UEFA Champions League 2026/27 Qualifying: Results and Format Explained

The qualifying phase for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League began on July 7 and wrapped up by August 26. A total of 29 teams secured direct entry into the league stage, while seven spots were decided through qualifying rounds.

Qualifying Structure and Paths

The qualification process included a first, second, and third round, followed by play-offs. Starting from the second round, the competition was divided into two routes:

• Champions Path: Teams that won their domestic leagues.
• League Path: Teams qualifying through domestic leagues with multiple Champions League places.

Teams entered based on their association's club coefficient rankings.

The setup guarantees at least 37 national associations will have representation in the group stages across the Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League.

Teams eliminated during Champions League or Europa League qualifying rounds are given opportunities to continue in the Europa League or Conference League. Losing teams from Champions League and Europa League play-offs drop directly into the respective league phases of the Europa League and Conference League.

Key Dates of the Qualifying Rounds

• First qualifying round: 7/8 & 14/15 July 2026 (Draw held 16 June)
• Second qualifying round: 21/22 & 28/29 July 2026 (Draw held 17 June)
• Third qualifying round: 4/5 & 11 August 2026 (Draw held 20 July)
• Play-offs: 18/19 & 25/26 August 2026 (Draw held 3 August)

Play-off Round Details

• Teams:
• Champions path: 10 teams (6 winners from the third qualifying round plus 4 new entrants)
• League path: 4 winners from the third qualifying round

Play-off First Legs - 18-19 August 2026

• Levski Sofia 0-0 AEK Athens (Champions path)
• GNK Dinamo 2-2 Viking (Champions path)
• Fenerbahçe 1-1 Lyon (League path)
• Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2-1 Sabah (Champions path)
• Celtic 3-0 LASK (Champions path)
• Slovan Bratislava 1-1 Celje (Champions path)
• N.E.C. 1-3 Bodø/Glimt (League path)

Play-off Second Legs - 25-26 August 2026

• Sabah 5-2 after extra time Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Aggregate 6-4)
• LASK 5-1 after extra time Celtic (Aggregate 5-4)
• Bodø/Glimt 3-0 N.E.C. (Aggregate 6-1)
• AEK Athens 4-0 Levski Sofia (Aggregate 4-0)
• Viking 3-1 GNK Dinamo (Aggregate 5-3)
• Celje 1-2 after extra time Slovan Bratislava (Aggregate 2-3)
• Lyon 1-2 Fenerbahçe (Aggregate 2-3)

Outcome: Winners advanced to the Champions League league phase. All losing teams entered the Europa League league phase.

Third Qualifying Round

• Teams Involved:
• Champions path: 12 winners from the second qualifying round
• League path: 8 teams (6 newcomers plus 2 winners from second qualifying round)

First Legs - 4-5 August 2026

• Mjällby 1-2 Slovan Bratislava (Champions path)
• Ararat-Armenia 2-1 Celje (Champions path)
• Levski Sofia 1-0 Kairat Almaty (Champions path)
• Hapoel Beer-Sheva 1-0 Crvena Zvezda (Champions path)
• GNK Dinamo 5-0 Kauno Žalgiris (Champions path)
• Olympiacos 0-0 N.E.C. (League path)
• Union SG 3-3 Bodø/Glimt (League path)
• Sparta Praha 2-1 Lyon (League path)
• Aarhus 2-1 Sabah (Champions path)
• Fenerbahçe 2-0 Sturm Graz (League path)

Second Legs - 11 August 2026

• Kairat Almaty 0-1 Levski Sofia (Agg 0-2)
• Sabah 4-0 Aarhus (Agg 5-2)
• Kauno Žalgiris 1-2 GNK Dinamo (Agg 1-7)
• Crvena Zvezda 0-2 Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Agg 0-3)
• Slovan Bratislava 2-0 Mjällby (Agg 4-1)
• Celje 2-0 Ararat-Armenia (Agg 3-2)
• Bodø/Glimt 3-2 after extra time Union SG (Agg 6-5)
• N.E.C. 2-1 after extra time Olympiacos (Agg 2-1)
• Sturm Graz 0-1 Fenerbahçe (Agg 0-3)
• Lyon 3-0 Sparta Praha (Agg 4-2)

Advancement: Winners moved to play-offs of their paths. Losing champions path teams went to Europa League play-off round; losing league path teams dropped to Europa League league phase.

