Cho Gue-sung Scores Another Header, Helping Midtjylland Reach UECL Main Stage

South Korean national team forward Cho Gue-sung, who plays for Danish professional football club FC Midtjylland, has scored in his second consecutive UEFA Conference League (UECL) match to lead his team to the main stage.

Cho scored the sealing goal in Midtjylland's 4-1 away victory against HNK Rijeka of Croatia in the second leg of the 2026-2027 UECL playoffs held at Stadion HNK Rijeka in Rijeka, Croatia, on the 28th (Korean time).

Having entered the pitch as a substitute for Stanley Iheanacho in the 12th minute of the second half with his team comfortably leading 3-1, Cho netted his team's fourth goal in the 33rd minute of the second half.

Leaping high during a corner kick, he connected with a header that drove the ball down near the goal line, and the ball bounced once before finding the left corner, leaving the opposing goalkeeper helpless.

This marks his second consecutive match with a goal following his debut strike in the first leg of the home match on the 21st, bringing his season total to two goals.

Propelled by Cho's consecutive goals across the first and second legs for a 6-1 aggregate landslide victory, Midtjylland secured their spot in the UECL main stage.

A total of 36 teams, including Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) featuring Kim Ye-geon, will participate in the UECL main stage.

Red Star Belgrade suffered a 1-5 heavy defeat to Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic) in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) playoffs that day, falling 4-5 on aggregate over the two legs and dropping down to the UECL.

On the other hand, Austria Wien (Austria), with Lee Tae-seok and Lee Kang-hee both starting and playing the full match, lost 0-1 in the second leg of their UECL playoff against Braga (Portugal) at their home ground, Generali Arena, on the same day.

Trailing 0-2 on aggregate, Austria Wien ultimately failed to advance to the main stage.

Meanwhile, Beşiktaş, where Oh Hyun-gyu plays, secured their spot in the UEL main stage despite a 0-1 defeat against Kauno Žalgiris (Lithuania) on the same day, advancing with a 3-1 aggregate score.

Oh was substituted in the 20th minute of the second half and played for about 25 minutes, but failed to find the back of the net despite three attempts.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.