SC Freiburg named Nicolas Höfler in their starting XI for the UEFA Europa League semifinal second leg against Braga after Yuito Suzuki was ruled out with injury, with the confirmed lineups announced around an hour before kickoff. Freiburg had lost the first leg last week after conceding with the last action of the game, leaving them needing a response at home to keep their final hopes alive.
Freiburg’s lineup featured Atubolu; Kübler, Lienhart, Ginter, Treu; Eggestein, Höfler; Grifo, Manzambi, Beste; Matanović. Braga, who arrived with the first-leg advantage, also made one notable selection call by naming Ricardo Horta only on the bench, while Mario Dorgeles kept his place after scoring the winner last week.
Braga’s starting side was Hornicek; Lagerbielke, Vitor Carvalho, Oliveira; Gomez, Moutinho, Tiknaz, Dorgeles; Gorby, Zalazar; Victor. The visitors leaned on the same edge that won them the opening leg, while Freiburg’s task was sharpened by the absence of Suzuki and the need to overturn a result that had slipped away at the very end in Braga.
The match was the UEFA Europa League semifinal second leg, with Freiburg trying to reach the final and Braga protecting their advantage from last week. The shape of the contest was set before the opening whistle: Freiburg needed urgency, Braga needed control, and both benches had already revealed how much they were willing to trust the players who had carried them this far.