On Thursday, July 16 at 20:30 Kyiv time, Dynamo will play the return leg of the 1st qualifying round of the Europa League against Universitatea Cluj-Napoca. The starting situation — 0:0 after the first match — looks neutral, but in reality favors the Romanian side.
First match: Lublin instead of Kyiv, draw instead of advantage
A week ago, Dynamo played its "home" match at the Lublin Arena — due to the inability to play in Ukraine during the full-scale war. The Kyiv team clearly dominated their opponent: 63% possession, several prepared shots by Pikhalenka, a crossbar hit from Shaparenko in the 79th minute, and a stoppage due to loss of lighting five minutes before the end — the stadium's lights went out for eight minutes. But no goals. The only real chance for the Romanians in the first half was stopped by Neshcheret.
"Dynamo was the favorite and remains one. This is a very good result. We prepared for the match so as not to leave them any free space."
Rado Konstanția, president of Universitatea
The opponent is not as helpless as it seems
Universitatea is not an outsider in the Romanian top division. Last season under 61-year-old Italian Cristiano Bergodi, the club became champions runner-up for the first time in 93 years and reached the Romanian Cup final. Before this confrontation, the team had a streak of four consecutive matches without scoring goals — it was broken only on July 12 in the Super Cup. Another important detail: the club's top scorer Jovo Lukic missed the first match due to participation in the 2026 World Cup as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina's national team.
After the first match, Bergodi did not hide his satisfaction:
"It would be a miracle to knock out such a superpower. And we have such a chance, since we start with a 0:0 score."
Cristiano Bergodi, head coach of Universitatea
What is at stake
The winner of the pair in the second round will face Greek PAOK — a four-time Greek champion. PAOK will host the first match in Thessaloniki on July 23. If Dynamo does not get past Universitatea, the Kyiv club will move to the 2nd qualifying round of the Conference League against Norwegian Brann — a much less prestigious route and significantly lower prize money.
- Dynamo advances → second round of EL, opponent PAOK (July 23 and 30)
- Dynamo is eliminated → second round of Conference League, opponent Brann (Norway)
Bookmakers' predictions favor the Kyiv club: Dynamo's victory in the return match is valued at 1.60 odds, a draw — 4.20, Universitatea's win — 5.00. The Kyiv team's advancement to the next round — 1.33 odds.
If Dynamo for the second match in a row cannot break through Bergodi's organized defense — and the Romanians allowed only one shot on goal in the first match — the path to the Europa League group stage will close at the first step: will this mean that Igor Kostyuk's coaching staff will reconsider their approach to attack before a possible penalty shootout?
