Champions and Conference League, crossroads for La Fiorita

Early this afternoon in Nyon the draws were made for the Second Qualifying Round of the Champions League and the Europa Conference League. The latter is La Fiorita’s potential destination should the Gialloblù fail to win the mini-tournament which next week in Reykjavik will involve the national champions of San Marino, Iceland, Andorra and Estonia. Only one side will be able to continue its journey in the Champions League, while the other three – whether eliminated in the semi-finals or in the final – will move into the Conference League Q2. For the team that Lasagni has just guided to the sixth league title in its history, the only certainty so far is the match next Tuesday against Inter d’Escaldes. The clash between the Sammarinese and the Andorrans (21 June, 15:00) will raise the curtain on the 2022-23 Champions League Preliminary Round. The winner will face in the final whoever comes out on top between Levadia Tallinn and Víkingur Reykjavik. Should they succeed, La Fiorita would move on to the Champions League Q1, where their opponents would be Malmö, with the first leg to be played in Sweden. If instead the San Marino champions are beaten on Tuesday by Inter d’Escaldes, the Conference League would pair them with the winner of the tie between the Kosovars Ballkani and the Lithuanians Žalgiris. The scenario would change again in the event of elimination in the final of the Preliminary Round: in that case, they would be looking at 180 minutes against Armenian side Pyunik or Romanian club CFR Cluj. In short, a range of possibilities that it is certainly too early to dwell on, but which as of today are known. Looking back one step, UEFA yesterday evening released the official fixture list for the First Qualifying Round of the Conference League, which also includes Tre Fiori and Tre Penne. Given the impossibility of both clubs playing at home on the same day, despite what the draw had originally provided for, the schedule was adjusted in Nyon. Tre Penne will be the side to make its home debut, hosting Tuzla City on 7 July. At the same time, Tre Fiori, coached by newly appointed Andy Selva, will play in Luxembourg on the pitch of Fola Esch. The return legs will be played the following week, on 14 July. At today’s draw, Tre Penne and Tre Fiori were also able to get a first look at their potential opponents in the Conference League Q2. For the club from Città, a win over Bosnia’s Tuzla City would set up a two-legged tie with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, fifth in the most recent Eredivisie. If Tre Fiori were to repeat the exploit from a few years ago – so far unique in the club’s history – they would then face the winners of the tie between Borac Banja Luka (BIH) and Kauno Žalgiris (LTU). The kick-off times for the matches in the first two qualifying rounds of the European club competitions will be announced by UEFA in the early afternoon of Friday 17 June.

---