2026–27 UEFA Europa League qualifying
Football tournament qualification stage
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026–27 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round began on 9 July and will end on 27 August 2026.[1][2]
A total of 52 teams are competing in the qualifying system, which includes the qualifying phase and the play-off round. The 12 winners of the play-off round advance to the league phase, where they join the 13 teams that enter directly in the league phase, 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 from the League Path.[3]
Times are CEST (UTC+2), as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Format
The qualifying phase is split into two paths – the Champions Path and the Main Path. The Champions Path contains teams that are eliminated from the Champions League Champions Path, and the Main Path contains teams that qualify as third-placed or fourth-placed team from their domestic league or as domestic cup winners. The paths are merged in the play-off round.
Each tie is played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scores more goals on aggregate over the two legs advances to the next round. If the aggregate score is level at the end of normal time of the second leg, extra time is played, and if the same number of goals is scored by both teams during extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shoot-out.[4]
In the draws for each round, teams are 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 is 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 be known at the time of the draws, the seeding is carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advances to the subsequent round. In practice, this means if the team with the lower coefficient advances in the Europa League or the team with the higher coefficient is eliminated from the Champions League, it simply takes the seeding of its opponent.
Prior to the draws, UEFA may form "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 cannot be drawn into the same tie. After the draws, the order of legs of a tie may be reversed by UEFA due to scheduling or venue conflicts.
Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows. Matches are scheduled for Thursdays, though exceptionally could take place on Tuesdays or Wednesdays due to scheduling conflicts.[2]
| Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| First qualifying round | 16 June 2026 | 9 July 2026 | 16 July 2026 |
| Second qualifying round | 17 June 2026 | 23 July 2026 | 30 July 2026 |
| Third qualifying round | 20 July 2026 | 6 August 2026 | 13 August 2026 |
| Play-off round | 3 August 2026 | 20 August 2026 | 27 August 2026 |
Teams
In the qualifying stage, the teams will be 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 (12 teams): 12 teams which enter in this round.
- Second qualifying round (18 teams): 12 teams which enter in this round, and 6 winners of the first qualifying round.
- Third qualifying round (14 teams): 3 teams which enter in this round, 2 losers of the Champions League League Path second qualifying round, and 9 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 enter 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 enter the Conference League:
- The 6 losers of the Main Path first qualifying round enter the Main Path second qualifying round.
- The 9 losers of the Main Path second qualifying round enter the Main Path third qualifying round.
- The 6 losers of the Champions Path third qualifying round enter the Champions Path play-off round.
- The 7 losers of the Main Path third qualifying round enter the Main Path play-off round.
- The 12 losers of the play-off round enter the league phase.
Below were the participating teams (with their 2026 UEFA club coefficients, not used as seeding for the Champions Path, however),[5] grouped by their starting rounds.
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Winners of play-off round advance to league phase |
| Losers of play-off round enter 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 16 June 2026.[6]
Seeding
A total of 12 teams played in the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients.[5] The teams were divided into seeded and unseeded pots. The first team drawn in each tie was designated as the home team for the first leg.
Summary
The first legs were played on 9 July, and the second legs were played on 16 July 2026.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dynamo Kyiv  | 0–0 (4–2 p) |  Universitatea Cluj | 0–0 | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |
Qarabağ  | 6–0 |  Vestri | 3–0 | 3–0 |
Hajduk Split  | 3–2 |  Žilina | 2–0 | 1–2 |
CSKA Sofia  | 5–3 |  Derry City | 3–2 | 2–1 |
Sheriff Tiraspol  | 1–0 |  Aluminij | 0–0 | 1–0 |
Vojvodina  | 1–5 |  Ferencváros | 1–2 | 0–3 |
Matches
| Dynamo Kyiv | 0–0 | Universitatea Cluj |
|---|---|---|
| Report[7] |
0–0 on aggregate; Dynamo Kyiv won 4–2 on penalties.
Qarabağ won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Hajduk Split | 2–0 | Žilina |
|---|---|---|
| Report[16] |
| Žilina | 2–1 | Hajduk Split |
|---|---|---|
| Report[18] |
|
Hajduk Split won 3–2 on aggregate.
| CSKA Sofia | 3–2 | Derry City |
|---|---|---|
| Report[20] |
CSKA Sofia won 5–3 on aggregate.
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–0 | Aluminij |
|---|---|---|
| Report[24] |
| Aluminij | 0–1 | Sheriff Tiraspol |
|---|---|---|
| Report[26] |
|
Sheriff Tiraspol won 1–0 on aggregate.
| Vojvodina | 1–2 | Ferencváros |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[28] |
|
| Ferencváros | 3–0 | Vojvodina |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[30] |
Ferencváros won 5–1 on aggregate.
