Raków Częstochowa and GKS Katowice advance in Europa Conference League

Polish football clubs Raków Częstochowa and GKS Katowice have both progressed to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League, keeping alive their hopes of European competition.

Raków Częstochowa bounced back from their first-leg loss with a commanding 4-0 win over their Maltese opponents. After conceding an early goal in the previous match, Raków took control early in this second leg, with Michael Ameyaw opening the scoring. Tomasz Pieńko quickly doubled the lead, and further goals from Adin Molnar and Patryk Makuch sealed a comprehensive victory. Raków will now face Swedish side Hammarby IF, who were relegated from the Europa League.

GKS Katowice, playing in European competitions for the first time in 23 years, also managed to overturn a first-leg deficit against MSK Žilina. Adam Zrelak scored to level the tie in the second half, but Frantisek Kosa equalized for the visitors. However, GKS delivered a strong finish, with Mateusz Wdowiak and Ilja Szkuryn scoring within three minutes to secure a 3-1 victory on the night and a 4-3 aggregate win. GKS is set to play against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the next round.

With Raków and GKS advancing, a total of five Polish teams will compete in European tournaments next week. Jagiellonia Białystok will begin their Europa League campaign against Glasgow Rangers, while Lech Poznań and Górnik Zabrze, who were eliminated from the Champions League, will compete in the Europa League against KI Klaksvik and Ferencváros, respectively. The matches for the next round of the Conference League and Europa League are scheduled for August 6 and 13.