Slovácká mission Trondheim, the team from Uherské Hradiště fights for the Champions League

This year, the spectators in Uherské Hradiště can enjoy the European Cup not only with the men’s team. The women are also playing in the most prestigious continental club competition, with a mini-tournament in Trondheim, Norway. In their way in the semi-final is the Belarusian FK Minsk.

Slovácko has established itself as the third best team in the Czech Republic behind Prague S. The domestic league, as the sixth in the coefficient order, sends three teams to the Champions League. However, coach Petr Vlachovsky’s charges have to go through three other contenders in their quest for a dream participation.

The first preliminary round will be played as a mini-tournament, in the case of the Czech team in Norway. In the semi-finals, they will face FK Minsk from Belarus. The latter finished second in the domestic league last season behind city rivals Dinamo, which was also the only team to turn it around.

The 111:4 record from 16 matches is also respectable, with Minsk only conceding four goals against Dinamo. Meanwhile, in the 2019/2020 season, this club reached the eighth round, where it was eliminated by Barcelona.

However, coach Vlachovsky is optimistic about his charges’ chances. “Minsk is playable, we will get as much information as possible about our opponents and do our best to advance,” he told iDobrýDen.

Starting this season, he will miss the league’s third-leading scorer Michaela Dubcova, who followed her sister to AC Milan. But she could be replaced by a new signing, American Hailey Bicknell. She arrived from Tel Aviv, Israel, where she scored six goals last season.

It is uncertain whether she will be on the pitch against Minsk, as Aneta Polášková showed decent shooting form in the preparation. Coach Vlachovsky will hope that she will be in good shape for the start of the season in Norway.

The semi-final match is scheduled for Thursday 18th August at 12:00. If they manage to get past their Belarusian opponents, the better of the Breidablik/Rosenborg pair would await them.

Sources: UEFA, iDobrýDen