The Europa Conference League takes 1. FC Köln to France, Serbia and the Czech Republic in the group stage. In Nice, there will be a meeting with Lucien Favre.
Exuberantly, 1. FC Köln celebrated their entry into the group stage of the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening. Just 18 hours after the cheering final whistle in Szekesfehervar, the eyes of surely tired eyes then went to Istanbul, where the draw for the group stage was taking place. UEFA had no time to lose, after all, the first of six matchdays will be played as early as 8 September.
The draw on Friday afternoon revealed charming destinations for FC: Cologne’s European adventure continues in Serbia’s capital, on the French Côte d’Azur and in the Czech Republic. The opponents in Group D are Partizan Belgrade, OGC Nice – coach Lucien Favre’s team – and 1. FC Slovacko.
The FC, on the other hand, were spared heavyweights like West Ham United or last year’s Bayern beaters FC Villarreal.
“Belgrade and Nice are of course illustrious names. It will also be pretty good in terms of atmosphere,” said coach Steffen Baumgart, who will be suspended for the first group game after his yellow card in the play-off second leg at Fehervar FC (3-0). “Our fans, just like us, will be fired up for the duels. We want to have nice, peaceful games and be successful in the group stage,” Baumgart continued.
Managing Director Sport Christian Keller added: “With Nice, we have an opponent from a top-five league in Europe, which is a strong opponent. The games against Belgrade will definitely be hot-blooded. Playing in the Czech Republic will also be an experience. Not only are we excited about the away games, but we’re also really looking forward to the three home games.”
The first group match will take place on 8 September, the last on 3 November. The group winners will qualify directly for the round of 16, the runners-up will play an intermediate round against the third-placed teams in the Europa League. The knockout rounds continue from February onwards. The final will take place in Prague on 7 June 2023.
