Slovakia for the first time

The two-leg clash with Spartak Trnava completes Lech’s series of games against teams from countries neighbouring Poland. Back in 1978, Lech faced a German side – MSV Duisburg – for the first time. Then early in the 90’s, the team from Poznań competed in the Champions League qualifiers against Spartak Moscow, and later on against Akhmat Grozny and CSKA Moscow. Although Poland doesn’t have a direct border with Russia, the two countries are considered neighbours because of the Kaliningrad Oblast.

After the Championship title in 2010, Lech started adding new European rivals to its statistics. First, the Poznań side faced Sparta Prague in the Champions League qualifiers, and then in the Europa League play-offs, Lech defeated FK Dnipro and advanced to the group stage. Three years later, the team from Poznań travelled to Lithuania to play against FK Kauno Žalgiris. This season, Lech also faced the same rival in the Europa Conference League qualifiers.

At that point, out of all the neighbouring countries, Lech hadn’t yet played against a Slovakian and a Belarussian side. Finally, in 2018, the team from Poznań met a Belarussian team - FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk - in the international arena. On Thursday, Lech will complete their statistics with a clash against the Slovakian side called Spartak Trnava.

Currently, 55 countries are associated with UEFA, and Slovakia is Lech’s rival number 35 on the list. Last season, the team from Poznań crossed off Luxembourg from the list of countries they haven’t yet faced in the international arena – they successfully eliminated F91 Dudelange in the 4^th qualification round of the Europa Conference League. Now the club has 19 countries left on the list. The team from Poznań is yet to play against clubs from Turkiye, Serbia, Denmark, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldavia, Slovenia, Ireland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands, Northern Ireland, Malta, Andorra, Wales, Montenegro, Gibraltar, and San Marino. Which country will Lech cross off their list next?