Croatia’s European hopefuls found out their possible third qualifying round opponents on Monday, with draws confirmed across the Europa League, Champions League, and Conference League paths.
Hajduk could face Salzburg
Should Hajduk get past Cypriot side Pafos in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, their reward will be a third-round clash with Austria’s Salzburg. Hajduk host Pafos in the first leg on Thursday in Split, with the return fixture in Cyprus the following Thursday. Should they progress, Hajduk would again have home advantage in the first leg of the third round, with the second leg to follow in Salzburg. Third qualifying round ties are scheduled for August 6 and 13.
Should Hajduk instead lose against Pafos, they would drop into the Conference League third qualifying round, where they’d face the winner of the tie between Georgia’s Dinamo Tbilisi and Lithuania’s Žalgiris, with the first leg played away from home.
Dinamo await Vikingur or Hapoel
Champions Dinamo Zagreb have also learned their potential path forward. Should they be eliminated by Switzerland’s Thun in the Champions League second qualifying round, Dinamo would drop into the Europa League third qualifying round to face either Iceland’s Vikingur or Israel’s Hapoel Beer Sheva.
Should Dinamo instead get past Thun and reach the Champions League third qualifying round itself, Mario Kovačević’s side would face the winner of the tie between Faroese side Klaksvik and Lithuania’s Kauno Žalgiris, coached by Željko Sopić. First legs in that round are set for August 4/5, with second legs on August 11.
UEFA has scrapped the previous system of forming subgroups ahead of the “champions’ path” draw this season, meaning Dinamo faced a considerably wider pool of possible opponents than in previous years.
Before turning their attention to the third qualifying round, Dinamo first face Thun in the first leg of the second qualifying round on Tuesday in Switzerland, kicking off at 8 pm, with the return leg set for Tuesday, July 28.
Rijeka and Varaždin could head to Iceland
Rijeka and Varaždin also discovered their potential third qualifying round opponents in the Conference League on Monday. Rijeka, if they eliminate Ireland’s Derry City in the second round, would face the winner of the tie between Iceland’s Stjarnan and Finland’s Ilves. Varaždin, if they see off Czech side Jablonec, would take on the winner between Latvia’s RFS and Iceland’s Vestri.
Third qualifying round fixtures in the Conference League are scheduled for August 6 and 13.
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