UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw: Where is it, when is it, who is involved?
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When is it? Which teams are involved? When are the fixtures? All you need to know about the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw.
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The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw takes place on Friday 27 February 2026 at 12:00 CET.
The eight winners of the two-legged knockout phase play-offs join the top eight sides from the league phase in the round of 16 draw. The league phase top eight will be seeded for the round of 16 draw.
Which teams are in the Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw?
The teams will be finalised following the conclusion of the knockout round play-offs on Wednesday 25 February.
How can I watch the Champions League draw?
The draw will be streamed live on UEFA.com, UEFA.tv and the official UEFA Champions League app.
Where is the Champions League round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final draw?
The draw takes place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
How will the Champions League round of 16 draw work?
The clubs are paired based on their positions at the end of the league phase to form four seeded pairs (clubs in positions 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8).
The clubs in each seeded pair are drawn into one of two positions in the round of 16 against the relevant winners of the knockout phase play-offs, whose position is determined by the knockout phase play-off draw.
Four bowls are prepared for the draw, with the balls containing the names of each pair of seeded teams placed in the corresponding marked bowls according to the league rankings.
The draw will allocate the side of the bracket for all the seeded teams, starting with the teams ranked 7/8 and finishing with the teams ranked 1/2.
One ball is taken from the bowl containing the two relevant ranked teams (i.e. the teams ranked 7 and 8) and opened to display the team. The first team drawn from this bowl is placed in their reserved spot on the silver side of the bracket. The other seeded team of the pairing is then drawn and displayed, then allocated to the corresponding reserved spot on the blue side of the bracket. The same procedure is carried out with the remaining seeded teams.
How are the Champions League quarter-final, semi-final and final ties determined?
As the teams were positioned in the bracket by the draw of the knockout phase play-off and round of 16, the ties and the order of matches have already been determined by the position of the teams for the draws of the previous rounds.
The teams qualifying from the round of 16 follow the path of the bracket until the final and, as in the previous rounds, the team in the bottom row of each match pairing will play the second leg of the relevant tie at home.
The winners of the semi-final on the silver side of the bracket will be designated as the nominal home team for the final.
Can teams from the same country face each other in the Champions League round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals?
Yes, clubs can face opposition from the same national association, and teams they previously came up against in the league phase.
When do the Champions League round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals take place?
The dates for the remainder of the knockout phase are as follows:
Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026
Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026
Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)
Calendar elaboration (Paragraphs 23.01, 24.02 and 24.03 of the official UEFA Champions League regulations)
23.01: All matches are played in accordance with the UEFA Match Calendar (see Annex C). These dates are final and binding on all concerned, subject to the provisions of Paragraph 24.01 to Paragraph 24.02. The following principles apply to this competition:
a) Matches are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays […], and the final, which is played on a Saturday. Exceptions to this rule can be made by the UEFA administration.
b) From the play-offs onwards, the UEFA administration decides the match schedule of each round.
c) In each round of the knockout phase, each club will, in principle, be scheduled to play once on a Tuesday and once on a Wednesday.
24.02: If two or more clubs from the same city, within a radius of 50km of each other and/or playing in the same stadium, take part in any of the UEFA club competitions, and if the association and the clubs concerned explicitly declare when entering the clubs that their matches cannot be played on the same day or on consecutive days, the UEFA administration may alter or confirm dates and kick-off times in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee.
24.03: The UEFA administration decides on match dates and fixture reversals on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with the applicable principles set by the Club Competitions Committee. In any case, the UEFA administration reserves the right to impose a match date if the circumstances so require.
The round of 16 match schedule will be available on the night of the draw.
The quarter-final match schedule will be communicated on 19 March, after the return legs of the round of 16.
The semi-finals match schedule will be communicated on 16 April, after the return legs of the quarter-finals.