Main round of the UEFA Futsal Champions League: Palma, Kairat, Sporting, Cartagena among teams to the end | UEFA Futsal Champions League

UEFA Futsal Champions League winners Illes Balears Palma, former winners Kairat Almaty and Sporting CP, as well as debutants Cartagena Costa Cálida, Catania and Semey, were among the 16 teams to qualify for the elite round after being played this week main round.

The Elite Round draw will be broadcast live on Thursday 31 October at 12:00 CET.

How the main round went

24 teams with the highest odds – including Palma – received a pass to the main round, and were joined by the group winners from the August preliminary round: Akaa, Catania, Diamant Linz, FORCA, Minerva, NV Georgians, Tigers Roermond and Uddevalla. These teams were among those in Path B of the main round (which had four spots in the Elite Round), while Palma and former champions Sporting and Kairat were in Path A (from which 12 teams qualified).

The Elite Round will now run from November 26 to December 1 to determine the four contenders for the play-off final on the first weekend of May, with a venue to be confirmed.

Main round results

Path A

The top three in each group advance to the elite round.

Group 1: Cartagena Costa Calida (ESP, qualifying for the elite round), Record Bielsko-Biala (Poland, qualifying for the elite round), Sporting Anderlecht (BEL, hosts, qualifying for the elite round), FC Hit (Ukraine)

2022/23 semi-finalists Anderlecht recorded a comfortable first win over Heat, while Spanish debutants Cartagena needed a late equalizer to maintain the record. Cartagena and Record won on Thursday to advance, and although Anderlecht lost to the Polish team, they too advanced, with Heath unable to catch them due to the result of the first round. Cartagena finished first on goal difference, ahead of Record, as both Saturday’s games were drawn.

Group 2: Braga (POR, qualifying for the elite round), Olmissum (CRO, qualifying for the elite round), Pilsen (Czech Republic, qualifying for the elite round), Pristina 01 (KOS, hosts)

Braga, who led regular Benfica into qualification, opened with a win, as did Olmissum. The top two played out a draw on Thursday, with Pristina 01 and Pilsen playing out a 5-5 thriller, meaning nothing was decided before Saturday’s crucial matches. Olmissum came back from two defeats to draw 2-2 with Pilsen and reach the final in the first game on Saturday. However, the Czech team also made progress, with Braga winning the group by defeating Pristina 01 5–0.

Group 3: Illes Balears Palma (ESP, hosts/owners, qualified to the elite round), United Galati (ROU, qualified to the elite round), Futsal Dinamo (CRO, qualified to the elite round), Dobovets (SVN)

Holders Palma came through with a game to spare and became group winners after defeating Dinamo and United Galati, who started with a win over Dobovets. United Galati, coached by two-time competition winners Cacau, equalized one second before beating Dinamo 2-2 on Saturday to finish second, but the Croatian side still made their elite round debut when Dobovec lost to Palma. with a score of 5:1. are now unbeaten in all 19 of their European matches.

Group 4: Kairat Almaty (KAZ, hosts, qualifying for the elite round), Sporting KP (POR, qualifying for the elite round), Semey (KAZ, qualifying for the elite round), Haladas (Hungary)

Kairat came back from two losses to beat Sporting 3-2, scoring with 18 seconds left to move into first place, with both teams already cementing their progress with wins in their first two games. On Wednesday, Sporting became only the second team to play 100 matches in the competition, emulating fellow two-time champions Kairat (who will maintain their record of playing in the elite round in all 18 seasons they have competed). competition format). Tynan scored for Sporting against former club Kairat and added to his hat-trick against debutants Semey.

Semey themselves beat Haladas 6-1 to secure progress, with Higuita making his European bow for his new club, becoming the first goalkeeper to make 60 competitive appearances. Ferrao’s two goals for Semey brought his UEFA futsal club match ranking to 40th, tenth overall.

Path B

The four group winners advance to the elite round.

Group 5: Etoile Lavalloise (France, hosts, qualifying for the elite round), Minerva Futsal (SUI), Stalitsa Minsk (BLR), Uddevalla (Sweden).

Etoile Lavalloise made his debut in the elite round last season and did so again after three victories. Moroccan international Soufiane El Mesrar scored four goals (in less than five minutes) against Uddevalla to finish as the main round’s top scorer with seven goals.

Group 6: Riga Futsal Club (LVA, qualifying for the elite round), VON Banica (SRB, hosts), Tigers Roermond (NED), FORCA (MKD)

Riga, like Etoile Lavalloise, repeated their elite run on debut a year ago after winning the group decider 5-1 over FON, with both teams going into the game on maximum points.

Group 7: Lucenec (SVK, hosts, qualifying for elite round), Luxol St Andrews (MLT), Akaa (FIN), NV Georgians (GEO)

Lucenec and Luxol entered Saturday’s decider with an equal lead on goal difference and goals scored after two wins each. Despite Luxol returning to level after two losses, Lucenec prevailed 3–2 to advance to the elite round for the first time.

Group 8: Catania (ITA, hosts, qualifying for elite round), Kauno Zalgiris (LTU), Diamant Linz (AUT), Differdange (LUX)

Trailing Kauno on goal difference, Catania needed a six-point win in Saturday’s decider between the two sides. And debutants from Sicily became the only team from the preliminary round this season to reach the elite round, winning 6-2. Michele Podda scored twice, two days after scoring a third hat-trick of his first European campaign in a win over Diamond to leave him in the overall standings. top scorer 11.

Facts about the team

• Palma have won the European title in the last two seasons. They are the only team to win this trophy in their debut pair of campaigns since Castellon’s first seasons in 2001/02 and 2002/03.
• Double winners Kairat Almaty and Sporting (along with Palma, the only team from last season’s Final Four to qualify) are the other past champions to compete in the tournament.
• Anderlecht are former semi-finalists. Dobovets reached the quarterfinals in the 2020/21 season.
• Kairat is the first club to take part in the 21st season of UEFA futsal tournaments.
• Cartagena and Semey made their debuts in this round, while newcomers Catania, FORCA and Tigers Roermond advanced through the preliminary round.
• Together with the debutants, Akaa made it to the main round for the first time. Diamant, Differdange, FON, Futsal Dynamo, Georgians, Lucenets, Minerva and Uddevalla also sought to reach the elite round for the first time.
• Cartagena won its first Spanish title and joined holders La Palma in the tournament. This is only the second edition of the year (after the first campaign in 2001/02) that does not include Barça, Inter and Murcia.
• Kairat faced a Semey team that had ended its 20-year career as Kazakhstan champions (although Kairat beat Semey 3-1 in the recent Kazakhstan Super Cup).
• Sporting started the main round two matches before becoming the second club to take part in 100 matches in UEFA futsal competitions after Kairat. They already had the most wins and goals.