BEnfica and Sporting de Braga fulfilled their respective missions this Thursday and qualified for the playoffs of the European competitions in which they are participating, towards the objective of being in the league phase of the competition.
Let’s start with the Europa League and Benfica. The Reds had accomplished it in the first leg, at the Estádio da Luz, beating them 6-1, which made life easier for the second leg. In this 2nd game of the tie, this Thursday night, in Scotland, Marco Silva’s men drew 1-1 and confirmed the expected passage. Tómas Bent Magnússon scored for Hearts, while Dodi Lukebakio sealed the equalizer.
Having guaranteed passage to the playoff to access the league stage of the Europa League, the Reds already knew that they would face AGF Aarhus, from Denmark, who had been eliminated in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, eliminated by Sabah, from Azerbaijan (2-1 and 4-0).
Furthermore, the Nordic team is not unknown to Benfica. The Lisbon team has already met AGF Aarhus four times, all in the Champions League. Interestingly, Benfica reached the final of both, in 1960/61, a season in which they won both games, and in 1987/88, a final they lost, after having drawn and beaten the Danes.
The first game takes place at the Estádio da Luz on August 20th, while the second leg will take place in the Scandinavian country, on August 27th, in Randers, the loan home of the current champions of Denmark.
Sporting de Braga travels to Austria
Like Benfica, Sporting de Braga also remains alive in European competitions. The Braga team fulfilled their favoritism and overtook the Belarusians from Dinamo Minsk, after winning the first leg, in Portugal, 1-0 and drawing without goals in the second leg that took place in Bulgaria, where the Belarusians played on loan.
After a few hours of waiting, Carlos Vicens’ team learned that they will face the Austrians from Austria Vienna, who eliminated the Israelis from Beitar Jerusalem.
After the 1-2 victory in the first leg, which left the round open, the Vienna team were surprised in regular time, with Beitar winning 1-2, which tied the tie and forced extra time. After equality remained in extra time, the Austrian team came out on top on penalties, winning 4-2.
The first leg of the duel is scheduled for August 20th, at the Braga Municipal Stadium, and the second leg for August 27th, on Austrian soil.
After the victory by the smallest margin at Pedreira last week, the team led by Carlos Vicens played out a goalless draw against Dinamo Minsk. Sporting de Braga will now face Austria Vienna.
Rodrigo Querido | 20:01 – 08/13/2026
