Kairat fly the flag for Kazakhstan as qualifying reaches decisive play-off round
Friday, August 15, 2025
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The league phases of UEFA’s men’s club competitions are within touching distance for teams from all corners of the continent after a thrilling set of fixtures in the third qualifying round.
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The third round in qualifying for the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League is complete and, with just one stage of the qualification process to come, the reward of a spot in the league phase is within reach.
A total of 86 clubs will feature in the final play-off rounds to decide the final makeup of the league phase tables, with 14 clubs set to feature in the Champions League play-off round, 24 teams in the Europa League play-offs, and 48 in the Conference League.
Shoot-out in Slovakia sees Kairat progress
Kazakhstan could be represented in the Champions League for only the second time in history, with Kairat Almaty through to the play-off round thanks to a penalty shoot-out win away at Slovan Bratislava.
Kazakhstan's only previous representative in the competition was Astana in 2015/16, and Kairat are already assured of their best-ever European campaign, with a spot in the league phase of the Europa League now guaranteed as a minimum. They will face 1967 European Cup winners Celtic in the play-off round.
The story so far
One door closes, another opens
Shkëndija’s impressive Champions League qualifying run came to an end at the hands of Qarabağ, but the North Macedonian side have already made history by securing qualification for a UEFA club competition for the first time, and will now face off with Ludogorets of Bulgaria in the Europa League play-off round.
Meanwhile, Club Brugge produced a remarkable second-half comeback against Salzburg, scoring three times to recover from 2-0 down on the night and win the tie 4-2 on aggregate.
Copenhagen and Malmö are less than one hour apart, and it was the Danish side who came out on top in the Scandinavian clash, dominating in the second leg to win 5-0.
Larnaca and Lincoln among Europa League standouts
AEK Larnaca from Cyprus became the only team to advance from the first Europa League qualifying round to the play-offs, eliminating Legia Warszawa 5-3 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps beat FC Noah of Armenia on penalties to guarantee at least a place in the league phase of the Conference League, in what will be just their second European campaign.
One club guaranteed their debut in the group stage or league phase is KuPS Kuopio. The Finnish champions overcame RFS of Latvia 1-0 to secure a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Conference League history within reach
No club from San Marino has ever qualified for the group stage or league phase draw, but Virtus have the opportunity to make history after a famous 3-0 home win over Moldova's Milsami Orhei. They will face Breiðablik of Iceland in the Conference League play-off round.
Should they progress, they may find themselves alongside another club from a nation yet to be represented in the league phase. Hamrun Spartans of Malta may have succumbed to Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Europa League third qualifying round, but now have a chance to secure a place in the Conference League starting blocks as they face RFS in the play-offs.
Dinamo City from Albania are another side looking to create their own history with a first appearance in the league phase after scoring twice in extra time to overcome Hajduk Split.
And there was plenty more drama elsewhere as Brøndby overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit against Víkingur Reykjavík despite having a player sent off after just 18 minutes, while Hibernian progressed in a thrilling tie against ten-man Partizan, who had levelled in stoppage time before being eliminated in extra time.