US Mondorf-les-Bains host Dinamo Tbilisi at Stade Achille Hammerel on July 9 2026 in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round, with kick off somewhere between 17:15 and 18:15 UTC. It is Mondorf's first ever European campaign, earned by finishing third in the 2025-26 BGL Ligue, whereas Dinamo Tbilisi arrive as a club that has been through this stage before and will treat it as a routine early hurdle rather than anything to get worked up about. The winner over two legs goes through to the second qualifying round, with the return on July 16 at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi.
Martin Forkel took charge at Mondorf in late May or early June 2026 following stints at Victoria Rosport and Berdenia Berbourg and holds a UEFA Pro Licence. Temur Ketsbaia, who took over at Dinamo on April 24 2026 on a contract through 2028, returns as a club legend and brings recent senior experience from Anorthosis Famagusta. The two have never met in competitive football and neither has any prior data on the other to fall back on.
Detailed form data is thin because both sides are early in their new seasons. Mondorf lost a pre season friendly 5-2 to Metz in July 2026, though their domestic consistency was what earned them this tie. Dinamo have shown strong points per game numbers under Ketsbaia in early domestic games, though how they handle the step up to European qualifying under a manager still settling in remains to be seen.
No confirmed injuries, suspensions or lineup leaks have emerged ahead of the match, so both teams are expected to pick near full squads. Mondorf will likely line up with Joao Machado in goal, a back three of Mederic Deher, Yann Godart and Pit Simon and a midfield built around Loic Baal, Lilian Fournier and Alexis Bourigeaud, with Lenny Stoltz, Marco Ludivin Majouga and either Yannick or Sofiane Daham providing the attacking options. Dinamo look set to field Giorgi Loria in goal behind a defence of Aleksandre Kalandadze, Numan Kurdic and Saba Kharebashvili, with Nika Ninua and Nikoloz Ugrekhelidze in midfield and Mate Vatsadze, Barnes Osei, Rui Monteiro, Abdoulaye Yoro and Halid Doltmurziev competing for forward positions.
How Mondorf set up under Forkel in domestic football is not well documented, which makes it genuinely difficult to say anything specific about their likely approach here. What is clear is that Deher and Godart will face a forward line with more European experience than either has encountered before, a step up regardless of how Mondorf choose to defend. Ketsbaia's Dinamo have looked solid in early domestic games, with Vatsadze leading the line while Osei works the channels, though how the setup translates to away qualifying legs under a manager still new to the job is an open question. Neither club has met before, so there is no historical blueprint to read either way.
Dead ball situations are probably Mondorf's most realistic route to goal, which puts the onus on Dinamo to stay disciplined at corners and free kicks. Beyond that, not much can be said with confidence: specific data on how either side responds under pressure simply is not there.
Vatsadze and Osei give Dinamo enough going forward to score more than once on the road and Mondorf's domestic consistency suggests they will not simply fold at home in their first ever European outing, with Stoltz and Baal the likeliest sources of danger for the hosts. The call is 2-2, which leaves everything open for the return in Tbilisi: Dinamo would need only to avoid defeat at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium to go through, which given their early form under Ketsbaia is a reasonable expectation, though not a certainty.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
