UEFA Europa League: NK Rijeka Discover Group Stage Opponents
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Tough draw for NK Rijeka (Photo credit: NK Rijeka)
Croatian champions NK Rijeka have learned their UEFA Europa League group opponents after today’s draw in Monaco.
NK Rijeka is the only club in European competition this season after Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb and NK Osijek all failed to advance after the playoff round.
NK Rijeka has draw Italian giants AC Milan, AEK from Greece, and Austria Wien, who knocked out Osijek in qualifying.
Group D
AC Milan
Austria Wien
NK Rijeka
AEK
NK Rijeka qualified automatically for the UEFA Europa League after being knocked out in the UEFA Champions League play off by Greek club Olympiacos.
“This is a very serious thing. When you’re up there against teams that you can only dream about playing, the only thing you can do is work hard and do your best. Being in the Europa League is motivation enough for Rijeka to keep working hard,” Matjaž Kek, Rijeka coach, said.
Group Stage Matchdays:
Matchday one: 14 September
Matchday two: 28 September
Matchday three: 19 October
Matchday four: 2 November
Matchday five: 23 November
Matchday six: 7 December
The final will be played at Stade de Lyon on 16 May 2018.
