2025–26 UEFA Europa League qualifying
Football tournament qualification stage
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2025–26 UEFA Europa League qualifying was the preliminary phase of the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League, prior to the competition proper. Qualification consisted of the qualifying phase (first to third rounds) and the play-off round. It began on 10 July and ended on 28 August 2025.[1]
A total of 53 teams competed in the qualifying system, which included the qualifying phase and the play-off round. The 12 winners of the play-off round advanced to the league phase, to join the 13 teams that entered in the league stage, along with the seven losers of the Champions League play-off round (five from the Champions Path and two from the League Path), and the four losers of the Champions League third qualifying round (League Path).[2]
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Format
The qualifying phase was split into two paths – the Champions Path and the Main Path. The Champions Path contained teams which were eliminated from the Champions League Champions Path, and the Main Path contained teams which qualified as the third-placed or the fourth-placed team from their domestic league or as domestic cup winners. The paths were merged in the play-off round.
Each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time was played, and if the same number of goals were scored by both teams during extra time, the tie was decided by a penalty shoot-out.[3]
In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots containing the same number of teams. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. As the identity of the winners of the previous round may not have been known at the time of the draws, the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to the subsequent round. In practice, this meant if the team with the lower coefficient advanced in the Europa League or the team with the higher coefficient was eliminated from the Champions League, it simply took the seeding of its opponent.
Prior to the draws, UEFA formed "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, purely for the convenience of the draw and not to resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition. Teams from associations with political conflicts as decided by UEFA could not be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie could be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition was as follows. Matches were scheduled for Thursdays, though exceptionally could take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts.[1]
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round | 17 June 2025 | 10 July 2025 | 17 July 2025 |
| Second qualifying round | 18 June 2025 | 24 July 2025 | 31 July 2025 |
| Third qualifying round | 21 July 2025 | 7 August 2025 | 14 August 2025 |
| Play-off round | 4 August 2025 | 21 August 2025 | 28 August 2025 |
Teams
In the qualifying stage, the teams were divided into two paths:
- Champions Path (12 teams):
- Third qualifying round: 12 losers of the Champions League Champions Path second qualifying round.
- Main Path:
- First qualifying round (16 teams): 16 teams which entered in this round.
- Second qualifying round (16 teams): 8 teams which entered in this round, and 8 winners of the first qualifying round.
- Third qualifying round (14 teams): 3 teams which entered in this round, 3 losers of the Champions League League Path second qualifying round, and 8 winners of the second qualifying round.
The winners of the third qualifying round were combined into a single path for the play-off round:
- Play-off round (24 teams): 5 teams which entered this round, 6 losers of the Champions League Champions Path third qualifying round, 6 winners of the Champions Path third qualifying round, and 7 winners of the Main Path third qualifying round.
All teams eliminated from the qualifying phase and play-off round entered the Conference League:
- The 8 losers of the Main Path first qualifying round entered the Main Path second qualifying round.
- The 8 losers of the Main Path second qualifying round entered the Main Path third qualifying round.
- The 6 losers of the Champions Path third qualifying round entered the Champions Path play-off round.
- The 7 losers of the Main Path third qualifying round entered the Main Path play-off round.
- The 12 losers of the play-off round entered the league phase.
Below were the participating teams (with their 2025 UEFA club coefficients, not used as seeding for the Champions Path, however),[4] grouped by their starting rounds.
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Winners of play-off round advanced to league phase |
| Losers of play-off round entered Conference League league phase |
| Losers of third qualifying round entered Conference League play-off round |
| Losers of second qualifying round entered Conference League third qualifying round |
| Losers of first qualifying round entered Conference League second qualifying round |
- Notes
- CH Q3 Losers of Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path).
- CH Q2 Losers of Champions League second qualifying round (Champions Path).
- LP Q2 Losers of Champions League second qualifying round (League Path).
First qualifying round
The draw for the first qualifying round was held on 17 June 2025.
Seeding
A total of 16 teams played in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA allocated the teams into two groups of four seeded teams and four unseeded teams in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.[5] The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
Summary
The first legs were played on 10 July, and the second legs were played on 17 July 2025.
The winners of the ties advanced to the second qualifying round. The losers were transferred to the Conference League Main Path second qualifying round.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shakhtar Donetsk  | 6–0 |  Ilves | 6–0 | 0–0 |
Sheriff Tiraspol  | 5–2 |  Prishtina | 4–0 | 1–2 |
Spartak Trnava  | 2–3 |  BK Häcken | 0–1 | 2–2 |
Sabah  | 5–6 |  Celje | 2–3 | 3–3 (a.e.t.) |
Legia Warsaw  | 2–0 |  Aktobe | 1–0 | 1–0 |
Levski Sofia  | 1–1 (3–1 p) |  Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 0–0 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
AEK Larnaca  | 2–2 (6–5 p) |  Partizan | 1–0 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
Paks  | 0–3 |  CFR Cluj | 0–0 | 0–3 |
Matches
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 6–0 | Ilves |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[6] |
| Ilves | 0–0 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
|---|---|---|
| Report[9] |
Shakhtar Donetsk won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 4–0 | Prishtina |
|---|---|---|
| Report[11] |
Sheriff Tiraspol won 5–2 on aggregate.
| Spartak Trnava | 0–1 | BK Häcken |
|---|---|---|
| Report[15] |
|
| BK Häcken | 2–2 | Spartak Trnava |
|---|---|---|
| Report[17] |
|
BK Häcken won 3–2 on aggregate.
