Braga get Austria Wien in the Conference League play-off (and the first leg is at home on 20 August)
A goalless draw against Dinamo Minsk on Bulgarian soil, added to the 1-0 from the first leg, carried Braga into the last round before the league phase. The Austrians visit on 20 August and host the return on the 27th.
Braga did not need to score to go through. Thursday’s goalless draw with Dinamo Minsk, played on Bulgarian soil, was enough to protect the 1-0 from the first leg and book the last qualifying round before the Conference League proper.
Waiting for them is Austria Wien, who settled their own tie with Beitar Jerusalem. The Austrian club has already opened travel bookings for the trip to Braga, which pins the dates down: first leg at the Pedreira on 20 August, return in Vienna on the 27th.
What is riding on it
This is the difference between a European autumn and a domestic one. Win, and you are into the league phase with the fixtures, the revenue and the competitive rhythm that brings. Lose, and there is nothing else — the Conference League is the bottom rung, and nothing catches you below it.
Austria Wien is not a kind draw either. They hold 24 Austrian titles and turn up in European qualifying most seasons, and they have arrived here by the same route as Braga: getting past whoever was in front of them without much fanfare.
How Braga got here
Braga’s European campaign has been low-key from the start, opening with a goalless draw in Serbia and continuing in narrow margins ever since. Three rounds, few goals, no defeats. It works, but it keeps leaving the second leg live.
One absence matters for the preparation: Gorby is out for around three weeks with an injury and will miss the first leg.
For Portuguese clubs, August is stacking up on the same two dates — Benfica play their Europa League play-off on the 20th and the 27th too. Two Thursdays will settle a good part of the autumn.
By Vasco Almada
Image: Joseolgon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
