Champions Floriana take on Shamrock Rovers of Ireland in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round at the Centenary Stadium on Tuesday, kick-off at 19:30.
After winning the Malta Premier title thanks to a 2-1 win over Marsaxlokk in the Finalissima, Daniel Portela’s side turns its focus on this clash in their bid to make a good run in the UEFA club competitions – their best performance so far being elimination from the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round on penalties to Flora Tallinn.
This summer, the Greens confirmed the backbone of the team which led to the championship with two exceptions, securing the services of central defenders Kauan and Amar Drina, midfielder Gaston Romano, wingers Robert Muric and Ange Curtis N’Dri and forward Tomislav Gudelj.
On the other hand, Jake Grech and Charles M’Mombwa moved to Hamrun Spartans and Zabbar St. Patrick respectively with Antonio Lara, Iago Mendonca, Kouya Mabea, Chico Teixeira, Gonzalo Gamarra and Rui Areias not being retained.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Daniel Portela said “I am satisfied with the new players until now. So far, so good. We are building the team. Although not completely new, it’s a new team. We have had these three and a half weeks to prepare this game. We know it will be a hard game. We will face, for sure, the strongest team in this round but let’s see what’s going on tomorrow. I believe in our team. I believe we can do a surprise.”
Commenting on Shamrock Rovers, Portela said “They are a strong team. They have more experience than us. But we should look for this game as a challenge, even to know what kind of champions we are, because both of us are champions.”
“The most important thing for me is to be a team again, like last season. The more we will play together, the more confidence we have in playing with the ball. The more we play together without the ball is important to get a positive result.“
“If you look at football, it’s not always fair. And even in life, it is not so, but we should keep going and working to get the best for our life. In football, you should keep going and work to get the best result. We can’t control the results. We can control only what we can do to get the best results. And there are two things that are important. To win, you should score. It means the few chances we get, we should score and not allow the opponent tomorrow to get too many chances. And if they have a chance, we need to find a solution so that the ball doesn’t go into our net. This is the most important thing. To be together and not allow the ball to come to our net.”
Captain Dunstan Vella added that within the dressing room, all players know the importance of this game. “It’s not something you experience year in year out. For some of the players this would be their first experience. We have been preparing well for the past three and a half weeks to give the best challenge possible to our opponents and keep fighting till the end.
“It’s an important game for the players and the club. We know that if we win tomorrow and make it to the next round, there is a greater possibility of moving further on. We know the strength of our opponents and as our coach said, this was the strongest team in the draw … a team which qualified for the group stage and league stage of UEFA competitions on several occasions. However we are looking forward for this game. “
Shamrock Rovers are mid-way through a league campaign as they seem heading to a 23rd League of Ireland Premier League championship as they lead the way with 50 points from 25 matches, seven ahead of second-placed Bohemians.
Founded in 1899, Shamrock Rovers Football Club are based in the South Dublin suburb of Tallaght. They are by far the most successful club in the Republic of Ireland, winning the League of Ireland title a record 22 times and the FAI Cup a record 26 times.
Shamrock Rovers won the 2025 League of Ireland after finishing three points ahead of runners-up Derry City and seven ahead of Shelbourne. They also won the FAI Cup after defeating Cork City 2-0 in the final.
In season 2011/12, they made it to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League and the following season, once again to the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League. In 2024/25 they qualified for the league phase of the UEFA Conference League and eventually the Knock-Out Phase after placing tenth where they were eliminated by Molde of Norway on penalties. Last season, they made it to the league phase of the UEFA Conference League, placing 31st.
This is the third time, Shamrock Rovers are facing a Maltese club. In summer 2022, they eliminated Hibernians from the UEFA Champions League after defeating them 3-0 at home and a goalless draw in the second leg. Last year, they were drawn with Hamrun Spartans in the league stage of the UEFA Conference League with the Irish winning 3-1 at home.
The return match between Shamrock Rovers and Floriana will be played on Tuesday 14 at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin.
Should Floriana manage to eliminate Shamrock Rovers from the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, the Greens will be facing the winner of the clash between FC Ararat-Armenia of Armenia and Riga FC of Latvia in the second qualifying round.
On the other hand, in case of elimination, Floriana would enter the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round Champions path where they would face the loser of the tie between FK Kauno Žalgiris of Lithuania and FC Drita of Kosovo.