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

The qualification phase for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League ran from 7 July to 26 August 2026. A total of 29 teams secured direct entry into the league phase, while the remaining seven places were decided through qualifying rounds.

Structure of the Qualifying Rounds

The qualification process featured four stages: the first, second, and third qualifying rounds, followed by the play-offs. Starting from the second round, the competition was split into two paths:

• Champions Path: Teams that won their domestic leagues.
• League Path: Teams that qualified through domestic leagues with multiple Champions League spots.

Entry points for teams depended on their association club coefficient rankings.

The system guarantees representation from at least 37 national associations across the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League group stages. Clubs eliminated in Champions League and Europa League qualifiers had opportunities to continue their European campaigns in lower-tier tournaments.

Schedule of Qualifying Rounds and Play-offs

• 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 involved:

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

First Legs - 18-19 August 2026

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

Second Legs - 25-26 August 2026

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

The winners progressed to the league phase of the Champions League, while losing sides entered the Europa League group stage.

Third Qualifying Round

Teams involved:

• Champions Path: 12 winners from the second round
• League Path: 8 teams (6 new entries plus 2 second round winners)

First Legs - 4-5 August 2026

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

Second Legs - 11 August 2026

• Champions Path:
• 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)
• League Path:
• 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)

Winners advanced to the play-offs. Losers in the champions path moved to the Europa League play-off round, while those defeated in the league path entered the Europa League group stage.

Second Qualifying Round

Teams involved:

• Champions Path: 24 teams (10 new entries plus 14 first round winners)
• League Path: 4 new entries

First Legs - 21-22 July 2026

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

Second Legs - 28-29 July 2026

• Champions Path:
• 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)
• League Path:
• Hearts 0-2 Sturm Graz (agg: 0-6)
• Additional Matches:
• 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)
• League Path:
• Górnik Zabrze 1-1 Fenerbahçe (agg: 1-2)

Winners proceeded to the third qualifying round. Losing clubs dropped into the Europa League third qualifying round in their respective paths.

First Qualifying Round

Teams involved:

• Champions Path: 28 teams entered at this stage

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)

Winners moved forward to the second qualifying round. Losing teams dropped into the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round or received a bye to the third qualifying round depending on the draw.

Next Steps

The league phase draw for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League is scheduled for 27 August 2026 at 18:00 CET, featuring 36 teams: 29 direct qualifiers plus 7 successful play-off teams.