Sporting de Braga and Benfica star in the ‘headlining’ match of the quarterfinals of the Portuguese Football Cup, in which the holder of the trophy, FC Porto, will once again face one of the ‘resistant’ of the II League.
On Wednesday, starting at 8:45 p.m., the ‘dragons’, who beat Anadia, Mafra and Arouca in this edition, will visit Académico de Viseu, winner of Fabril, Oriental, Camacha and Beira-Mar, precisely two weeks after the two teams have met in the semifinals of the League Cup, in Leiria.
In that match, Stephen Eustáquio, Danny Loader and Bernardo Folha signed the blue and white goals (3-0), guaranteeing the presence of the ‘blue and white’ in the final, in which they defeated Sporting (2-0) and lifted, by first time, the League Cup trophy.
This will be the fifth duel between FC Porto and Académico de Viseu in the Taça de Portugal, after two clashes in 1976/77, 1993/94, 2001/02 and, more recently, in 2020/21, always with the ‘dragões’ to saírem above.
Shortly before the start of the match at the Estádio do Fontelo, the first division Famalicão and BSAD, from the II Liga, begin the quarterfinals of the competition, starting at 6:45 p.m., at the Miño field, with the winner found FC Porto or Académico de Viseu in the semifinals.
However, the ‘big’ game of this Cup tie is scheduled for Thursday, at 8:30 p.m., when Benfica visits Sporting de Braga, in Minho, just over a month after Braga imposed the first defeat to the ‘incarnated’ of the season, 3-0, on December 30 last year, for the championship.
If the ‘eagles’ eliminated Caldas, Estoril Praia and Varzim, all outside Luz, the ‘arsenalistas’ beat Felgueiras and the ‘neighbors’ Moreirense and Vitória de Guimarães, these two in the Braga ‘quarry’.
Benfica and Sporting de Braga have met in the Portuguese Cup 11 times, the last one in 2020/21, in the decision of the ‘queen’ competition, won by the Minho team, 2-0.
The winner of this match will face in the semifinals Casa Pia, from the main division, or Nacional, another ‘resistant’ from the II Liga, which will also play on Thursday, at 18:30, at the Estádio Nacional, in Oeiras.
As has been the case in the championship, the people from Lisbon have also surprised in the Portuguese Cup, reaching this stage for the first time, while the people from Madeiran seek to reach the semifinals for the fourth time in history.
Source: TSF
