When the first match of the 19rd round of Champions League qualifying between Malmo and Copenhagen starts at 3pm tonight at Aker BK, a new record in European football will automatically be set.
The one that concerns the closest away game in an international match.
Because, when they play the second leg at "Parken" in Denmark in seven days, these two teams will have to travel a distance of only 40 kilometers – partly over a bridge (eight kilometers), partly through a tunnel under the sea (four kilometers).
The Øresund Bridge-Tunnel connects the cities of the current champions of Sweden and Denmark, which were drawn together in the penultimate round of the Champions League "purgatory", thus breaking the record long held by Slovan and Rapid. Bratislava and Vienna are separated by 53 kilometers.
And the furthest away game?
When it comes to the furthest away game, the record will be a little harder to break. It is held by Benfica and Astana. Lisbon is 6.164 kilometers away from Astana.
Just as Lisbon is closer to New York than to the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana is closer to Tokyo than to the capital of Portugal.
Theoretically, the furthest possible away match in European football would be Santa Clara – Shakhtar Kiragandi. The Azores Islands and the city in eastern Kazakhstan are almost 7.500 kilometers apart, or 22 hours by plane.
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