Preview

Shakhtar will face TSC (Serbia) in the test match. The game kicks off at 18:30 Kyiv time.

All friendlies of the Orange-and-Blacks will be streamed live on Shakhtar’s YouTube channel and FC Shakhtar mobile app (App Store and Google Play) in the Live section.

Opponents

FC TSC Backa-Topola was founded in the city of the same name in 1913 and played in the lower divisions of Serbian football during almost the entire history. The team managed to enter the Super League for the first time in 2019, and the highest achievement is the silver medals of the championship (2023). In the 2023/24 season, TSC played in the UEFA Europa League group stage, getting 1 point and finishing 4th in a quartet with West Ham, Olympiakos and Freiburg. The White-and-Blues finished in 3rd spot right behind the two giants in the Super League of Serbia – Crvena Zvezda and Partizan, winning the right to participate in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League qualification.

Dean Klafuric became the head coach of the club on June 29. Previously, the 51-year-old Croatian specialist worked for the Bosnian Velezh and the Hungarian Honved. The most prolific players of the team last season were young forwards Aleksandar Cirkovic (17 goals, 4 assists) and Milos Pantovic (12 goals, 9 assists), as well as central midfielder Ifet Djakovac (13 goals, 7 assists). According to Transfermarkt, the most expensive footballer of the club is 20-year-old goalkeeper Veljko Ilic (transfer fee – EUR 3 million).

This summer, TSC played 3 test matches: against Czech Slovacko (1-1), Slovenian Mura (4-0) and Austrian Klagenfurt (2-2).