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

Overview of the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League Qualifying

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

Structure of the Qualifying Rounds

The competition included a first, second, and third qualifying round, followed by play-offs. From the second round onward, the qualifiers were split into two separate paths: the champions path and the league path. The champions path was reserved for domestic league winners, whereas the league path featured clubs that qualified through leagues with multiple Champions League spots. Teams entered at different stages based on their national association's club coefficient rankings.

The format guarantees that teams from at least 37 different associations participate in the Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League group stages. Teams eliminated in Champions League and Europa League qualifiers are given another opportunity to advance by dropping into the Europa League or Conference League, respectively. Those who lose in the play-offs move directly into the league phases of these secondary competitions.

Qualifying Schedule

• 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

The play-off round involved 10 teams in the champions path—six winners from the third qualifying round joined by four new entrants—and 4 teams in the league path, all winners from the third qualifying round.

First Legs (18-19 August)

• 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

• Fenerbahçe 1-1 Lyon
• N.E.C. 1-3 Bodø/Glimt

Second Legs (25-26 August)

• Champions Path:
• Sabah 5-2 (aet) Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Aggregate: 6-4)
• LASK 5-1 (aet) Celtic (Aggregate: 5-4)
• AEK Athens 4-0 Levski Sofia (Aggregate: 4-0)
• Viking 3-1 GNK Dinamo (Aggregate: 5-3)
• Celje 1-2 (aet) Slovan Bratislava (Aggregate: 2-3)

• Bodø/Glimt 3-0 N.E.C. (Aggregate: 6-1)
• Lyon 1-2 Fenerbahçe (Aggregate: 2-3)

Winners progressed to the Champions League league phase, while all losing teams dropped into the Europa League league phase.

League Phase Draw

The draw for the Champions League league phase took place on 27 August 2026 at 18:00 CET. It included 36 teams: 29 direct qualifiers plus the seven play-off winners.

Third Qualifying Round

This round had 12 champions path teams (all winners from the second round) and 8 league path teams (6 new entrants and 2 second-round winners).

First Legs (4-5 August)

• 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
• Aarhus 2-1 Sabah

• Olympiacos 0-0 N.E.C.
• Union SG 3-3 Bodø/Glimt
• Sparta Praha 2-1 Lyon
• Fenerbahçe 2-0 Sturm Graz

Second Legs (11 August)

• Champions Path:
• Kairat Almaty 0-1 Levski Sofia (Aggregate: 0-2)
• Sabah 4-0 Aarhus (Aggregate: 5-2)
• Kauno Žalgiris 1-2 GNK Dinamo (Aggregate: 1-7)
• Crvena Zvezda 0-2 Hapoel Beer-Sheva (Aggregate: 0-3)
• Slovan Bratislava 2-0 Mjällby (Aggregate: 4-1)
• Celje 2-0 Ararat-Armenia (Aggregate: 3-2)

• Bodø/Glimt 3-2 (aet) Union SG (Aggregate: 6-5)
• N.E.C. 2-1 (aet) Olympiacos (Aggregate: 2-1)
• Sturm Graz 0-1 Fenerbahçe (Aggregate: 0-3)
• Lyon 3-0 Sparta Praha (Aggregate: 4-2)

Winners advanced to the play-off round. Champions path losers entered the Europa League play-offs; league path losers went straight into the Europa League league phase.

Second Qualifying Round

There were 24 teams in the champions path (10 new entries plus 14 first-round winners) and 4 teams in the league path entering here.

First Legs (21-22 July)

• 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
• Omonia 1-0 Kairat Almaty
• Levski Sofia 1-0 Universitatea Craiova
• Egnatia 3-3 Celje

• Fenerbahçe 1-0 Górnik Zabrze
• Sturm Graz 4-0 Hearts

Second Legs (28-29 July)

• Champions Path:
• KuPS Kuopio 0-2 Sabah (Aggregate: 0-3)
• Lincoln Red Imps 0-0 Mjällby (Aggregate: 0-3)
• GNK Dinamo 3-2 (aet) Thun (Aggregate: 4-3)
• Celje 2-2 (aet) Egnatia (Aggregate: 5-5, Celje won 4-1 on penalties)
• Shamrock Rovers 2-1 Ararat-Armenia (Aggregate: 2-3)
• Kairat Almaty 1-0 Omonia (Aggregate: 1-1, Kairat Almaty won 6-5 on penalties)
• Kauno Žalgiris 1-0 Klaksvík (Aggregate: 1-0)
• Lech Poznań 1-4 Aarhus (Aggregate: 5-5, Aarhus won 4-3 on penalties)
• Universitatea Craiova 2-2 Levski Sofia (Aggregate: 2-3)
• Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2-0 Víkingur Reykjavík (Aggregate: 3-2)
• Crvena Zvezda 5-0 Larne (Aggregate: 9-0)
• Slovan Bratislava 1-1 Iberia Tbilisi (Aggregate: 3-1)

• Hearts 0-2 Sturm Graz (Aggregate: 0-6)
• Górnik Zabrze 1-1 Fenerbahçe (Aggregate: 1-2)

Winners moved on to the third qualifying round. Losing teams in the champions path entered the Europa League third qualifying round, while league path losers switched directly to the Europa League league phase.

First Qualifying Round

This round featured 28 teams in the champions path only.

First Legs (7-8 July)

• 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)

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

Winners progressed to the second qualifying round. Defeated sides mostly dropped into the UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds, with some receiving byes depending on the draw.

* Denotes teams that moved to the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round.