The 19th of March 2026 will go down in Mainz 05's history: For the first time, the Bundesliga club has reached the quarterfinals of the European Cup. In the Conference League's quarterfinal match, the Nullfünfer defeated the Czech Cup winner Sigma Olmütz 2-0 (0-0) on Thursday evening and advanced to the next round after the 0-0 draw in the first leg. "It feels great", said defender Danny da Costa on RTL after the game, "the team has done a lot right. I believe we deserve to go one round further." With a view to the final in Leipzig, everyone can dream, added da Costa, "but we do well to take it one game at a time." ## Mainz wins 2-0 on a historic evening Stefan Posch with his header (46.) and Armindo Sieb (82.) made for a historic evening for Mainz 05, Olmütz ended the game after the red card for Peter Barath (76.) with ten men. While the Rhinelanders are fighting against relegation in the Bundesliga, the dream of the Conference League final in Leipzig on May 28th continues. The quarterfinals will be played on April 9th and 16th, Mainz will have home advantage first. "We want to believe in ourselves and be brave", said Mainz coach Urs Fischer before the game on RTL. His players obeyed: From the start, the Nullfünfer were eager to create offensive opportunities. Mainz had the game and the opponent under control, but after 20 minutes they also had luck, as Danijel Sturm narrowly missed the guest's lead. The game became increasingly balanced, Mainz's next dangerous approach was recorded: Phillipp Mwene shot from distance only narrowly to the right of the goal (35.). Just before the break, Nelson Weiper missed the next chance with a header (45.). The second half began with a thunderclap: Paul Nebel flanked from the right side, Posch headed in the lead. Inspired by this, Mainz continued to push forward, Olmütz came hardly to relief. In the further course of the second half, the game lost some tempo, the guests remained largely harmless. The red card for Barath played Mainz into the cards, the subsequent free kick from Nebel hit the crossbar (78.). But Sieb increased.