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

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 earned direct spots in the league stage, while seven places were decided through qualifying rounds.

The qualifiers involved three rounds followed by play-offs. From the second round onward, the competition split into two paths: the champions path, for domestic league winners, and the league path, for teams from leagues with multiple entries. The entry point for each team depended on their association's club coefficient rankings.

The design ensures that at least 37 national associations have representatives reaching the group stages of the Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League. Teams eliminated during qualifying have fallback opportunities in other UEFA competitions, either entering the Europa League or Conference League at various stages.

Qualifying Schedule

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

Play-off Round Details

Teams Involved

• Champions path: 10 teams (six winners from third qualifying round plus four new entrants)
• League path: 4 teams (winners of third qualifying round)

First Leg Matches

• Tuesday 18 August - Champions path: Levski Sofia 0-0 AEK Athens
• GNK Dinamo 2-2 Viking

• Fenerbahçe 1-1 Lyon

• Hapoel Beer-Sheva 2-1 Sabah
• Celtic 3-0 LASK
• Slovan Bratislava 1-1 Celje

• N.E.C. 1-3 Bodø/Glimt

Second Leg Matches

• Tuesday 25 August - Champions path: Sabah 5-2 after extra time Hapoel Beer-Sheva (agg: 6-4)
• LASK 5-1 after extra time Celtic (agg: 5-4)

• Bodø/Glimt 3-0 N.E.C. (agg: 6-1)

• 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)

• Lyon 1-2 Fenerbahçe (agg: 2-3)

Outcome: Winners from these ties advanced to the Champions League league phase. Losing teams moved to the Europa League group stage.

League Phase Draw

The draw for the group stage featuring 36 teams took place on 27 August at 18:00 CET. This included 29 automatic qualifiers plus the seven winners from the play-off round.

Third Qualifying Round

Teams

• Champions path: 12 teams (all winners from second qualifying round)
• League path: 8 teams (six new entrants plus two winners from second qualifying round)

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 (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)

Progression: Winners moved to the play-off round. Losing champions path teams entered the Europa League play-offs, while losing league path teams went directly to the Europa League group phase.

Second Qualifying Round

Teams

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

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 (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)
• Kairat Almaty 1-0 Omonia (agg: 1-1, Kairat 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)

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

Advancement: Victors proceeded to the third qualifying round. Those defeated in champions path entered the Europa League third qualifying round. League path losers went directly into the Europa League group stage.

First Qualifying Round

Teams

• Champions path: 28 teams entering here

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 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)

Note: Teams losing in this round moved into the UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds, either the second or third, depending on the draw.