads got back into the dressing room I told them I thought they'd played well," Donadoni said.

"They (Lithuania) started well and were better than us for the first 20 minutes, but with a bit of luck I think we would have got a better result.

"There was a good spirit in the team. It's a spirit we can go forward with."

The match was Donadoni's second in charge since taking over from Marcello Lippi a few days after the World Cup final.

The new coach lost his first match in mid-August when his second-string team were beaten 2-0 by Croatia in a friendly.

The late start to Italy's domestic season, which has been put back to Sept. 9 due to legal wrangling surrounding the Serie A match-fixing scandal, prompted Donadoni to leave out several players who he felt were short of match fitness.

World Cup strikers Luca Toni, Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Vincenzo Iaquinta were all missing fro the squad, though Donadoni denied their absence contributed to the failure to capitalise on a string of second-half chances.

"No, not at all. Just look at the way we played," he said.

"Inzaghi scored a goal and went close to getting a couple of others. (Antonio) Cassano did the same and (Alberto) Gilardino had a header saved on the line.

"In all I'd say there were seven clear chances on goal. Usually, you'd expect more than one to go in. I thought we deserved to win tonight."

He did admit, however, that some of his players lacked a little of their usual sharpness.

"Maybe we lacked a little bit of pace in the last 20 minutes but that's only to be expected at this time of the season.

"That's the reality we face. There's nothing we can do about it. If Serie A had already begun maybe we'd be a bit sharper, but there's no point talking about it now."

Donadoni insisted the draw would not prey on the Azzurri's minds as they prepare for their next qualifier -- a re-run of the World Cup final against France in Paris on Wednesday.

"Tonight's result will not have any effect on the team. The two matches are completely separate.

"From tomorrow the lads will be completely focused on recovering and getting themselves back in shape.

"France are definitely a team that is in a better physical condition than us, but I'm optimistic because our condition can only improve between now and Wednesday".