Second qualifying round
The draw for the second qualifying round was held on 17 June 2026.[32]
Seeding
A total of 18 teams played in the second qualifying round: 12 teams which entered in this round, and the six winners of the first qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients.[5] For the winners of first qualifying round ties, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw, the coefficient of the team with the higher coefficient in each tie was used. Prior to the draw, UEFA divided the teams into two groups of seeded and unseeded teams, in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. The team or pairing represented by the ball drawn first was designated as 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.
- ‡ Following the exclusion of Karviná and the subsequent adjustment of the Czech clubs' access places, Hradec Králové replaced Viktoria Plzeň in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. Hradec Králové therefore effectively inherited the seeded status associated with Viktoria Plzeň's place in the draw.
Summary
The first legs were played on 23 July, and the second legs were played on 30 July 2026.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hammarby IF  | 2–4 |  Anderlecht | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Qarabağ | 0–0 (4–5 p) | CSKA Sofia | 0–0 | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |
Tromsø  | 1–4 |  Hradec Králové | 0–1 | 1–3 |
Twente  | 3–4 | Ferencváros | 1–2 | 2–2 |
Beşiktaş  | 3–0 |  Midtjylland | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Hajduk Split | 2–4 |  Pafos | 2–0 | 0–4 (a.e.t.) |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–6 |  Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–5 | 0–1 |
St. Gallen  | 2–6 |  Benfica | 2–1 | 0–5 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2–5 |  PAOK | 2–3 | 0–2 |
Matches
| Hammarby IF | 1–1 | Anderlecht |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[33] |
|
Anderlecht won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Qarabağ | 0–0 | CSKA Sofia |
|---|---|---|
| Report[37] |
0–0 on aggregate; CSKA Sofia won 5–4 on penalties.
| Tromsø | 0–1 | Hradec Králové |
|---|---|---|
| Report[41] |
|
Hradec Králové won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Twente | 1–2 | Ferencváros |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[45] |
|
| Ferencváros | 2–2 | Twente |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[47] |
|
Ferencváros won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Beşiktaş | 1–0 | Midtjylland |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[49] |
Beşiktaş won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Hajduk Split | 2–0 | Pafos |
|---|---|---|
| Report[53] |
Pafos won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–5 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
|---|---|---|
| Report[57] |
|
Maccabi Tel Aviv won 6–0 on aggregate.
Benfica won 6–2 on aggregate.
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2–3 | PAOK |
|---|---|---|
| Report[66] |
|
| PAOK | 2–0 | Dynamo Kyiv |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[68] |
PAOK won 5–2 on aggregate.
Third qualifying round
The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 20 July 2026.[70]
Seeding
A total of 26 teams played in the third qualifying round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients.[5] 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 designated as 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 4, 5 and 6 August, and the second legs were played on 11, 13 and 14 August 2026.
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 | ||||
Larne  | 1–2 |  Iberia 1999 | 0–0 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
Lincoln Red Imps  | 1–2 | Omonia | 1–1 | 0–1 |
KuPS  | 2–3 | Universitatea Craiova | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 4–6 |  Egnatia | 3–1 | 1–5 |
Lech Poznań  | 6–0 |  KÍ | 1–0 | 5–0 |
| Thun | 5–3 | Víkingur Reykjavík | 3–0 | 2–3 |
| Main Path | ||||
| Hradec Králové | 0–2 | Beşiktaş | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Jagiellonia Białystok | 3–2 |  Rangers | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| PAOK | 2–4 | Anderlecht | 0–1 | 2–3 |
Red Bull Salzburg  | 4–3[a] | Pafos | 1–0 | 3–3 |
| Benfica | 7–2 | Heart of Midlothian | 6–1 | 1–1 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 3–4 | CSKA Sofia | 0–3 | 3–1 |
| Ferencváros | 2–1 | Górnik Zabrze | 1–0 | 1–1 |
- The order of the legs was reversed after the original draw because the Red Bull Arena was scheduled to host the UEFA Super Cup on 12 August.
Champions Path matches
| Larne | 0–0 | Iberia 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Report[71] |
| Iberia 1999 | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Larne |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[73] |
|
Iberia 1999 won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Lincoln Red Imps | 1–1 | Omonia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[75] |
|
Omonia won 2–1 on aggregate.
| KuPS | 1–1 | Universitatea Craiova |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[79] |
|
Universitatea Craiova won 3–2 on aggregate.
Egnatia won 6–4 on aggregate.
| Lech Poznań | 1–0 | KÍ |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[87] |
Lech Poznań won 6–0 on aggregate.
| Víkingur Reykjavík | 3–2 | Thun |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[94] |
Thun won 5–3 on aggregate.
Main Path matches
| Hradec Králové | 0–1 | Beşiktaş |
|---|---|---|
| Report[96] |
|
Beşiktaş won 2–0 on aggregate.