Celje won 6–5 on aggregate.
| Legia Warsaw | 1–0 | Aktobe |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[23] |
Legia Warsaw won 2–0 on aggregate.
| Levski Sofia | 0–0 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva |
|---|---|---|
| Report[27] |
1–1 on aggregate; Levski Sofia won 3–1 on penalties.
| AEK Larnaca | 1–0 | Partizan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[32] |
| Partizan | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | AEK Larnaca |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[34] |
|
| Penalties | ||
|
5–6 | |
2–2 on aggregate; AEK Larnaca won 6–5 on penalties.
CFR Cluj won 3–0 on aggregate.
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 18 June 2025.
Seeding
A total of 16 teams played in the second qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA allocated the teams into two groups of four seeded teams and four unseeded teams in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.[40] The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
- Notes
- † Winners of the first qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 24 July and the second legs were played on 31 July 2025.
The winners of the ties advanced to the Main Path third qualifying round. The losers were transferred to the Conference League Main Path third qualifying round.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lugano  | 0–1 | CFR Cluj | 0–0 | 0–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Celje | 2–3 | AEK Larnaca | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Levski Sofia | 0–1 |  Braga | 0–0 | 0–1 (a.e.t.) |
Baník Ostrava  | 3–4 | Legia Warsaw | 2–2 | 1–2 |
Anderlecht  | 2–2 (2–4 p) | BK Häcken | 1–0 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 2–7 |  Utrecht | 1–3 | 1–4 |
Midtjylland  | 3–2 |  Hibernian | 1–1 | 2–1 (a.e.t.) |
Beşiktaş  | 2–6 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 2–4 | 0–2 |
Matches
CFR Cluj won 1–0 on aggregate.
AEK Larnaca won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Levski Sofia | 0–0 | Braga |
|---|---|---|
| Report[50] |
| Braga | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Levski Sofia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[52] |
Braga won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Baník Ostrava | 2–2 | Legia Warsaw |
|---|---|---|
| Report[54] |
Legia Warsaw won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Anderlecht | 1–0 | BK Häcken |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[58] |
2–2 on aggregate; BK Häcken won 4–2 on penalties.
Utrecht won 7–2 on aggregate.
| Midtjylland | 1–1 | Hibernian |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[67] |
|
Midtjylland won 3–2 on aggregate.
| Beşiktaş | 2–4 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[71] |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2–0 | Beşiktaş |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[73] |
Shakhtar Donetsk won 6–2 on aggregate.
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 21 July 2025.
Seeding
A total of 26 teams played in the third qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA formed groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
- Notes
- † Losers of the Champions League second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics lost to a team with a lower coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
- †† Winners of the second qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 5, 6 and 7 August, and the second legs were played on 12 and 14 August 2025.
The winners of the ties advanced to the play-off round. The losers were transferred to the Conference League play-off round.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions Path | ||||
Lincoln Red Imps  | 1–1 (6–5 p) |  Noah | 1–1 | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |
Rijeka  | 4–3 |  Shelbourne | 1–2 | 3–1 |
RFS  | 1–3 | KuPS | 1–2 | 0–1 |
Hamrun Spartans  | 2–5 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–2 | 1–3 |
Zrinjski Mostar  | 3–2 |  Breiðablik | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| FCSB | 6–3 | Drita | 3–2 | 3–1 |
| Main Path | ||||
| AEK Larnaca | 5–3 | Legia Warsaw | 4–1 | 1–2 |
Fredrikstad  | 1–5 | Midtjylland | 1–3 | 0–2 |
| CFR Cluj | 1–4 | Braga | 1–2 | 0–2 |
PAOK  | 1–0 |  Wolfsberger AC | 0–0 | 1–0 (a.e.t.) |
| Servette | 2–5 | Utrecht | 1–3 | 1–2 |
| BK Häcken | 1–2 | Brann | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Panathinaikos | 0–0 (4–3 p) | Shakhtar Donetsk | 0–0 | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |
Champions Path matches
| Lincoln Red Imps | 1–1 | Noah |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[75] |
|
1–1 on aggregate; Lincoln Red Imps won 6–5 on penalties.
Rijeka won 4–3 on aggregate.
KuPS won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Hamrun Spartans | 1–2 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
|---|---|---|
| Report[88] |
Maccabi Tel Aviv won 5–2 on aggregate.
| Zrinjski Mostar | 1–1 | Breiðablik |
|---|---|---|
| Report[92] |
| Breiðablik | 1–2 | Zrinjski Mostar |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[94] |
Zrinjski Mostar won 3–2 on aggregate.
