Real Sociedad lean on Zubieta to reach the Europa Cup Round of 16
The San Sebastián side will host Heart of Midlothian on Wednesday 30 September at 19:00 CET in the second leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Europa League. Both teams drew (0-0) in the first leg, and qualification for the Round of 16 will be decided at Zubieta. The match will be broadcast on YouTube.
29 SEP 2026
Great excitement at Real Sociedad. After being eliminated 2-6 on aggregate by Chelsea in the Champions League tie, the Donostia side hope to go far in the UEFA Women's Europa, where they have already become the first Spanish team to play in this competition. In the first leg, the Basque team drew 0-0 against Hearts with a penalty missed by Nerea Eizagirre. The return leg will be decided in Zubieta, where Gorka Álvarez's side will look to advance to the round of 16 and secure their first win of the season. So far, the start has not been as expected for the *txuri-urdin* club, who sit in 15th position in Liga F Moeve with 2 points after two draws and three defeats. Alazne Estensoro, who is a U20 European champion with Spain, has joined the group.
Meanwhile, Ainhoa Marín has received her first call-up to the senior national team. María Molina, Aiara Agirrezabala, Arola Aparicio, and academy player Carlota Chacón, who suffered a cruciate ligament injury, will be unavailable for the Donostia side. Heart of Midlothian arrive as champions of the Scottish league last season. Andy Thomson's side also failed to qualify for the Champions League after beating Gintra 1-2 in the first round, but then being eliminated 2-1 by Koge in the second round. The Scottish team occupies 3rd position in the Scottish Women's Premier League with 13 points after drawing (2-2) against Glasgow City in their last match. 90 minutes lie ahead in Zubieta for Real Sociedad to make history in European competition.
Schedule and how to watch the match
The clash between Real Sociedad and Hearts, the second leg of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup second round, will be on Wednesday, September 30th at 19:00h in Zubieta and will be broadcast on the Basque team's YouTube channel.