Kazakhstan's vice-champion Astana won the first match of the Conference League qualification. The outcome of the match in Tirana against local Dinamo City was decided by a goal from Ramazan Karimov in the 69th minute. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

First qualifying round. First leg. July 9.

⚽ DINAMO CITY (Tirana, Albania) – ASTANA (Kazakhstan) 0:1 (0:0). Goal: Karimov 69.

Before the break, in an even game, the teams did not create many scoring chances. Memorable were potentially dangerous shots by Astana's Croatian player Karlo Bartolec in the 18th minute and his compatriot Marin Tomasov in the 30th. Towards the end of the half, Albanian Fabjan Perndreca could have scored, but another Croatian, goalkeeper Josip Čondrić, played well.

In the second half, Grigory Babayan brought on the only KPL representative at the 2026 World Cup. Bosnian Ivan Bašić replaced Bauyrzhan Islamkhan in the 62nd minute, who is still searching for his form after a long layoff.

Soon the visitors opened the scoring. Tomasov delivered a perfect pass from the right flank into the center of the penalty area, and Karimov calmly rolled the ball into the far corner – 1:0.

After taking the lead, the Kazakhs continued to threaten the opponent's goal. In the 72nd minute, Maksat Abraev almost hit the top corner. Home goalkeeper Aldo Tekja with great difficulty deflected the ball for a corner.

Towards the end of the match, goal scorer Karimov could have added an assist. Receiving a pass from him, Stanislav Basmanov almost hit the crossbar with a powerful shot, but the ball did not go into the net. As a result, the score 1-0 in favor of the visitors remained until the end of the match.

The return leg will take place on July 16 at the Astana Arena. In case of an aggregate win, Astana will play in the second qualifying round on July 23 and 30 against the winner of the pair Sheriff (Moldova) – Aluminij (Slovenia).

In the evening, Yelimay began its first ever European campaign. The three-time champions of Kazakhstan, making their debut in European competitions, drew 1-1 in Yerevan against Alashkert.

To reach the main stage of the Conference League, the teams from Semey and Astana need to overcome four qualifying barriers. The Kazakhstan Cup winner Tobol needs three. The Kostanay team will enter the fight from the second qualifying round. Their opponent will be Lithuanian Panevėžys.

The group stage matches of the third most important European competition will take place from October 15 to December 17.

The 2026/27 Conference League final will be held on June 2, 2027 at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul. The current trophy holder, English club Crystal Palace, defeated Spanish Rayo Vallecano in the decisive match on May 27 in Leipzig.

On Wednesday, Kairat started in the Champions League qualification, snatching a 2-1 victory at home over Montenegrin Sutjeska.