FK Austria Wien's women had barely landed in Lisbon when their Champions League trip changed shape. Storm Charles pushed their league-phase game at Benfica back 24 hours, and the knock-on effect reaches all the way to Austria: the club's league game against Salzburg this weekend can no longer be played as planned.
Why the game was moved
UEFA announced on Tuesday that, following the red weather alert issued by the Portuguese government because of the severe conditions brought by Storm Charles, every UEFA match scheduled in Portugal for Wednesday, Nov. 11, would move to Thursday, Nov. 12.
That covered three fixtures. Benfica vs. Austria Wien, Matchday 4 of the Women's Champions League league phase, now kicks off at 8 p.m. local time Thursday at Estádio da Luz, which is 3 p.m. ET. Torreense vs. Sparta Prague in the Women's Europa Cup and a 2027 Under-17 Championship qualifying group were moved to the same day.
Benfica said tickets already bought remain valid, canceled Tuesday's pre-match press conference in line with UEFA guidelines and said the six-time Portuguese champions would stay in isolation on Wednesday under the national guidance.
The cost for Austria Wien
For the visitors, the extra day in Lisbon is not free. In its own statement, FK Austria said the postponement means the domestic game against Salzburg cannot take place on Saturday as scheduled, and that a new date would be announced soon. The Benfica game will be shown in Austria on Disney+ and ORF Sport+.
Barcelona vs. Arsenal is under the same sky
The storm is not only a Portuguese problem. Spain's weather agency AEMET issued red alerts for rain in Ávila and Cáceres on Wednesday, warning of heavy and persistent rain, very strong gusts and rough seas, ESPN reported. On Thursday, Barcelona host Arsenal at the Camp Nou in a rematch of the 2025 final, which Arsenal won 1-0.
As of Wednesday, only the UEFA games in Portugal had been moved. For Austria Wien, though, one storm has already turned a single away trip into two rescheduled games.
