UEFA Women's Europa Cup semi-final first legs preview: Sparta-Hammarby, Frankfurt-Häcken
Thursday, March 19, 2026
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Sparta Praha host Hammarby and Eintracht Frankfurt take on Häcken in the first legs of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup on Wednesday 25 March.
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The inaugural UEFA Women's Europa Cup semi-finals begin on Wednesday 25 March to decide who will contest the competition's first-ever final.
We look ahead to the two semi-final first legs, involving one team that has won four European titles and three clubs making their debuts in the last four of UEFA competition.
Women's Europa Cup fixtures
Wednesday 25 March
Sparta Praha vs Hammarby (18:00 CET)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Häcken (18:30 CET)
Thursday 2 April
Hammarby vs Sparta Praha (TBC)
Häcken vs Eintracht Frankfurt (18:30 CET)
Final (25 or 26 April and 2 or 3 May)
Sparta Praha / Hammarby vs Eintracht Frankfurt / Häcken
The first named team will be at home in the first leg
Sparta Praha are one step away from becoming the first club from Czechia to reach a final in any UEFA competition. They have had an extraordinary Women's Europa Cup run this season, putting in their best performances away from home. In all three of their ties, Sparta failed to score in a home first leg but went on the triumph away. That included overturning a three-goal first-leg deficit by winning 4-0 at Young Boys in the round of 16 and overcoming Austria Wien in extra time in their quarter-final in Vienna.
Hammarby reached the semi-finals after a dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat of Sporting CP in the last eight. Their quarter-final success came despite being in their winter close season and needing to readjust as a squad after losing key players Ellen Wangerheim, Smilla Holmberg and Julie Blakstad to English clubs at the start of the year. The Swedish side also showed their pedigree when knocking out Brann and Ajax, who were both Women's Champions League quarter-finalists two seasons ago.
Frankfurt won the first-ever Women's Champions League title, under its UEFA Women's Cup format, in 2001/02, and they remain in the running to repeat the feat in the inaugural edition of this competition. Unlike the other three remaining contenders Frankfurt are no strangers to the latter stages of European competitions, with six successes from their eight semi-finals. They also hold the unique record of six wins out of six over 90 minutes in their Women's Europa Cup run so far.
Häcken, who beat potential final opponents Hammarby to the 2025 Damallsvenskan title in Sweden, have a new coach this year in Elena Sadiku, who oversaw a convincing 11-1 aggregate defeat of Breidablik in her first European tie in charge. That followed their round of 16 elimination of Inter late last year, with young talents including Felicia Schröder and Monica Jusu Bah shining along the way.
