Making their debut in European knockout football, Mainz have a UEFA Conference League quarter-final to look forward to. - © IMAGO/Gerhard Schultheiß

bundesliga

Mainz oust Sigma Olomouc to seal UEFA Conference League quarter-final berth

20.03.2026

Mainz are thorugh to the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals after beating Czechia's Sigma Olomouc 2-0 at the Mewa-Arena.

Mainz 2-0 Sigma Olomouc (agg 2-0)
Goals: 1-0 Posch 46’ (assist: Nebel), 2-0 Sieb 83’ (assist: da Costa)
Sent off: Barath 76’

Mainz controlled long periods of the first half, but the breakthrough proved elusive as the sides went in at the break still goalless on aggregate.

Defender Stefan Posch scored within moments of the restart to put Mainz deservedly ahead, the defender heading in a Paul Nebel cross from the right.

Olomouc's Peter Barath was sent off for a second yellow card, with Nebel firing the ensung free-kick against the crossbar. Mainz substitute Armindo Sieb then put the seal on the win with a well-taken finish from inside the area to send the home crowd into raptures.

The 05ers will face Strasbourg of France in the last eight.

As it happened!

2 - 0

(0 - 0)

Mainz

FINAL

Olomouc

Conference League
Round of 16, second leg Round of 16, second leg Mewa Arena

Full-time: Mainz 2-0 Olomouc (agg 2-0)

They've done it! Mainz are into the Conference League quarter-finals. It was a supremely professional display on home soil, with two second-half goals doing the job. Incredible, especially given their domestic struggles this season!

Full-time

90'

+ 5

Yellow card

Jachym Sip

90'

+ 4

We want three!

Credit to Mainz - they just keep pushing as Sano flashes another long-range effort off target.

90'

+ 2

Over!

Veratschnig finds Posch, who heads over. What an unlikely double that would have been!

90'

+ 2

Yellow card

Jiri Slama

90'

+ 1

Substitution

Lennard Maloney

Jae-sung Lee

90'

Sa-no!

The Mainz midfielder has a crack from distance, but a deflection takes it just the wrong side of the post. He's been superb tonight.

88'

Substitution

Sota Kawasaki

Paul Nebel

87'

Substitution

Kacper Potulski

Danny da Costa

84'

Substitution

Abdoulaye Sylla

Jiri Spacil

84'

Substitution

Artur Dolznikov

Antonin Rusek

83'

Daylight!

Huge goal and almost certainly job done for Mainz! Da Costa's cross is flicked on, and there's substitute forward Sieb to apply the finish from 10 yards. The Mewa-Arena is well and truly bouncing!

83'

Armindo Sieb

GOAL!

2:0

79'

Crossbar!

After a VAR check to see if the foul was in or outside the penalty area, Nebel steps up to crash an 18-yard strike against the woodwork.

76'

Marching orders!

Barath is booked after hauling down Tietz. That's his second booking, and Olomouc will have to play out the remainder with 10 men.

76'

Second yellow card

Peter Barath

74'

Fresh legs

Fischer freshens up his side with a couple of like-for-like changes as Mainz close in on victory...

74'

Substitution

Armindo Sieb

Nelson Weiper

74'

Substitution

Nikolas Veratschnig

Silvan Widmer

72'

Substitution

Dominik Janosek

Michal Beran

68'

Midfield engine

Sano's working his socks off for Mainz, patrolling the midfield and trying to play the ball forward when he can.

64'

No trouble

Lee slides in to concede a corner, but it's well defended by the Mainz shirts. They've been very well organised in all areas so far.

62'

Substitution

Jachym Sip

Ahmad Ghali

62'

Substitution

Matej Mikulenka

Jan Kliment

61'

Foul play

Kohr goes into the book for a foul on Olmütz.

61'

Yellow card

Dominik Kohr

58'

Mainz pushing

They know a second goal will leave Olomouc with a veritable mountain to climb...

55'

Almost a second!

Tietz nutmegs a defender and tries to feed Weiper, but the ball is blocked back into his path. However, he can't squeeze his shot past the goalkeeper.

50'

Mainz on top

Mainz have looked comfortable since taking the lead. The hosts don't need to play with as much urgency, and can instead wait to exploit any gaps Olomouc might leave as they chase the game.

Dream start!

Nebel finds space on the right and crosses for Posch, who plants a powerful header past the goalkeeper. If it stays like this, Mainz are heading into the Conference League quarters!

46'

Stefan Posch

GOAL!

1:0

46'

Big 45 ahead

Possibly the biggest in Mainz's history...

Half-time: Mainz 0-0 Olomouc (agg 0-0)

It's as you were in the tie after another goalless 45 minutes of action. Mainz have played with more purpose and created a few presentable chances. As for Olomouc, they went close to breaking the deadlock with their one opening of note.

45'

+ 1

Close!

Mainz win a succession of corners. Lee feeds Weiper with the latest effort, but he puts his header wide of the target. Mwene then shoots wide at the end of Mainz's next attack.

42'

Nobody home

Mainz continue to threaten on the flanks, but the final ball has been lacking.

