Europa League qualifying: Fixtures, results, dates, how it works

Thirteen teams have qualified directly for the league phase of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Twelve of the remaining spots will go to those successful in Europa League qualifying and 11 will be awarded to the sides defeated in the UEFA Champions League play-off round.

Qualifying for the UEFA club competitions has been specifically designed to ensure that teams from a minimum of 37 national associations make their way to the league phase of the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League.

Losing sides from the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and Europa League are given another chance to progress when they parachute down into the Europa League or Conference League. Losing sides from the Champions League and Europa League play-offs go directly into the league phase of the Europa League and Conference League respectively.

For more information about the qualifying competition, including the rules around player registration, see the official regulations.

We explain how qualifying works and list the fixtures and results.

Play-off round

Teams involved
24 teams (five directly, six defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round champions path and the 13 winners of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round – champions path and main path)

First legs

All kick-off times CET

Thursday 20 August
Kairat Almaty 0-3 Anderlecht
Jagiellonia Białystok 4-0 Iberia Tbilisi
Mjällby 0-1 Salzburg
Trabzonspor 0-1 Ferencváros
Universitatea Craiova 1-1 Ararat-Armenia
Egnatia 0-0 Lillestrøm
Beşiktaş 3-0 Kauno Žalgiris 
Lech Poznań 7-0 Thun
Sint-Truidense 1-0 Omonia
Crvena Zvezda 3-0 Viktoria Plzeň
OFI Crete 3-0 CSKA Sofia 
Benfica 3-1 Aarhus 

Second legs

Thursday 27 August
Ararat-Armenia vs Universitatea Craiova (18:00)
Iberia Tbilisi vs Jagiellonia Białystok (18:00)
Omonia vs Sint-Truidense (19:00)
Viktoria Plzeň vs Crvena Zvezda (19:00)
Lillestrøm vs Egnatia (19:00)
Salzburg vs Mjällby (19:00)
Kauno Žalgiris vs Beşiktaş (19:00)
Thun vs Lech Poznań (20:00)
Aarhus vs Benfica (20:00)
CSKA Sofia vs OFI Crete (20:00)
Ferencváros vs Trabzonspor (20:30)
Anderlecht vs Kairat Almaty (20:30)

How does it work?

• The winners of each tie qualify for the league phase.
• Defeated sides enter the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.

League phase draw

Getty Images

The league phase draw for the 2026/27 Europa League takes place from 13:00 CET on Friday 28 August.

Third qualifying round

Teams involved
Main path: 14 (three directly, nine winners from the second qualifying round and two defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round)
Champions path: 12 (12 defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round)

First legs

Tuesday 4 August

Champions path
Larne 0-0 Iberia Tbilisi
Shamrock Rovers 3-1 Egnatia

Wednesday 5 August

Main path
Ferencváros 1-0 Górnik Zabrze

Thursday 6 August

Champions path
KuPS Kuopio 1-1 Universitatea Craiova
Lincoln Red Imps 1-1 Omonia
Lech Poznań 1-0 Klaksvík
Thun 3-0 Víkingur Reykjavík

Main path
Jagiellonia Białystok 2-1 Rangers
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0-3 CSKA Sofia
Salzburg 1-0 Pafos
Hradec Králové 0-1 Beşiktaş
PAOK 0-1 Anderlecht
Benfica 6-1 Hearts

Second legs

Tuesday 11 August

Champions path
Iberia Tbilisi 2-1aet Larne (agg: 2-1)

Thursday 13 August

Champions path
Omonia 1-0 Lincoln Red Imps (agg: 2-1) 
Universitatea Craiova 2-1 KuPS Kuopio (agg: 3-2)
Víkingur Reykjavík 3-2 Thun (agg: 3-5)
Egnatia 5-1 Shamrock Rovers (agg: 6-4)

Main path
Beşiktaş 1-0 Hradec Králové (agg: 2-0)
Pafos 3-3 Salzburg (agg: 3-4)
Górnik Zabrze 1-1 Ferencváros (agg: 1-2)
CSKA Sofia 1-3 Maccabi Tel-Aviv (agg: 4-3)
Rangers 1-1 Jagiellonia Białystok (agg: 2-3)
Anderlecht 3-2 PAOK (agg: 4-2)
Hearts 1-1 Benfica (agg: 2-7)

Friday 14 August

Champions path
Klaksvík 0-5 Lech Poznań (agg: 0-6)

How did it work?

• The winners of each tie advanced to the play-off round.
• Defeated sides in the champions path and the main path entered the UEFA Conference League play-off round.

Second qualifying round

Teams involved
Main path: 18 (12 teams join the six first qualifying round winners)

First legs

Thursday 23 July
Qarabağ 0-0 CSKA Sofia
Hammarby 1-1 Anderlecht
Tromsø 0-1 Hradec Králové
Sheriff 0-5 Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Dynamo Kyiv 2-3 PAOK
Twente 1-2 Ferencváros
Beşiktaş 1-0 Midtjylland
St. Gallen 2-1 Benfica
Hajduk Split 2-0 Pafos

Second legs

Thursday 30 July
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1-0 Sheriff (agg: 6-0)
Hradec Králové 3-1 Tromsø (agg: 4-1)
Midtjylland 0-2 Beşiktaş (agg: 0-3)
Pafos 4-0aet Hajduk Split (agg: 4-2)
PAOK 2-0 Dynamo Kyiv (agg: 5-2)
CSKA Sofia 0-0aet Qarabağ (agg: 0-0, CSKA Sofia win 5-4 on penalties)
Anderlecht 3-1 Hammarby (agg: 4-2)
Ferencváros 2-2 Twente (agg: 4-3)
Benfica 5-0 St. Gallen (agg: 6-2)

How did it work?

• The winners of each tie advanced to the third qualifying round.
• Defeated sides entered the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round.

First qualifying round

Teams involved
Main path: 12 (enter in this round)

First legs

Thursday 9 July
Qarabağ 3-0 Vestri
Dynamo Kyiv 0-0 Universitatea Cluj
Sheriff 0-0 Aluminij
CSKA Sofia 3-2 Derry
Hajduk Split 2-0 Žilina
Vojvodina 1-2 Ferencváros

Second legs

Thursday 16 July
Derry 1-2 CSKA Sofia (agg: 3-5)
Universitatea Cluj 0-0aet Dynamo Kyiv (agg: 0-0, Dynamo win 4-2 on penalties)
Aluminij 0-1 Sheriff (agg: 0-1)
Ferencváros 3-0 Vojvodina (agg: 5-1)
Žilina 2-1 Hajduk Split (agg: 2-3)
Vestri 0-3 Qarabağ (agg: 0-6)

How did it work?

• The winners of each tie advanced to the second qualifying round.
• Defeated sides entered the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round.