Vitebsk, Slov-Matic complete elite round lineup

MFK VitEn Vitebsk and Slov-Matic Bratislava claimed the final UEFA Futsal Cup elite round places on offer as Group 1 concluded in Latvia.

Going into the final day Belarusian debutants Vitebsk knew a point in the opener against eliminated Hamburg Panthers would be enough to progress. They left nothing to chance, though, strolling to a 6-1 comeback victory thanks in part to a pair of goals from Stanislav Lemeshko.

In the late game, Slov-Matic prevailed 4-3 against FK Nikars Riga to pip the hosts to second spot. Defender Gabriel Rick settled an enthralling contest nine minutes from time after his team had fought back from 3-1 down.

The 12 teams that progressed from the six main round groups over the last week now join the four highest-seeded clubs that were given byes – holders Kairat Almaty, former winners MFK Dinamo and FC Barcelona, and 2011 runners-up Sporting Clube de Portugal –  in the elite round draw streamed live by UEFA.com from Nyon on Friday 18 October.

In the draw, no teams from the same main round section can meet, and four clubs will be pre-selected to stage the mini-tournaments between 19 and 24 November. The elite round group winners will compete in the final tournament in late April, with the hosts picked from among their number.

Elite round qualifiers
Bye: Kairat Almaty (KAZ, holders), MFK Dinamo (RUS), FC Barcelona (ESP), Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)

Main round group winners: MFK VitEn Vitebsk (BLR, Group 1), Győri ETO FC (HUN, 2), Tulpar Karagandy (KAZ, 3), FK EP Chrudim (CZE, 4), KMF Ekonomac Kragujevac (SRB, 5), Araz Naxçivan (AZE, 6)

Main round group runners-up: Slov-Matic Bratislava  (SVK, 1), KMF Tango Sarajevo (BIH, 2), Lokomotiv Kharkiv (UKR, 3), FC Litija (SVN, 4), CF Eindhoven (NED, 5), City'US Târgu Mureş (ROU, 6)