League, Europe comes into view: first legs of the play-off semi-finals tomorrow

Having reached this stage of the bracket, each of the four teams still in contention in the play-offs can legitimately start thinking about the prospect of playing in the 2025-26 UEFA Conference League. Looking at the two pairings, and not least on the strength of what they have shown over the regular season, La Fiorita and Tre Fiori are being tipped as favourites.

But watch out for Cosmos, captained by Loiodice – the only player walking a disciplinary tightrope on the eve of the first legs – because the Serravalle club seem to have found the right formula. Not by chance, this coincides with the full-time return of Imre Badalassi, who has once again been making his presence felt on the scoresheet – hardly a novelty. In the delicate double-header with Tre Penne, both Cosmos goals bore the signature of the standout marksman of recent years in Sammarinese football. It would be limiting, however, to reduce everything to a single player, and indeed the recent performances of Andy Selva’s men have been more than convincing in every area of the pitch. Tomorrow they face La Fiorita, with kick-off in Dogana at 15:00. The leading contender for the title, Ceci’s side lost just once in the league regular season and can also boast a positive head-to-head record against each of the three remaining rivals. All eyes, therefore, on the match at the Ezio Conti, which will launch the semi-final programme.

Shortly after the final whistle in La Fiorita-Cosmos, Tre Fiori-San Giovanni will take centre stage, the other tie that will decide who reaches the final of the Campionato Sammarinese play-offs. Girolomoni’s Gialloblù shone in the two Fiorentino derbies against their rossoblù namesakes and will start as favourites. That is a status Tognacci’s men have already shown they can overturn, as demonstrated against Folgore. Now a mature side and significantly strengthened in every department, San Giovanni dream of cementing a competitive cycle by chasing a forbidden dream. Any concern over Azael Garcia Rufer’s injury in the second leg with Folgore will need to be replaced by the enthusiasm of playing such a pivotal match. Not that it is any less important for Tre Fiori, who could also reach the UEFA Conference League by winning the Coppa Titano in the final against Virtus on 24 May. Since the league reverted to a single round-robin format and the play-offs began offering a European berth without an accompanying trophy, one of the two Coppa Titano finalists has always been the Sammarinese league champions. Never, however, has the other finalist also gone all the way in the Campionato Sammarinese play-offs: this is what Prandelli and his team-mates will be targeting. The league’s top scorer struck again in the two legs against Faetano, moving on to 21 goals in 31 appearances. Kick-off is at 17:30 tomorrow on the Montecchio artificial pitch, for the fifth chapter this season in the rivalry between San Giovanni and Tre Fiori.

Here is the full schedule for the 2024-25 Campionato Sammarinese play-off semi-finals, all available to watch free of charge on Titani.tv: