Besiktas - Hradec Králové UEL Third Qualifying Round Summary
- therookiereporters
- 14 minutes ago
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The Turkish Black Eagles stood before the Czech hopes of returning to the European stage. In the Third Qualifying Round of Europa League, Besiktas and Hradec Králové faced each other for the first time ever.
Under normal circumstances, the Czechian side wasn’t supposed to show up at UEL. After finishing fourth in the Chance Liga, the Rascals were on their way to the Conference League qualifiers. But in March 2026, a match fixing scandal came to surface in Czechia and as a result, the cup winners MFK Karviná got relegated from the first division and also got stripped of their European spot. So, Hradec Králové was given their UEL Second Qualifying Round place and made good use of it by beating the Norwegian side Tromsø 4-1 on aggregate.
David Horejs’ Rascals took off well into their 2026/27 campaign and avoided defeat in the first 4 games (3W, 1D) and intend to keep their good home record and unbeaten streak so far. Mick van Buren has scored 3 goals in 4 games and would like to keep his form, but the team’s greatest asset is still the 36-year old captain, ex-Bundesliga player and 2-times Czech champion Vladimir Darida. The Czech side doesn’t hold the ball in their possession much, but they end up creating danger with attacking transitions or high pressing with extra defence players. Apart from their experienced players, their new young additions Sloncik and Umar may also bring them extra energy in transitions, if they’re given a chance.
Meanwhile, the Black Eagles made a good start to their season with their new coach Vincenzo Italiano and took a 3-0 win on aggregate against the Danish Wolves Midtjylland in the previous round. The captain Orkun Kökcü led his team by example with 2 goals and the new transfers made decent first impressions for their new club and fans. Under Italiano’s management, Besiktas seemed to have found their usual style of play and spirit the fans have been waiting for years and they would like to build up on this promising start against Hradec Králové. With their high possession, pressing and attacking play, Besiktas is seen as the favorites of this tie, but clinical finishing would be crucial facing a team that leaves the ball possession to their opponents. So, as the team’s main striker, the eyes would be on Hyeon-gyu Oh. In addition to the South Korean striker, the new signing Leandro Trossard came back from his World Cup break and joined his first training sessions. The Belgian winger is expected to make his Besiktas debut, however his place in the starting eleven is uncertain. After their absence from the European competitions last year, the Turkish side is 2 games away from guaranteeing a spot in the Conference League at worst case scenario and join their fellow Turkish rivals Trabzonspor in Play-Off Round.In the UEL Third Qualifying Round, here’s how the first-time face-off between the Turkish Black Eagles and the Czech Rascals went.
First Game
The thrilling and close first leg was hosted by the Rascals in Hradec Králové on 6th of August. With a close-range tap-in by the late sub Semih Kilicsoy in the 80th minute, Besiktas won the first leg by 1-0 and took the advantage for their home game. Left-back Kassoum Ouattara was sent off in the 71st minute and won’t be available in the second leg. Mick van Buren of Hradec Králové could also see a red in the second half, but the Dutch managed to avoid it. The first half was close between the teams, both of them found clear chances to score, however Emirhan Topcu’s and Jakub Uhrincat’s heroic defending efforts kept the scoreline unchanged. With the start of the second half Black Eagles took the momentum at their side and even when they were down to 10-men, they didn’t give up on their attacking approach, which eventually forced Rascals defence to a costly mistake. Alexander Nübel was another key figure in the Turkish side’s victory with the 8 saves he made. Sloncik and especially Oh put in lots of effort to score for their respective teams, but luck wasn’t on their side.
Second Game
Next week, Besiktas welcomes the Czech side in Istanbul and wins with the same result. But this time, it’s the Eagles’ Czech winger Vaclav Cerny, who determines the score in the 40th minute. From the first whistle to the dying minutes, Besiktas was in control of the game. With the fiery home crowd behind them, the Turkish side bombarded the Hradec Králové goal with many players taking their chances. Not only did the Czech defenders get on their way, but they also struggled to find the target time to time. The Rascals found a few attempts as well, captain Darida and Sloncik knocked the doors for a goal, but they could neither get the ball past the side nets nor Alexander Nübel. The Czech side was the one with the higher ball possession towards the end, because Besiktas settled for the score and focused on defending it. Especially in the first half, Besiktas shone with their quick passing transitions into attack and their winner came in a similar manner, with Junior Olaitan in the conductor role. In the last third of the game, the new signing Leandro Trossard finally got the chance to make his Black Eagles debut.
These scorelines conclude the tie 2-0 on aggregate for Besiktas’ favour. Alexander Nübel, Emirhan Topcu and Salih Özcan became the key players for the winning side. The German glove is yet to concede a goal after his first 4 outings and he teamed up with the Turkish defender to keep their 10-men team alive in Czechia, they became the heroes of the first game. Meanwhile, the determined Özcan in the midfield kept taking the ball back from the opposition and rallying his teammates for attack. Leandro Trossard could find very little game time of 24 minutes, so it’s too early to say anything about the Belgian, but he’ll most likely be included in the starting eleven from the league opener on the weekend or next week’s Play-Off tie on. This matchup also gave everyone another glimpse of Vincenzo Italiano’s tactical understanding of attacking football, especially in the first leg. The changes he made on the pitch after the red card made his attacking intentions very clear and his team responded with the winning goal. However, the one concerning thing about the Turkish side in this matchup was the quality of finishing. Hyeon-gyu Oh gave his everything to find at least a goal in the tie, but his determination also blinded him in some cases, where he could do the extra pass for his fellow attackers to finish. It’s promising to see how many players attempt to contribute to the scoreline, but still the Turkish side has problems at that last touch, which may be solved very soon, after Dušan Vlahović’s recent arrival.
On the other hand, Hradec Králové gave Besiktas more challenges than most people expected. They found the opportunities to take the lead, tie and even win their home game, but Nübel and Topcu stood in their way. The Rascals couldn’t be much effective in the second leg and struggled to find the target, nonetheless they didn’t go down without a fight. Sloncik seemed to be the most dangerous player of the Czech side and gave Amir Murillo hard times at defending him, but the young winger couldn’t score any. The defenders also put in a valiant effort to withstand the Black Eagles’ shotpower, however one tiny mistake and a little too much space given were enough for their opponents’ benefit. With this defeat, Hradec Králove fell down to the Conference League Play-Offs for a last chance to participate in European competitions this season. The Rascals will face the Greek representatives Panathiniakos for a spot in the UECL League Phase.
In the end, Besiktas overcame the Czech side Hradec Králové over both games and guaranteed their spot in the European competitions for this season. With another victory over the Lithuanian side Kauno Žalgiris, the Turkish side will participate in the UEL League Phase. Otherwise, the Conference League will be their destination. We’ll see in two weeks, where the Black Eagles land to hunt.
Article written by Emre Albas © Emre Albas 2026
