UEFA Futsal Champions League Main Round Results: Piast Hit Five, Kauno Reach First-Ever Last 16
Friday night settled two more groups in the UEFA Futsal Champions League main round. Piast Gliwice thrashed Araz Naxçivan 5-0 in front of their own fans in Gliwice, while Kauno Žalgiris won a high-scoring decider 7-4 away at hosts Differdange 03. Both winners topped their groups unbeaten and booked a place in the round of 16, with the draw to come on November 4.
Piast put five past Araz in Gliwice
Piast knew only a win would do, and they left nothing to chance. Rafa Félix opened the scoring in the fourth minute, Franco Spellanzon doubled the lead three minutes later, and Jani Korpela made it 3-0 inside eight minutes. Dill added a fourth before half-time, and Korpela struck again in the 36th minute to complete a 5-0 rout. It was a ruthless, composed performance from the Polish champions, who finished Group 5 on seven points from three games and reached the last 16 for a second straight season.
The earlier game in the group had already set the tone. Buba Mara beat Újpest 8-3, with Perić scoring a hat-trick, but even that big win was not enough to catch Piast. Buba Mara finished second on six points, Araz ended third on three, and Újpest finished bottom with a single point. In a group where only the winner goes through, Piast’s unbeaten run made the difference.
Kauno make history in Luxembourg
Over in Differdange, Kauno Žalgiris wrote a small piece of club history. The Lithuanian champions beat the hosts 7-4 in the group’s deciding game to top Group 6 with seven points and reach the round of 16 for the first time ever. It capped an unbeaten mini-tournament for Kauno, who had earlier beaten Unisport 2-0 and drawn 4-4 with Doukas.
The day had started with Unisport keeping their own hopes alive, beating Doukas 6-2 thanks to two goals each from Elisandro and Vasilev. That result briefly put the Armenian side top of the group, but Kauno’s evening win moved them back above Unisport, who finished second on six points. Hosts Differdange ended third on three points, and Doukas finished bottom with one.
What happens next
With Groups 5 and 6 complete, 12 of the 16 round-of-16 places are now decided. The remaining four come from Saturday’s finals, when the Path A groups and Path B Groups 7 and 8 all reach their conclusion. The round-of-16 draw takes place on November 4, with the two-legged ties played on November 23 and December 4, building towards the four-team finals in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, on May 7 and 9, 2027.
For Piast and Kauno, though, the hard part of this week is already done. Both went into Friday needing a win, both got one in style, and both will be in the hat on Wednesday — exactly where they wanted to be when this five-a-side game of fine margins began on Tuesday. The positions on court will matter even more from here, because from the last 16 onwards there is no group safety net left.
