Olimpija Ljubljana vs Vllaznia Shkodër

The most consequential moment had nothing to do with the scoreline. Brazilian winger Xande — who only arrived in Ljubljana a week earlier from Bulgarian club Spartak Varna — was forced off injured in the first half after a non-contact incident. Brečko confirmed post-match that the club suspects a serious injury.

"It's hard to talk about the match because we suspect a serious injury to Xande," Brečko told Nogomania. "Regardless, we are satisfied with what we showed."

The injury will be assessed further with additional medical examinations, but early indications did not look positive.

• Antonio Marin (Olimpija): The experienced attacker opened the scoring just before half-time, providing the composure that separated the sides in a first half that was otherwise even.
• Inas Kukavica, Frano Mohorovičić, Žan Luka Šega (Olimpija): Three 18-year-olds who combined for three second-half goals, vindicating Brečko's faith in promoting youth. Kukavica struck four minutes after the restart; Mohorovičić and Šega put the result beyond doubt late on.
• Dajčar & Pintol (Olimpija, goalkeepers): Shared a clean sheet across 90 minutes with Vllaznia rarely threatening.

Olimpija's four goals came from six shots on target across both halves, a clinical conversion rate of 67%. The first half was more measured — Marin's strike was the only goal despite Olimpija controlling around 55% possession. The second half, featuring an entirely fresh XI, brought three goals in 35 minutes as younger legs overran a tiring Vllaznia side still early in their own pre-season. Vllaznia, who finished third in the Albanian Kategoria Superiore last term and will enter UEFA Conference League qualifying, were restricted to minimal chances.

For Olimpija, this is the opening fixture of what Brečko has described as a "ten-day summer preparation block" that will continue with a double training session on Thursday and a second friendly against Serbian side FK Čukarički at the weekend. The result offers early encouragement after a difficult 2025–26 campaign that saw Olimpija miss out on European qualification entirely.

Vllaznia, meanwhile, will use the remainder of their Slovenian training camp — they face Koper on 27 June — to build sharpness ahead of their European qualifier later in July.

A convincing scoreline and a promising debut for three academy graduates, but Xande's injury is a real concern for a club that has already been criticised by supporters for underwhelming recruitment this window. Brečko's rotation policy gave him useful data on every squad member; the test now is whether he can integrate the young scorers into competitive first-team action when the season proper begins.