After being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round by Shamrock Rovers with a 5-3 aggregate score, Floriana host FC Drita of Kosovo in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round at the Centenary Stadium on Tuesday, kick-off at 19:30.
The Greens had won the first leg 2-0 but Shamrock Rovers won 5-1 in the second leg to secure a spot in the second qualifying round condemning Floriana to the UEFA Conference League.
Despite the heavy defeat in the second leg, Floriana coach Daniel Portela said that he was satisfied with the team’s performance in the first leg and the first half in Dublin but admitted that the team lost its identity during the second half. He stressed that the team has its values and principles which they should play for.
“We have our values, our principles, and all we should do is be better than last year. Because if we are the same as last year, it will be not enough to fight for the championship. Winners show their worth when they lose. We are here, we play at home in front of our supporters, and we should be better than last year. This is 100% sure and I believe we can be much better than we were in the second half and we can even be better than our game at home with Shamrock Rovers.”
“I believe we can beat Drita, but we should show our worth on the pitch. To be honest, we should every time look for what we have first, and then look at what our opponent can do to us. There will be difficult moments, not so difficult, but for me, every time, it’s important to focus on ourselves first.”
“Drita can beat our game, because in this competition, every match is a difficult match. We should be more prepared, and when we get a chance, we should score. I remember that against Shamrock Rovers, when they were winning 4-1, we got two chances to get back in the game. And we didn’t. We need the team to be compact, like the first game at home. We want to score in the few or many chances we may have.”
“I believe there will be balance between us and that for the first fifty minutes, we will probably study each other … the important thing is that we know our strength.”
Daniel Portela should have the full squad at his disposal. The team has been strengthened in the past days with the arrival of Paul Mbong and Yassine Jbira who both should be part of the squad on Tuesday.
FC Drita are based in Gjilan in Kosovo. They competed in the Kosovo Province League in the former Yugoslavia where they were declared champions in the 1962–63 season. Following the formation of the Football Federation of Kosovo, Drita started competing in the Kosovar league, winning their first Superliga championship in 2002/03. They won the championship once again 2017/18 and 2019/20 before two back-to-back titles in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Drita competed in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 2018/19, becoming the first Kosovar team to win a Champions League match after defeating FC Santa Coloma.
Last season, they made it to the knock-out phase of the UEFA Conference League. They eliminated Differdange 03 of Luxembourg from the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League but after being eliminated by FC Copenhagen in the second qualifying round and eventually FCSB from the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, they ended up meeting Differdange 03 once again in the play-off round, beating them on 3-1 aggregate score. They collected eight points thanks to wins over Shelbourne and Shkendija and draws with KuPS and Omonia Nicosia, losing to AZ Alkmaar and Rayo Vallecano. In the they were eliminated by Celje of Slovenia.
This season, like Floriana, Drita were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round after losing 2-3 at home to Kauno Zalgiris of Lithuania following a 1-1 draw away from home.
The second leg is scheduled for July 28 at the Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri in Pristina. The winner between Floriana and Drita will be facing SS Tre Fiori of San Marino in the third qualifying round.