FCSB won 6–3 on aggregate.
Main Path matches
| AEK Larnaca | 4–1 | Legia Warsaw |
|---|---|---|
| Report[101] |
|
AEK Larnaca won 5–3 on aggregate.
| Fredrikstad | 1–3 | Midtjylland |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[105] |
|
Midtjylland won 5–1 on aggregate.
Braga won 4–1 on aggregate.
| PAOK | 0–0 | Wolfsberger AC |
|---|---|---|
| Report[113] |
PAOK won 1–0 on aggregate.
Utrecht won 5–2 on aggregate.
Brann won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Panathinaikos | 0–0 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
|---|---|---|
| Report[125] |
0–0 on aggregate; Panathinaikos won 4–3 on penalties.
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 4 August 2025.
Seeding
A total of 24 teams played in the play-off round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2025 UEFA club coefficients.[4] Before the draw, UEFA formed groups of seeded and unseeded teams per the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The first team drawn in each tie was the home team for the first leg.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
- Notes
- † Losers of the Champions League third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics lost to a team with a lower coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
- †† Winners of the third qualifying round, whose identity was not known at the time of draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their opponent in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 21 August, and the second legs were played on 27 and 28 August 2025.
The winners of the ties advanced to the league phase. The losers were transferred to the Conference League league phase.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–2 | Dynamo Kyiv | 3–1 | 0–1 |
Shkëndija  | 3–5 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 2–1 | 1–4 (a.e.t.) |
| Slovan Bratislava | 2–4 | Young Boys | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| Malmö FF | 5–0 | Sigma Olomouc | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Panathinaikos | 2–1 | Samsunspor | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Aberdeen | 2–5 | FCSB | 2–2 | 0–3 |
| Lech Poznań | 3–6 | Genk | 1–5 | 2–1 |
| Midtjylland | 6–0 | KuPS | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Lincoln Red Imps | 1–9 | Braga | 0–4 | 1–5 |
| Zrinjski Mostar | 0–2 | Utrecht | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Brann | 6–1 | AEK Larnaca | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| Rijeka | 1–5 | PAOK | 1–0 | 0–5 |
Matches
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–1 | Dynamo Kyiv |
|---|---|---|
| Report[129] |
|
Maccabi Tel Aviv won 3–2 on aggregate.
Ludogorets Razgrad won 5–3 on aggregate.
| Slovan Bratislava | 0–1 | Young Boys |
|---|---|---|
| Report[138] |
|
Young Boys won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Malmö FF | 3–0 | Sigma Olomouc |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[142] |
| Sigma Olomouc | 0–2 | Malmö FF |
|---|---|---|
| Report[144] |
|
Malmö FF won 5–0 on aggregate.
| Panathinaikos | 2–1 | Samsunspor |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[146] |
|
| Samsunspor | 0–0 | Panathinaikos |
|---|---|---|
| Report[148] |
Panathinaikos won 2–1 on aggregate.
FCSB won 5–2 on aggregate.
| Lech Poznań | 1–5 | Genk |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[154] |
|
Genk won 6–3 on aggregate.
Midtjylland won 6–0 on aggregate.
Braga won 9–1 on aggregate.
| Utrecht | 0–0 | Zrinjski Mostar |
|---|---|---|
| Report[168] |
Utrecht won 2–0 on aggregate.
Brann won 6–1 on aggregate.
| PAOK | 5–0 | Rijeka |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[176] |
PAOK won 5–1 on aggregate.
Notes
- Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[7]
- Lugano played their home matches at the Stockhorn Arena, in Thun, instead of their regular stadium, the Cornaredo Stadium, in Lugano, due to renovation works.[42]
- Sheriff Tiraspol played their second qualifying round home match at the Central Stadium in Nisporeni, instead of their regular stadium, the Sheriff Arena, in Tiraspol, due to the Dutch government's travel advisory concerning Transnistria.[63]
- Lincoln Red Imps played their third qualifying round home match at Europa Sports Park, instead of their regular stadium, Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar, due to renovation works.[76]
- Hamrun Spartans played their home match at the Tony Bezzina Stadium, in Paola, instead of their regular venue, the Victor Tedesco Stadium, in Hamrun, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- Drita played their home match at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina, instead of their regular stadium, the Gjilan City Stadium, in Gjilan, due to renovation works.[99]
- Wolfsberger AC played their home matches at the Wörthersee Stadion, in Klagenfurt, instead of their regular venue, the Lavanttal-Arena, in Wolfsberg, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- Shkëndija played their home match at the Toše Proeski Arena in Skopje, instead of their regular stadium, the Ecolog Arena, in Tetovo, due to renovation works.[134]
- Lincoln Red Imps played their play-off round home match at the Estádio Algarve in Faro/Loulé, Portugal, instead of their regular stadium, Victoria Stadium in Gibraltar, due to renovation works.