Eintracht Frankfurt’s footballers have cleared the first hurdle on their way to the Champions League.
In the semi-finals of the first-round qualifying tournament at home against the Czech representatives 1. FC Slovacko, the former title holders scored a 1-0 (1-0) win and thus reached the final without his injured international Sara Doorsoun.
In the final for participation in the decisive play-offs, coach Niko Arnautis’ team will meet Italy’s five-time champions Juventus Turin on Saturday (1 p.m.) in the Deutsche Bank Park, which has a capacity of 51,500 spectators.
For the hosts, who last triumphed in 2015 under their original name 1. FFC Frankfurt in the most important competition in European women’s football, Slovenian striker Lara Prasnikar scored the winning goal after 24 minutes. Overall, however, the third-placed team in the Bundesliga had a harder time than expected in their first competitive game of the new season.
In the final, Eintracht is battling not only against Juventus, who won their semi-final against WFC Oqschetpes/Kazakhstan 6-0, but also against the shadows of the past. A year ago, Frankfurt also reached the final of the first round, but missed the play-offs against the Dutch top team Ajax Amsterdam by conceding a goal in added time.