Event | 2023–24 Belgian Cup | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
Date | 9 May 2024 | ||||||
Venue | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels | ||||||
Referee | Erik Lambrechts | ||||||
Weather | sunny | ||||||
The 2024 Belgian Cup Final, named Croky Cup after the sponsor, will be the 69th Belgian Cup final and is scheduled to be played on 9 May 2024. Union SG qualified on 28 February for its third ever Cup final, 110 years after last reaching it in 1914. One day later, current cup holders Antwerp became their opponent, qualifying for its sixth final. Antwerp would be the first club to defend its title since Club Brugge won the 1996 Belgian Cup final after having already won the 1995 Belgian Cup final.
Union SG | Antwerp | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opponent | Result | Legs | Scorers | Round | Opponent | Result | Legs | Scorers |
Meux (IV) | 2–1 | 2–1 home | Leysen, Rasmussen | Seventh round | Lierse Kempenzonen (II) | 4–1 | 4–1 away | Alderweireld, Ilenikhena, De Laet, Oularé ( o.g. ) |
Beveren (II) | 2–0 | 2–0 away | Bateau ( o.g. ), Koyalipou ( o.g. ) | Eighth round | Charleroi (I) | 5–2 | 5–2 home | Ejuke, Boukamir ( o.g. ), Janssen (2), Ilenikhena |
Anderlecht (I) | 2–1 | 2–1 home | Lapoussin, Rodríguez (pen.) | Quarter-finals | OH Leuven (I) | 3–2 | 3–2 away | Janssen (2 of which 1 pen. ), Van Den Bosch |
Club Brugge (I) | 3–2 | 1–2 away; 2–0 home | Machida; Amoura, Sykes | Semi-finals | Oostende (II) | 4–1 | 1–1 away; 3–0 home | Doumbia; Ilenikhena (2), Van Den Bosch |
Going into the match, both teams were struggling: Antwerp had a difficult season as defending league and cup champions and despite playing in the UEFA Champions League during the season, the club had ups and downs throughout the season and was currently only in 6th in the league, which would mean they were not going to qualify for European football. Meanwhile, Union SG had dominated the regular season, but had been struggling since the playoffs (starting with four losses) and had dropped from first to third place, with three matches to go however, they could still win the title.
The winner of the match qualifies for the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League Play-off round. If Union SG were to win but also finish in the top two of the league, they would instead qualify for the qualifying rounds of the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League, with the ticket for the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League Play-off round, in that case, being passed along to the third-place finisher in the league.
Both teams started the match in no-risk mode, with lots of duels for the ball, but without any major chances. Union SG had most possession (about 75%). First excitement came when Jurgen Ekkelenkamp hit the outside of the post from a long range kick over the ground from outside of the penalty area, about midway through the first half. In the added time of the first half, Zeno Van Den Bosch headed-on a corner kick which ended up with Kōki Machida who reacted fasted to open the scoring. During the second half Antwerp tried to equalize, but no chances came from it until 10 minutes from time when Christian Burgess lost the ball to Ekkelenkamp whose shot went straight at Anthony Moris. It would turn out to be the only big chance for Antwerp, after that on multiple occasions Union SG came close to extending the lead on counter-attacks, with both Cameron Puertas and Mohamed Amoura missing big chances in the final minutes to leave the score at 1–0.
Union SG | 1–0 | Antwerp |
---|---|---|
| Report |
Union SG | Antwerp |
|
|
Match rules
|
The Belgian Pro League, officially the Jupiler Pro League, due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler, is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023–24 season onwards, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Challenger Pro League.
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, commonly referred to as Union Saint-Gilloise and abbreviated to Union SG, USG or Union, is a Belgian professional football club originally located in the municipality of Saint-Gilles, in Brussels, although since the 1920s, it has been based at the Joseph Marien Stadium in the neighbouring municipality of Forest.
The 2006–07 season is the 104th competitive season in Belgian football.
The 2006 UEFA Cup Final was a football match that took place at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Netherlands on 10 May 2006 as the culmination of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. The match was contested by Middlesbrough of England and Sevilla of Spain. Both sides were making their first appearance in a European final; it was Middlesbrough's second season of European competition, while Sevilla had more previous experience in both the UEFA Cup and the European Cup. Both sides had qualified for the competition based on their domestic league positions the previous season, and entered in the first round. To reach the final, they subsequently had to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final. Middlesbrough eliminated VfB Stuttgart, Roma, Basel and Steaua București in the knockout stages, while Sevilla beat Lokomotiv Moscow, Lille, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Schalke 04.
Tobias Albertine Maurits Alderweireld is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Belgian Pro League club Royal Antwerp.
AEK Athens Football Club is a professional football club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Athens, Greece. The club first participated in a European competition in 1961. The club has gained entry to Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) competitions on multiple occasions. They have represented Greece in the European Cup on thirteen occasions, the UEFA Cup on twenty four occasions, in the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup on five occasions and in the now-defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup once. AEK has competed in every UEFA-organized competition, except the Intertoto Cup and the Europa Conference League. They have also played in the now-defunct Balkans Cup on four occasions, where they reached its final in 1967.
Joseph Paintsil is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy and the Ghana national team.
The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2019 Belgian Cup final, named Croky Cup after the sponsor, was the 64th Belgian Cup final and took place on 1 May 2019 between Gent and KV Mechelen. KV Mechelen was the first team from outside the top division to qualify for the cup final since the 2001 Belgian Cup Final when Belgian Second Division champions Lommel lost to Westerlo. KV Mechelen won the cup by two goals to one.
Jurgen Peter Ekkelenkamp is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Belgian Pro League club Antwerp.
The 2021 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It was played at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal on 29 May 2021, between English clubs Manchester City, in their first European Cup final, and 2012 winners Chelsea. This was the third all-English final in the competition, after the 2008 and 2019 finals.
The UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be renamed the UEFA Conference League prior to the 2024–25 season, is an annual football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the third tier of continental club football in Europe, behind the second-tier Europa League, and the first-tier Champions League.
The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League was the 50th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2021–22 Belgian Pro League was the 119th season of top-flight football in Belgium. Club Brugge completed their first league Championship hat-trick since the 1970s by edging out long-time leaders Union Saint-Gilloise, who had led for 200 days until losing twice to Club in the title play-offs. Had Union achieved their unlikely success, they would have been the first newly promoted side to win the Belgian League, and the first to claim a top-20 ranked European league since FC Kaiserslautern's 1997–98 Bundesliga triumph in Germany.
The 2023–24 UEFA Champions League is the 69th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 32nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.
The 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League final was the final match of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League, the second season of Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The match was played at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, Czech Republic, on 7 June 2023, between Italian club Fiorentina and English club West Ham United.
The 2022 Belgian Cup final, named Croky Cup after the sponsor, was the 67th Belgian Cup final. On 2 March 2022, Gent qualified for their 6th final, losing 2 and winning 3. Anderlecht qualified one day later, reaching their fourteenth final, having won nine times before, the last time of which occurred in 2008, when they also faced Gent in the 2008 Belgian Cup Final. After a tense 0–0 draw after extra time, Gent won 4–3 on penalties.
The 2023–24 UEFA Europa League is the 53rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 15th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.
The 2022–23 season was the 119th season in the existence of Royal Antwerp F.C. and the club's sixth consecutive season in the top flight of Belgian football. In addition to the domestic league, Antwerp participated in this season's editions of the Belgian Cup and the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The 2023 Belgian Cup final, named Croky Cup after the sponsor, was the 68th Belgian Cup final which took place on 30 April 2023. The match was contested by KV Mechelen and Antwerp.