Groene Ster vs AS Eupen

The goal itself — arriving just 120 seconds after the wholesale half-time changes — was the decisive moment. Delaurier-Chaubet's early second-half strike gave the new XI a platform to control the tempo rather than chase the game, and the Dutch fourth-tier hosts never seriously threatened an equaliser.

Logan Delaurier-Chaubet — The 23-year-old French midfielder scored the only goal of the game in the 47th minute, making a strong case for a starting role in Eupen's next friendly. His movement off the ball and finishing composure stood out in a match otherwise short of clear-cut chances.

The two XIs — Eupen's decision to rotate the entire outfield at half-time makes it hard to single out individuals, but the first-half XI (featuring regulars like Nicolas Gavory, Daniel Kasper and Rune Paeshuyse) kept a clean sheet, and the second-half unit both scored and preserved the shutout. That defensive solidity across 90 minutes, with two different back fours, is a positive early sign.

As a pre-season friendly played at a deliberately low tempo, raw statistics carry limited weight. What matters more: the clean sheet across two entirely different defensive units (Renner, Gavory, Kasper, Caliskan, Malhage, Müller, Paeshuyse in the first half; Van Genechten, Michael, Nuhu, Youndje, Plastun in the second). Eupen created exactly one goal-worthy moment and took it — the hallmark of an efficient pre-season performance where the result is secondary to fitness and system familiarity.

This was KAS Eupen's first pre-season friendly of the 2026 summer window. A 1-0 away win against a Dutch lower-league side is a solid, if unspectacular, start. Eupen will face tougher tests as pre-season progresses, with the Challenger Pro League campaign likely to begin in early August. The full schedule of remaining friendlies had not been published at the time of writing.

Groene Ster, competing in the Dutch Vierde Divisie, used the match as a high-quality workout against professional opposition.

A textbook pre-season opener: two entirely different XIs, no injuries reported, a clean sheet, and a well-taken goal from Delaurier-Chaubet. Nothing more, nothing less. Eupen's management will be pleased with the defensive organisation across both halves and the sharpness of the finishing. The real tests come later in July.