Awer Mabil learns opponents for UEFA Champions League group stage

2 min read 2 October 2020

Fresh off qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, Socceroos and FC Midtjylland star Awer Mabil has learned his side will be facing in the group stage of the 2020/21 competition.

Mabil and Midtjylland have been drawn into Group D. with Dutch powerhouse AFC Ajax, English Champions Liverpool FC, and Italian side Atalanta B.C.

All three of Mabil’s opponents featured in last season’s competition. Ajax bowed out in the group stage, before then moving over to the Europa League knockout stages.

After winning the cup in 2018/19, Liverpool bowed out in Round of 16. Atalanta shocked everyone by making it out of their tough group, knocking Valencia out of the Round of 16, but they fell to eventual Finalists Paris Saint Germain.

It is a dream come true for Mabil to be playing in the competition of Europe’s elite. It is also the first time ever that FC Midtjylland have qualified for the Champions League, and they did so after dispatching of Slavia Prague.

After going behind to an early goal, Mabil helped revive his side with a dangerous cross teeing up Sory Kaba to score in the 65^th minute. That opened the floodgates, as the Danish side scored three times in the final ten minutes, including an injury-time goal that brought Mabil to tears.

Also in Europe and Socceroos defender Milos Degenek has qualified for the Europa League with FK Crevena Zvezda.

After finishing the Serbian SuperLiga season as champions, Degenek’s side went through the qualifying rounds of the Champions League before falling to Cypriot side AC Omonia in a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss in the third round.

The side then faced Armenian club FC Ararat-Armenia in a play-off clash on October 1^st. The win puts the side into the group stage of the Europa League.