Sporting de Braga earned a 1-0 home victory against Belarusian runners-up Dinamo Minsk on Thursday in the Conference League third qualifying round. Ricardo Horta scored the only goal of the match from a penalty kick late in the first half. The victory gave the Portuguese team a lead in the tie that held until the final whistle.
The Portuguese side entered the match having already advanced past Zeleznicar Pancevo in the second qualifying round. Their victory against Dinamo Minsk gives them an advantage heading into the return fixture.
Second leg and playoff path
The second leg between Sporting de Braga and Dinamo Minsk is scheduled for August 13 in Bulgaria. The match is being held in Bulgaria due to the war in Ukraine and Belarus being an ally of Russia.
If Sporting de Braga eliminates Dinamo Minsk, the team will advance to the play-off round. In that stage, they will face the winner of the tie between Beitar and Austria Vienna.
Related news
In other news involving Portuguese football, Sporting defeated Scottish champions Celtic in the Algarve with two goals from Daniel Bragança.
In squad changes, Austrian international Florian Grillitsch has left Sporting de Braga.
Off the pitch, the president of Sporting de Braga called the absence of Ricardo Horta from the World Cup squad disrespectful.
In German football, Freiburg lost in the Bundesliga after eliminating Sporting de Braga.
