Baltic clubs are entering a crucial stage in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers, with just two rounds to go before the league phase. Today’s play-off round draw revealed the final potential matchups.
Riga FC faces a challenging tie in the third qualifying round against Beitar Jerusalem. Should they come out on top, the play-off round promises to be even tougher, as they would face either Sparta Prague or Ararat-Armenia. Sparta are coming off a strong domestic start and have European pedigree, having beaten FCSB and Malmö in Champions League qualifiers last year reaching the league stage. Despite some heavy losses to top clubs like Manchester City and Atlético Madrid, they remain a dangerous opponent. Ararat-Armenia may not be as well known, but they showed their ability by knocking out Romanian side Universitatea Cluj in extra time after two hard-fought draws.
Meanwhile, RFS will hope to advance past KuPS of Finland, but if they fall short, their European journey isn’t over. They would face the loser of the tie between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ħamrun Spartans. Maccabi have had a disappointing summer so far, losing to Cypriot side Pafos. Ħamrun Spartans, on the other hand, showed grit as they overcame a two goal deficit by eliminating FK Žalgiris on penalties, although they were later comfortably beaten by Dynamo Kyiv.
Estonian champions FCI Levadia will be facing Differdange of Luxembourg in the third round. A win there would set up a play-off round match against the loser of the FCSB and Drita tie. FCSB, the reigning Romanian champions, edged Inter Club d’Escaldes of Andorra before being knocked out by North Macedonia’s Shkendija. Drita, the current champions of Kosovo, defeated Differdange earlier in the competition but were no match for FC Copenhagen, falling 0-3. If Levadia advances, they would start the play-off round away on August 21, with the home leg scheduled for August 28 in Tallinn.
Kauno Žalgiris also learned their potential path to the league phase after Monday’s draw. The Lithuanian side is set to face Bulgaria’s Arda Kardzhali in the third round, with the first leg taking place this Thursday and the return match on August 14. Should they progress, they will go up against either Raków Częstochowa of Poland or Maccabi Haifa of Israel.