38'

Afters

Barath's not happy with Tietz's initial challenge on goalkeeper Koutny. He rushes over to voice his displeasure as both players go into the referee's botebook.

38'

Yellow card

Peter Barath

38'

Yellow card

Phillip Tietz

36'

Nearly!

Tietz catches everyone out with an inventive back-heeled attempt after meeting Mwene's left-wing cross, but it goes wide.

31'

Fine voice

The Mainz fans are really making themselves heard. They were urging their players to go out and make history at kick-off.

26'

Role reversal

Olomouc are having a good spell after that rocky start. Mainz need to weather the storm...

22'

First caution

Former Stuttgart striker Jan Kliment is booked for an elbow on Posch.

22'

Yellow card

Jan Kliment

20'

Warning shot!

Olomouc get in behind the Mainz defence with Rusek. His cross from the right finds Sturm in the middle, but he can't direct his effort on target.

Strong start

Mainz continue to control the play. Olomouc are really struggling to get out of their own half for any meaningful length of time.

12'

Right-wing threat

Koutny reacts first to beat away Nebel's cross from the right. Mainz are having so much joy on that side...

10'

Weiper!

Widmer drives up the right-hand side and crosses for Weiper, who heads his effort too close to the goalkeeper.

First chance!

Positive and direct from Mainz as Batz aims long for Tietz. He gets into a shooting position inside the box, but Koutny makes the stop.

Early promise

Nebel and Weiper combine to win the first corner, but it comes to nothing.

Under way!

Incredible atmosphere as the game gets under way. Remember, Mainz will reach the quarters with a win...

Nebel on 'bonus' European run

"The Conference League is something of a bonus for us, which we worked hard for last year and have fought our way through this season," said the Mainz attacker in an interview with the club's official website. "It's nice to have the chance to write a piece of history with the club of your youth. We have some added impetus in our own stadium with our fans spurring us on. I'm looking forward to the game and the atmosphere and hope that we will all be able to celebrate together."

Quarter-final dream

There are over 30,000 fans in attendance for what could be a historic night in the history of Mainz. It's been some journey already en route to their maiden European knockout tie - how far can they go?

More on those teams

Weiper starts in attack in place of injured Mainz forward Silas. Fischer also keeps faith with playmaker Lee and club captain Widmer, after both impressed in the league win over Bremen. Bøving and Potulski, who started the first leg, are on the bench. Olomouc are unchanged from the reverse fixture.

Mainz starting XI

Batz – da Costa, Posch, Kohr – Widmer (c), Nebel, Sano, Lee, Mwene – Tietz, Weiper

Mainz subs

Rieß, Babatz, Leitsch, Sieb, Bøving, Maloney, Veratschnig, Kawasaki, Moreno, Gleiber, Potulski

Olomouc starting XI

Koutný – Hadaš, Spáčil, Malý, Sláma – Šturm, Beran, Baráth, Ghali – Růsek, Kliment (c)

Olomouc subs

Stoppen, Hruška, Sylla, Siegl, Šip, Slavíček, Drábek, Mikulenka, Jalovičor, Yasser, Janošek, Dolžnikov

Janotka: "It’s the biggest match in [our club's] modern history"

“For the whole club, it’s the biggest match in its modern history, and for me personally as well it’s right up there. I’m very happy with how far our work together has taken us.”

Tomáš Janotka on the second leg

"It’s logical that as we progress in the competition, we face stronger and stronger opponents. The number of chances we create in matches won’t increase, but rather decrease. That makes it even more important to value every opportunity we get to score. I’ll be very happy if we can make use of any chance we get. We know where Mainz have weaknesses. But it’s about whether we can exploit them and how we execute it on the pitch."

Mainz team news

Fischer highlighted William Bøving's work rate in his pre-match press conference, suggesting the Dane will retain his place in the side. With Sheraldo Becker ineligible for European competition and Silas injured in the reverse fixture, Nelson Weiper is another option in attack. Left-back Anthony Caci is training again after a hamstring injury, but won't be involved.

Daniel Batz on Mainz's 12th man

"As a player, you just focus on the next game. We know what we need to do to reach the quarter-finals. I know the fans will give it their all. We want to excite them with how we play so we can feed off each other. We have a chance to achieve something great."

Urs Fischer on the second leg

"We didn't concede many chances in the first leg. We want to bring that to the pitch again, but of course there are areas that we want to improve as well. [Getting to a] European quarter-final doesn't happen every year. You can make history for the club."

Home turf

Mainz have won all three of their home games in the Conference League, and have only been beaten once. Sigma, on the other hand, have lost two and won one of their away games in the competition.

Visitors prepare with another stalemate

Sigma sit fifth in the Czech league and will go into this second-leg meeting having drawn 2-2 with eighth-placed Karvina.

1:01

Watch: Werder Bremen 0-2 Mainz - highlights

Although unable to break down Sigma in the first leg, Mainz didn't let their frustrations flow over into their relegation battle with Bremen. They secured a huge three points away from home at Bremen and will be raring to go for their second-leg clash.

Welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this UEFA Europa Conference League knockout match between Mainz and Sigma Olomouc.