The surprise of the season in Europe?! The League 2 team won the Cup and goes to the Europa League
Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published on Sunday, 24 May 2026, 22:42 / Updated on Sunday, 24 May 2026 22:45
Sporting lost to Liga 2 side Torreense in the Portuguese Cup final. The team from the second tier won 2-1 after extra time, thanks to the winning goal scored by Stopira in the 112th minute, from a penalty. The regular time ended with the score 1-1, and in the penalty phase of extra time, Araujo from Sporting received a straight red card.
Torreense managed to win the final with the second placed team in Portugal's first league with two goals scored from as many shots on goal! The small Ligue 2 outfit will play in European cups for the first time in its history. The Portuguese Cup brought him presence in the Europa League groups.
Torreense performed a miracle in the Portuguese Cup: the small team beat Sporting and qualified for the Europa League
Torreense opened the scoring in the 4th minute. Kevin Zohi was the scorer. The team from Lisbon only managed to equalize in the 54th minute, through Luis Suarez, but then they couldn't find a way to score. In extra time, Araujo made a penalty after which he also received the red card. Stopira scored in the 113th minute and sent the Cup to Torreense.
The team comes from Torres Vedras, a town near Lisbon. This is the first significant trophy for the modest club.
In fact, Torreense is one step away from promotion in the first league of Portugal, where it played for the last time in the 1992-1992 season. The team finished in third place in the second echelon and will play the second leg of the retention/promotion tie against Casa Pia. The first leg ended 0-0. Sporting, who won the Cup last year, are coming off a nightmare season in which they failed to win a trophy after finishing second in the league.
