If eliminated: Hapoel Be'er Sheva will meet Thun in the Europa League
Dinamo Zagreb erased a 2:0 deficit, won 3:2 in extra time, and eliminated the Swiss team from the Champions League qualifiers. Where will the Israeli champion play next week?
Hapoel Be'er Sheva will host the Icelandic team Vikingur tomorrow (Wednesday, 20:30, Sport2), aiming to overturn the 2:1 loss from the first leg in Iceland and advance to the third qualifying round of the Champions League. If they fail to win and are eliminated from the most prestigious competition of all, they will face the Swiss team Thun in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, after Dinamo Zagreb completed a dramatic comeback against them.
After a 1:1 draw in the first leg in Switzerland, Thun was already on its way to a major surprise as they went up 2:0 in Zagreb with goals from Brighton Labeau (4) and Nicola Bürki (22), but in the 67th minute, Bürki was sent off with a red card following a VAR intervention. Dinamo utilized the numerical advantage to get back into the game: Dion Beljo narrowed the gap in the 74th minute, and Luka Kačavenda equalized four minutes later, sending the match to extra time.
The Croatians continued to press in the additional 30 minutes, and in the 113th minute, Moris Vrlinčić completed a massive comeback with a goal that made it 2:3 and sent Dinamo to the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Thun, which will drop to the Europa League qualifiers, will be the opponent of Hapoel Be'er Sheva if the Reds are eliminated against Vikingur. Captain Nicola Bürki, who was sent off, will miss his team's match next week.
If Hapoel Be'er Sheva is eliminated, their matches in the third qualifying round of the Europa League will take place on Thursdays over the next two weeks, August 6 and 13. If they pass Vikingur, they are expected to face Red Star Belgrade, the champion of Serbia, next week.
Also this evening, the Swedish team Mjällby and the Azerbaijani team Sabah secured a place in the league phase of a European competition for the first time in their history, after eliminating Lincoln Red Imps and KuPS respectively and advancing to the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
