UEFA Futsal Champions League Main Round: Piast, Araz, Kauno and Differdange Win Openers
The UEFA Futsal Champions League main round is under way, and the opening day of Path B on Tuesday, October 27, produced four winners and plenty of goals. Hosts Piast Gliwice and Differdange 03 both started with home victories, while Araz Naxçivan edged a nine-goal thriller and Kauno Žalgiris kept a clean sheet in Luxembourg.
Only the group winner in each Path B group reaches the round of 16, so every point in these four-team mini-tournaments matters. After one round of matches, Piast, Araz, Kauno and Differdange all sit on three points at the top of Groups 5 and 6.
Group 5 — Araz edge nine-goal thriller, hosts Piast win in Gliwice
Araz Naxçivan beat Újpest 5-4 in the day’s opening match at Gliwice Arena. Rustamli scored a hat-trick for the Azerbaijani side, with Alakbarov and Manafov also on target, while Újpest replied through Suscsák and Cardoso Alves plus two own goals. It was a wild, back-and-forth contest that only settled in Araz’s favour late on.
In the evening match, hosts Piast Gliwice beat Buba Mara 4-2. Spellanzon, Juan Emilio, Bruno Graça and Kriezel scored for the Polish champions, with Gosto and Pedro Silva replying for the Bosnian side. The home crowd in Gliwice got exactly the start they wanted, and Piast top Group 5 on goal difference.
Group 6 — Differdange strike late, Kauno keep it clean
Kauno Žalgiris beat Unisport 2-0 in Oberkorn, with Vinicius Carvalho scoring both goals in the first ten minutes. The Lithuanian champions never let the Armenian debutants back into the game, and that early double proved enough for a comfortable opening win.
Hosts Differdange 03 then beat Doukas SAC 4-2 in a dramatic finish. Rúben Reis scored twice, including a penalty, before Doukas hit back with two goals in less than a minute through Zompolas and Araujo Barreira De Souza to level at 2-2. Differdange held their nerve, though, with Teka and Bocum scoring in the final minutes to seal the win in front of their home fans.
What happens next
The action does not stop there. Path B continues on Wednesday, October 28, with Buba Mara facing Araz and Piast meeting Újpest in Gliwice, while Doukas play Kauno and Differdange take on Unisport in Oberkorn. Groups 7 and 8 also get under way today, and the big names of Path A — including holders Sporting CP, Barça, Benfica and Kairat Almaty — begin their campaigns, with ElPozo Murcia opening against hosts Tigers Roermond at 20:30.
If you are still learning the game, our guide to futsal positions explains where each player fits on court, and our complete guide for beginners covers the basics of how futsal works.
