Famalicão Advances to League Cup Semifinals After Penalty Shootout Victory

In a dramatic encounter on Thursday, October 29, Famalicão secured its first-ever appearance in the final four of the League Cup by defeating Sporting de Braga 3-1 in a penalty shootout. The decisive match followed a 2-2 deadlock through regulation time.

After the score remained tied at the end of the 90 minutes, the quarterfinal matchup moved to penalties. Famalicão successfully converted three of its five attempts, while the opponent managed to score only one out of four.

Brazilian goalkeeper Gabriel Cabral proved to be a pivotal figure in the shootout by blocking three shots from the Braga squad. Paulo Moreira then converted the decisive penalty kick to seal the historic qualification.

During regulation time, the visiting side opened the scoring in the 16th minute through Greek forward Georgios Koutsias. Braga responded in the 37th minute when Ricardo Horta converted a penalty kick to level the score.

Koutsias found the back of the net once again just before halftime, scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time via another penalty. As the match neared its end, Ricardo Horta also scored his second penalty of the evening in the 89th minute to reestablish the final 2-2 tie.

Following the match, interim coach Ricardo Silva expressed satisfaction with the result, while Braga coach Franclim Carvalho voiced disappointment over his team's elimination from the tournament.

Looking ahead to the semifinals, which will take place in Leiria between January 5 and January 9, Famalicão is scheduled to face Sporting after they eliminated Marítimo. Meanwhile, FC Porto advanced past Académico de Viseu and awaits the winner of the upcoming match between Benfica and Gil Vicente to determine its semifinal opponent.