UEFA Conference League, first leg. Motherwell host Freiburg.
Tough tie this one for the Steelmen.
https://us.soccerway.com/game/freiburg-fiEQZ7C7/motherwell-YuW7ZfMM/?mid=dYTjg8LU
Niche Cache
Motherwell have been drawn against SC Freiburg (Germany) in the playoff round. One last two-legger to get through before the League Phase... and since this is the third-tier competition there’s no fallback option if they fail. Lose and that’s the end of their continental campaign this season. Freiburg will be a massive challenge. Seventh in the Bundesliga last season, the seventh time in a row that they’ve been top-10 in Germany.
Even more threatening is the fact that they went all the way to the Europa League final in 2025-26, beaten 3-0 by Aston Villa in the decider (Villa got there by defeating Chris Wood’s Nottingham Forest). Freiburg won all seven home games during that run, beating Basel, Utrecht, RB Salzburg, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Genk (R32), Celta Vigo (QF), and Braga (SF). One advantage that Motherwell has is that they’re seven games into their season whereas this will be Freiburg’s first competitive match.
Tough tie this one for the Steelmen.
https://us.soccerway.com/game/freiburg-fiEQZ7C7/motherwell-YuW7ZfMM/?mid=dYTjg8LU
Niche Cache
Motherwell have been drawn against SC Freiburg (Germany) in the playoff round. One last two-legger to get through before the League Phase... and since this is the third-tier competition there’s no fallback option if they fail. Lose and that’s the end of their continental campaign this season. Freiburg will be a massive challenge. Seventh in the Bundesliga last season, the seventh time in a row that they’ve been top-10 in Germany.
Even more threatening is the fact that they went all the way to the Europa League final in 2025-26, beaten 3-0 by Aston Villa in the decider (Villa got there by defeating Chris Wood’s Nottingham Forest). Freiburg won all seven home games during that run, beating Basel, Utrecht, RB Salzburg, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Genk (R32), Celta Vigo (QF), and Braga (SF). One advantage that Motherwell has is that they’re seven games into their season whereas this will be Freiburg’s first competitive match.