Jagiellonia Białystok won 3–2 on aggregate.
| PAOK | 0–1 | Anderlecht |
|---|---|---|
| Report[104] |
|
Anderlecht won 4–2 on aggregate.
| Red Bull Salzburg | 1–0 | Pafos |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[108] |
Red Bull Salzburg won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Benfica | 6–1 | Heart of Midlothian |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[112] |
|
Benfica won 7–2 on aggregate.
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–3 | CSKA Sofia |
|---|---|---|
| Report[116] |
| CSKA Sofia | 1–3 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[118] |
|
CSKA Sofia won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Ferencváros | 1–0 | Górnik Zabrze |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[120] |
Ferencváros won 2–1 on aggregate.
Play-off round
The draw for the play-off round was held on 3 August 2026.[124]
Seeding
A total of 24 teams play in the play-off round. Seeding of the teams was based on their 2026 UEFA club coefficients.[5] 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 will be 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 20 August, and the second legs will be played on 27 August 2026.
The winners of the ties will advance to the league phase. The losers will be transferred to the Conference League league phase.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trabzonspor | Match 1 | Ferencváros | 0–1 | 27 Aug |
| Universitatea Craiova | Match 2 |  Ararat-Armenia | 1–1 | 27 Aug |
| Sint-Truiden | Match 3 | Omonia | 1–0 | 27 Aug |
| Red Star Belgrade | Match 4 | Viktoria Plzeň | 3–0 | 27 Aug |
| Egnatia | Match 5 | Lillestrøm | 0–0 | 27 Aug |
| Jagiellonia Białystok | Match 6 | Iberia 1999 | 4–0 | 27 Aug |
| Mjällby AIF | Match 7 | Red Bull Salzburg | 0–1 | 27 Aug |
Kairat  | Match 8 | Anderlecht | 0–3 | 27 Aug |
| Lech Poznań | Match 9 | Thun | 7–0 | 27 Aug |
| Beşiktaş | Match 10 |  Kauno Žalgiris | 3–0 | 27 Aug |
| Benfica | Match 11 | AGF | 3–1 | 27 Aug |
| OFI | Match 12 | CSKA Sofia | 3–0 | 27 Aug |
Matches
| Trabzonspor | 0–1 | Ferencváros |
|---|---|---|
| Report[125] |
|
| Ferencváros | v | Trabzonspor |
|---|---|---|
| Report[127] |
| Universitatea Craiova | 1–1 | Ararat-Armenia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[128] |
|
| Ararat-Armenia | v | Universitatea Craiova |
|---|---|---|
| Report[130] |
| Sint-Truiden | 1–0 | Omonia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[131] |
| Red Star Belgrade | 3–0 | Viktoria Plzeň |
|---|---|---|
| Report[134] |
| Viktoria Plzeň | v | Red Star Belgrade |
|---|---|---|
| Report[136] |
| Egnatia | 0–0 | Lillestrøm |
|---|---|---|
| Report[137] |
| Lillestrøm | v | Egnatia |
|---|---|---|
| Report[139] |
| Jagiellonia Białystok | 4–0 | Iberia 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Report[140] |
| Mjällby AIF | 0–1 | Red Bull Salzburg |
|---|---|---|
| Report[143] |
|
| Red Bull Salzburg | v | Mjällby AIF |
|---|---|---|
| Report[145] |
| Anderlecht | v | Kairat |
|---|---|---|
| Report[148] |
| Lech Poznań | 7–0 | Thun |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[149] |
| Thun | v | Lech Poznań |
|---|---|---|
| Report[151] |
| Beşiktaş | 3–0 | Kauno Žalgiris |
|---|---|---|
|
Report[152] |
| Kauno Žalgiris | v | Beşiktaş |
|---|---|---|
| Report[154] |
| AGF | v | Benfica |
|---|---|---|
| Report[157] |
| CSKA Sofia | v | OFI |
|---|---|---|
| Report[160] |
Notes
- Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[8]
- Vestri played their home match at Valbjarnarvöllur in Reykjavík instead of their regular stadium, Torfnesvöllur in Ísafjörður, which does not fulfill UEFA requirements.
- Aluminij played their home match at Ljudski Vrt in Maribor instead of their regular stadium, Aluminij Sports Park in Kidričevo, which does not fulfill UEFA requirements.
- Pafos played their home matches at the Alphamega Stadium in Limassol, instead of their regular stadium, the Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, in Paphos, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
- The KÍ v Lech Poznań match, originally scheduled for 13 August 2026, 20:45 (19:45 UTC+1), was postponed to the following day due to heavy fog that disrupted the travel of Lech Poznań from landing in the Faroe Islands.[89]
- KÍ played their home match at Tórsvøllur in Tórshavn instead of their regular stadium, Við Djúpumýrar in Klaksvík, which does not fulfill UEFA requirements.
- Ararat-Armenia played their home match at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan, instead of their regular home ground, Yerevan Football Academy Stadium in Yerevan.
- AGF played their home match at the Cepheus Park in Randers, instead of their regular home ground, Ceres Park in Aarhus, which was undergoing major renovation.