Our 36-time champion men's soccer team played its first competitive match in 2026 against Greek side Panathinaikos in the seventh round of the UEFA Europa League group stage. Robbie Keane put his trust in the following starting lineup: Gróf - Makreckis, Cissé, Raemaekers, Szalai, Cadu - Kanikovszki, Júlio Romao, Zachariassen - Levi, Yusuf.

First half

The first chance of the match came in the 11th minute, when Pellistri, inside the box, slipped past Szalai and even managed to dribble past Cadu, but fortunately his shot went over the bar. At the other end, Makreckis ran down the right wing and sent in a cross, but Lafont punched it away, although our winger had already committed a foul. Shortly afterwards, Kanikovszki played a great pass to Levi inside the box, but the Swedish player's shot was blocked. 

In the 28th minute, Pellistri received a good pass, but Gróf came out of his goal excellently, so we avoided any serious danger. Two minutes later, the visitors were awarded a free kick from a dangerous position. Bakasetas' ball from the left found Swiderski's head, but the Polish player's attempt went over the bar. After that, Yusuf's weak header from Cadu's cross from the left did not pose a threat to the Greek goal, then Levi skillfully excluded his opponent and went alone towards the goal, but his cross was blocked. However, the Swede then fired a powerful shot at Lafont's goal, which narrowly missed. These were our moments, with Kanikovszki's perfect pass finding Levi, but his shot was blocked by the defenders. After that, Raemaekers shot wide at the end of a scramble in front of the goal.

Second half

The second half began with a weak shot from Bakasetas, followed by an attempt from Palmer-Brown that forced Gróf to stretch. The Greeks were now dominating the game, and Gróf was called upon again to save a header from Kiriakopoulos. After that, we broke free from the pressure, Palmer-Brown handled Zachariassen's shot, the video referee reviewed the incident and we were awarded a penalty, which Yusuf calmly slotted into the left side of the goal (1-0). The Greeks tried to change the rhythm, but our team stood firm. Levi was replaced by Bence Ötvös in the 73rd minute, and Yusuf was later replaced by Lenny Joseph. After that, Makreckis' cross was met by Cadu, who almost scored from a sharp angle into Lafont's goal. Joseph could have sealed the game, but he misjudged the ball, and instead Zaroury equalized with a shot from distance (1-1). Ádám Madarász came on for Szalai in the final minutes.

There were no more goals, and we earned a point against the Greeks. Next week, we will close out the league stage against Nottingham Forest, with the goal of finishing in the top eight, which would mean automatic qualification for the round of 16.