Pro Sports

FerencvÃ¡ros end 25-year wait to reach Champions League

Posted September 29, 2020 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Tokmac Nguen, centre, of Ferencvaros and Magnus Wolff Eikrem of Molde FK, on ground, vie for the ball, during the Champions League playoff second leg soccer match between Ferencvaros and Molde FK in Groupama Arena, in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (Tamas Kovacs/MTI via AP) The Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) - FerencvÃ¡ros ended a 25-year wait to return to the Champions League group stage on Tuesday, giving Hungary a rare place on European club soccer's biggest stage.

A 0-0 draw at home to Molde in the second leg of the qualifying playoffs took FerencvÃ¡ros through on the away goals rule after a 3-3 draw in Norway last week.

Coach Serhiy Rebrov's team will be the first from Hungary in the 32-team group stage since Debrecen 11 years ago.

FerencvÃ¡ros, which last played in the group stage in 1995, will be the lowest-ranked team in Thursday's draw in Geneva.

It began the season ranked No. 135 in Europe by UEFA and had to advance through four qualifying rounds, beating the champions of Sweden, Scotland, Croatia and Norway..

Rebrov's former team, Dynamo Kyiv, also advanced Tuesday by beating visiting Gent 3-0 to complete a 5-1 aggregate score.

Dynamo scored from the penalty spot in each half to seal its first group-stage place in four years under new coach Mircea Lucescu. The veteran coach was a Champions League regular during a long spell at Dynamo's main rival Shakhtar Donetsk.

At age 75, Lucescu is set to become the oldest coach in a Champions League match when the group stage begins. Jupp Heynckes was 72 as Bayern Munich's coach in the 2017-18 competition.

Olympiakos sealed its 20th Champions League entry by drawing 0-0 in Cyprus against Omonia for a 2-0 aggregate win.

The last three playoff matches are played Wednesday. All qualifying games in UEFA club competitions are being played without fans in the stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Dynamo Kiev's Vitaliy Buyalskiy celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Champions League Play-offs, 2nd leg soccer match between Gent and Dynamo Kyiv at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) The Associated Press

Dynamo Kiev's head coach Mircea Lucescu gives instructions during the Champions League Play-offs, 2nd leg soccer match between Gent and Dynamo Kyiv at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) The Associated Press

Dynamo Kiev's Gerson Rodrigues, center right, and Gent's Nurio Fortuna challenge for the ball during the Champions League Play-offs, 2nd leg soccer match between Gent and Dynamo Kyiv at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) The Associated Press

Molde FK's Etzaz Hussain, centre, vies for the ball with Ferencvaros' Somalia, left, and Tokmac Nguen, during the Champions League playoff second leg soccer match between Ferencvaros and Molde FK in Groupama Arena, in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (Tamas Kovacs/MTI via AP) The Associated Press

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