Second Qualifying Round

• Teams:
• Champions path: 24 teams (10 new plus 14 first-round winners)
• League path: 4 new teams

First Legs - 21-22 July 2026

• Mjällby 3-0 Lincoln Red Imps (Champions path)
• Sabah 1-0 KuPS Kuopio (Champions path)
• Ararat-Armenia 2-0 Shamrock Rovers (Champions path)
• Iberia Tbilisi 0-2 Slovan Bratislava (Champions path)
• Aarhus 1-4 Lech Poznań (Champions path)
• Thun 1-1 GNK Dinamo (Champions path)
• Klaksvík 0-0 Kauno Žalgiris (Champions path)
• Larne 0-4 Crvena Zvezda (Champions path)
• Víkingur Reykjavík 2-1 Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Champions path)
• Fenerbahçe 1-0 Górnik Zabrze (League path)
• Sturm Graz 4-0 Hearts (League path)
• Omonia 1-0 Kairat Almaty (Champions path)
• Levski Sofia 1-0 Universitatea Craiova (Champions path)
• Egnatia 3-3 Celje (Champions path)

Second Legs - 28-29 July 2026

• KuPS Kuopio 0-2 Sabah (Agg 0-3)
• Lincoln Red Imps 0-0 Mjällby (Agg 0-3)
• GNK Dinamo 3-2 after extra time Thun (Agg 4-3)
• Celje 2-2 after extra time Egnatia (Agg 5-5, Celje won 4-1 on penalties)
• Shamrock Rovers 2-1 Ararat-Armenia (Agg 2-3)
• Hearts 0-2 Sturm Graz (Agg 0-6)
• Kairat Almaty 1-0 Omonia (Agg 1-1, Kairat Almaty won 6-5 on penalties)
• Kauno Žalgiris 1-0 Klaksvík (Agg 1-0)
• Lech Poznań 1-4 Aarhus (Agg 5-5, Aarhus won 4-3 on penalties)
• Universitatea Craiova 2-2 Levski Sofia (Agg 2-3)
• Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2-0 Víkingur Reykjavík (Agg 3-2)
• Crvena Zvezda 5-0 Larne (Agg 9-0)
• Slovan Bratislava 1-1 Iberia Tbilisi (Agg 3-1)
• Górnik Zabrze 1-1 Fenerbahçe (Agg 1-2)

Progression: Winners advanced to the third qualifying round. Defeated teams in champions path moved to Europa League third qualifying round; league path losers entered Europa League league phase.

First Qualifying Round

• Teams involved: 28 champions starting here

First Legs - 7-8 July 2026

• Sabah 2-0 The New Saints
• Lincoln Red Imps 3-1 Inter Escaldes*
• Ararat-Armenia 2-0 Riga
• Kauno Žalgiris 1-1 Drita
• Vardar 0-2 KuPS Kuopio
• Floriana 2-0 Shamrock Rovers
• Tre Fiori 0-1 Larne*
• Borac 1-1 Levski Sofia
• Klaksvík 2-1 Atert Bissen
• Víkingur Reykjavík 1-0 Győri ETO
• Kairat Almaty 2-1 Sutjeska
• Flora Tallinn 2-3 Iberia Tbilisi
• Vitebsk 1-4 Universitatea Craiova
• Petrocub 1-1 Egnatia

Second Legs - 14-15 July 2026

• KuPS Kuopio 2-3 after extra time Vardar (Agg 4-3)
• Iberia Tbilisi 2-2 Flora Tallinn (Agg 5-4)
• Inter Escaldes 1-1 Lincoln Red Imps* (Agg 2-4)
• Riga 3-2 Ararat-Armenia (Agg 3-4)
• Győri ETO 2-2 Víkingur Reykjavík (Agg 2-3)
• The New Saints 1-2 Sabah (Agg 1-4)
• Levski Sofia 4-0 Borac (Agg 5-1)
• Drita 2-3 Kauno Žalgiris (Agg 3-4)
• Shamrock Rovers 5-1 Floriana (Agg 5-3)
• Larne 2-1 Tre Fiori* (Agg 3-1)
• Universitatea Craiova 1-0 Vitebsk (Agg 5-1)
• Atert Bissen 1-2 Klaksvík (Agg 2-4)
• Egnatia 6-1 Petrocub (Agg 7-2)
• Sutjeska 0-2 Kairat Almaty (Agg 1-4)

Advancement: Winners moved to the second qualifying round (Champions path). Losing teams mostly entered the Conference League second or third qualifying rounds, depending on the draw.

Next Steps

The league phase draw is scheduled for 18:00 CET on Thursday, August 27, 2026. It will feature 36 teams: 29 automatic qualifiers plus the 7 play-off round winners.

"This qualifying format ensures wide representation across Europe while giving teams multiple chances to continue in European competition," UEFA officials noted.