As previously reported, Dynamo Kyiv’s first opponent in the qualification for the Champions League will be the winner of the first qualification round of the tournament between Zalgiris (Vilnius, Lithuania) and Hamrun (Malta).
Players of Zalgiris for the 2025 season. Photo — FC ZalgirisThe first match for the “white-blue” team will take place on July 22/23 at the opponent’s field, while the return match will be on July 29/30 in Lublin, where the Dynamo players will host their opponents from European competitions in the upcoming season.
Zalgiris. Triumph in last season, failure in the current one
The team from Vilnius confidently became the champion of Lithuania for 2024 (the season in this country follows a spring-autumn system), finishing the national championship with a 12-point lead over second place. This is the 11th championship title for the “green-whites”.
Top three in the Lithuanian championship standings for the 2024 season (during the tournament of 36 rounds):
1. Zalgiris - 79 points (24 wins, 7 draws, 5 losses, goal difference - 76:31)
2. Hegelman Litauen - 67 (19, 10, 7, 60:40)
3. Kauno Zalgiris - 55 (15, 9, 12, 43:40).
In the 2024 Lithuanian Cup, Zalgiris only reached the Round of 16, where it was knocked out by a lesser-known team for Ukrainian fans, Transinvest Vilnius (1:2)
For the 2025 season, Zalgiris began with a victory in the Lithuanian Super Cup against Banga (2:2, penalties - 5:3).
However, the current championship for Zalgiris, Dynamo’s opponent, is not going well: after 16 rounds, Zalgiris occupies only 8th place in the tournament table (there are a total of 10 teams in the tournament), sitting six points above the relegation zone. The Vilnius team has won 4 matches, drawn 7, and lost 5 (goal difference - 19:21).
In the current Lithuanian Cup, Zalgiris achieved the same result as in the previous season: in the Round of 16, the “green-whites” lost to Kauno Zalgiris (2:4).
The top scorer for Zalgiris in the 2024 season was Romanian forward Liviu Antal (20 goals), but he no longer plays for the club, and in the current season, the leading scorer for the Vilnius team is Brazilian forward Henrique Devens - 6 goals in 14 matches.
In terms of its roster, Zalgiris is an international team: it includes 17 legionnaires from 14 countries.
Hamrun. The Brazilian option
The Maltese championship follows an autumn-spring system, so Hamrun (full name of the club - Hamrun Spartans) is the champion of the country for the 2024/25 season.
Interestingly, Dynamo’s opponent struggled to reach the championship group (places 1-6) after the first stage of the championship: Hamrun finished sixth, gathering as many points as Hibernians, which ended up in seventh place.
In the championship group, Hamrun performed much better and ultimately ended up in second place. Yet, as per the format of the Maltese championship, the tournament did not conclude there but moved into the final playoff stage, with four best teams participating.
Hamrun for the 2024/25 season. Photo - FC HamrunIn the semi-finals of the championship playoffs, Hamrun beat Floriana (0:0, penalties - 4:2), and in the final, they triumphed over Birkirkara (1:0), thus becoming the champions of Malta for the tenth time.
Similar to Zalgiris, the leading scorer of Hamrun is Brazilian forward Rafael Lopes, who scored 16 goals in 38 matches of the 2024/25 season. During the previous season, the Maltese team had seven Brazilians registered, including goalkeeper Celio.
Additionally, the first match between Zalgiris and Hamrun will take place on July 9 in Vilnius, while the return match will be held on July 15 in Hamrun.
