The World champions failed to impress in their first competitive game under Donadoni and went one down through Tomas Danilevicius's strike before Filippo Inzaghi secured a point for the visitors.

But Donadoni remained confident after the game and blamed the poor result on his players' lack of fitness.

"It's nothing more than a physical issue," Calico Italia magazine quoted the manager as saying in Saturday's post match press conference.

"We had several great chances and were unfortunate. We knew Lithuania would be aggressive, so they only really threatened from distance and with headers."

Italy's poor start in Group B made their Wednesday's journey to Paris more difficult as they take on France in a repeat of the World Cup final.

France coasted past Georgia 3-0 in the same group and seem ready to avenge their defeat against the Azzuri in July.

"Now we have to gather our energy again and prepare for the next match," Donadoni said.

"This was not a waste of time, as it gave us some valuable indicators for the future."