An All-Belgian Europa Conference League Semi-Final?
by Steve Ashfield | by Steve Ashfield
Belgian Delights in the Europa Conference League?
The national team might not have done well in the 2022 World Cup but Belgian clubs have had successful campaigns this season. Each of the three European competitions saw at least one club from Belgium reach the knockout stages. Two have made it into the last eight of the Europa Conference League but can they reach the last four? If they do, we'd be set for an all-Belgian clash in the semi-finals.. Here's the draw for the quarter and semi-finals:
Quarter Finals
- Lech Poznan v Fiorentina
- Gent v West Ham United
- Anderlecht v AZ Aalkmaar
- Basel v Nice
The ties are being played on April 13 and 20. In the last four, the winners of match 1 face the victors in match 4. The winners of matches 2 and 3 meet in the semi-finals so we could see Gent face Anderlecht.
Gent Gunning for First Semi-Final
Gent have made it through to only their second European last eight appearance. There's been a 30 year wait as the only other time in a quarter final was in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup (now the Europa League). After finishing second in their Europa Conference League group, Gent needed a penalty shoot-out to get past Qarabag in the Knockout Play-off round.
It was tight in their last 16 match against Istanbul Basaksehir. The home first leg saw them come from behind to draw 1-1. Gift Orban (above) scored their goal but more was to come in an amazing second leg in Turkey. Orban scored a hat-trick between the 31st and 34th minute. Three minutes later they went 4-0 up and eventually won 4-1. At the time of writing this article on April 4, Gent had won each of their last four games, scoring 18 goals. Orban has been responsible for half those goals, so be beware West Ham.
Another Semi-Final for the Hammers?
This time last year, West Ham were in the quarter finals of the Europa League. They made it through to the last four but lost to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt and their dreams of Champions League football ended. A year later, they are again doing well in European competition but have serious relegation fears in the English Premier League.
West Ham have won all ten of their games in this season's Europa Conference League. All a bit frustrating for their fans who have seen them win just seven of their 27 Premier League games. The Hammers finished ten points clear of their group and that included two wins over Anderlecht who they could meet in the last four. The last 16 saw them get a comfortable 6-0 aggregate win over AEK Larnaca.
They continue to be inconsistent in the Premier League, though home results have been picking up. With the first leg in Belgium, West Ham will do their best to get a good result to take back to the London Stadium. They are our pick to reach the last four but need to be careful with the in-form Orban.
Fiorentina in Top Form
Fiorentina are the form side at present. They had won nine games in a row before the April 5 Italian Cup tie at Cremonese. Their good run has taken them to ninth in Serie A but still struggling to get into European competition next season. The Italian side came through the Europa Conference League play-off round to finish second behind Istanbul Basaksehir after earning 13 points from six games. In the Knockout Play-off round, Fiorentina won the away first leg in Braga 4-0. They trailed 2-0 at home in the second leg but went on to win that 3-2.with Cabral (above) scoring three goals in the tie.
The last 16 saw them take on Sivasspor, winning the home leg 1-0 and then they again scored four goals in the away second leg. They take on Lech Poznan in the last eight and they are our pick to make it to the last four.
In the other two quarter finals, Anderlecht take on AZ Aalkmar and both had good wins in the last 16. The Belgians beat Villarreal drawing at home and winning in Spain after needing penalties to get past Ludogorets Razgrad in the previous round. . AZ meanwhile eliminated Lazio, winning each leg 2-1 after winning their group by five points. This tie could go either way with slight preference for AZ.
Nice are the only French club remaining in the Europa Conference League. They won their group and then got past Sheriff Tiraspol in the last 16. They face Basel in the quarter finals after beating Slovan Bratislava (who they finished behind in their group) on penalties. Nice look the most likely qualifiers here.
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