News, goals, and analysis – only on the official A BOLA app. St. Gallen’s coach, Enrico Maassen, previewed the match against Benfica, which is part of the first leg of the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. The German coach highlighted the significance of facing ‘one of the biggest teams in Europe,’ with kick-off scheduled for 7 PM on Thursday. For St. Gallen, the favoritism is painted in red, but everyone believes in an upset: ‘We have worked hard to be here. We want to show our identity tomorrow, even though we respect our opponent. No one expects us to advance to the next round, but it could be an opportunity for us.’ Maassen praised a team ‘that has almost no gaps.’ ‘Last season they didn’t lose any games in the league,’ he emphasized. The respect for Benfica shapes St. Gallen’s strategy for the first leg: ‘It won’t be possible to press high for 90 minutes. We will have to run a lot, defend together, and take advantage of opportunities.’ For the German coach, ‘the most important factor will be not to overthink.’ ‘We need to play a good tactical game and be mentally strong,’ he stressed. Thursday will mark Marco Silva’s first official game in charge of Benfica, but St. Gallen has already identified ‘some patterns’ they will seek to ‘control.’ The absence of players who represented their national teams in the World Cup will not impact the ‘high quality’ of the substitutes. On St. Gallen’s side, Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who represented Ghana under Carlos Queiroz in the 2026 World Cup, returned to training last week. Enrico Maassen assures that the starting goalkeeper for the last six seasons ‘is fit’ and ‘will play.’ Conversely, defenders Stephan Ambrosius and Colin Kleine-Bekel, as well as midfielders Nino Weibel and Cyrill May, are out of contention. Former Benfica player Kevin Csoboth is also unavailable due to a tactical decision. Midfielder Behar Neziri and forward Malamine Efekele are training under Enrico Maassen but are doubtful for Thursday’s clash.
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