SANTA CLARA – VARAŽDIN 2:0 (V. Lopes 5′, G. Silva 68′)

Santa Clara: Batista – S. Lima, Rocha, Venancio – L. Soares, A Firmino, Serginho (Ferreira P. 80′), M. Oereira – V. Lopes (Pires M. 89′), Wendell (Carter A. 80′), G. Silva (Brenner 86′)

Varaždin: Zelenia – Škaričić, Ba, Barać (Boršić 75′), Bočkaj – Duvnjak (Marina M. 46′), Belcar – Jovanov, Latković (Antunović 84′), Vuk (Dabro 75′) – Mamut (Tavares 75′)

Santa Clara took the lead 1-0 as early as the 5th minute with a goal by Vinicius following a rebound. Varaždin had several chances, but the home goalkeeper Batistu confidently saved the shots. During the half, the play mostly took place in the midfield, with a few dangerous attempts from both sides, but without any change in the score. The half ended with a minimal advantage for the home team.

Already in the fifth minute, V. Lopes scored to give the home team the lead, and with that result, the match went into extra time. In the 12th minute, Varaždin attacked for the first time, and Vuk took a weak shot from close range that goalkeeper Batistu easily saved. Duvnjak took a dangerous shot from distance, but the ball sailed well over the goal.

Santa Clara threatened in the 29th minute through Gabriel Silva. He shot from an angle on the left side, but Zelenika saved and cleared the ball for a corner. In the 34th minute, Latković led a Varaždin attack and shot from the edge of the penalty area, but the shot was blocked. After Latković’s last chance, the play was mostly in midfield without significant chances.

The second half began with chances for Varaždin. In the 51st minute, Latković and Vuk had opportunities they should have taken better advantage of, and Bočkaj attempted a long-distance shot but missed the target. Mamut also showed good form early in the half, confirming Varaždin’s solid play.

However, the key moment came in the 68th minute – after goalkeeper Zelenika initially saved a shot, the ball bounced to Gabriel Silva, who scored to make it 2-0, extending Santa Clara’s lead.

Škaričić had a very good chance for Varaždin in the 79th minute following a set piece, but his shot was not accurate enough. The Croatian team pressed in the final minutes, but nerves grew on the field, and time ran out for Varaždin to reduce the deficit and force extra time.

In this way, Varaždin was quickly eliminated from Europe, knocked out at the first hurdle of the competition.