The third of three competitions have been finalised for the season ahead. With the Champions League and the Europa League in the books, it was finally time for the UEFA Europa Conference League Draw. Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, is the location for this year’s final and here is the draw in its entirety.
UEFA Europa Conference League Draw
West Ham United Have Another Belgium Team In European Group Stage
Occupying pot one were a number of strong sides, including West Ham United and Villarreal. The Irons made it to the semi-final of last season’s Europa League whilst the Spaniards got to the same stage in the Champions League. Unai Emery’s men went all the way in the Europa League in 2021 and so his European experience could make the difference once again.
David Moyes’ side are first faced with Steaua Bucharest, a team with heritage on the continent having won the European Cup in 1985/86. Also, Anderlecht, who themselves have won five European titles over the years. Meanwhile, Villarreal are faced by one of a number of teams making their debut in the UEFA Europa Conference League draw, and in any competition like this for that matter.
Group stage draw ✅
🤔 Best group? #UECL | #UECLdraw pic.twitter.com/wzBA4ok52G
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) August 26, 2022
West Ham are the only English representation but Heart of Midlothian and Shamrock Rovers are flying the flag for Scotland and the Republic of Ireland respectively. Hearts lost to Zurich in the Europa League qualifiers and so feature here instead. It isn’t easy for them as they face a very strong Fiorentina side as well as a former foe of Manchester United, Istanbul Basaksehir. Bertrand Traore, Mesut Ozil and Nacer Chadli are amongst their ranks.
One other group to watch out for following this UEFA Europa Conference League draw is Group D. Partizan Belgrade are infamous for their raucous atmosphere plus they are joined by two teams from Europe’s big five. Former Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre is now back at the helm of OGC Nice whilst FC Koln are a Bundesliga mainstay now.
#EuropaConferenceLeague@WestHam draw @rscanderlecht, Hearts to play Fiorentina in Conference League
READ: https://t.co/b8Fu1GXtSs pic.twitter.com/oYvB42QdUq
— TOI Sports (@toisports) August 26, 2022
The Lay of the Land From the UEFA Europa Conference League Draw
Group A: Istanbul Basaksehir, Fiorentina, Hearts, RFS
Group B: West Ham United, Steaua Bucharest, RSC Anderlecht, Silkeborg IF
Group C: Villarreal CF, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Austria Wien, Lech Poznan
Group D: FK Partizan, FC Koln, OGC Nice, FC Slovacko
Group E: AZ Alkmaar, Apollon Limassol, FC Vaduz, Dnipro-1
Group F: KAA Gent, Molde FK, Shamrock Rovers, Djurgardens IF
Group G: SK Slavia Praha, CFR Cluj, Sivasspor, Ballkani
Group H: FC Basel, Slovan Bratislava, Zalgiris Vilnius, FC Pyunik
