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

Thirteen teams qualify directly for the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League, with 11 transferring from the UEFA Champions League. The final 12 spots come through qualifying.

There is a first, second and third qualifying round, then the play-offs. The round at which teams enter is based on their association club coefficient rankings.

We explain how qualifying works and keep track of all the draws, fixtures and results.

First qualifying round

Teams involved
16 (enter in this round)

First legs: 10 July 2025
Shakhtar Donetsk 6-0 Ilves Tampere
Sheriff Tiraspol 4-0 Prishtina
Spartak Trnava 0-1 Häcken
Sabah 2-3 Celje
Legia Warszawa 1-0 Aktobe
Levski Sofia 0-0 Hapoel Beer-Sheva
AEK Larnaca 1-0 Partizan
Paksi 0-0 CFR Cluj

Second legs: 17 July 2025
Ilves Tampere 0-0 Shakhtar Donetsk (agg: 0-6)
Prishtina 2-1 Sheriff Tiraspol (agg: 2-5)
Häcken 2-2 Spartak Trnava (agg: 3-2)
Celje 3-3 Sabah (agg: 6-5)
Aktobe 0-1 Legia Warszawa (agg: 0-2)
Hapoel Beer-Sheva 1-1 Levski Sofia (agg: 1-1, Levski won 3-1 on pens)
Partizan 2-1 AEK Larnaca (agg: 2-2, AEK Larnaca won 6-5 on pens)
CFR Cluj 3-0 Paksi (agg: 3-0)

How does it work?
• The winners of each tie advance to the second qualifying round.
• Defeated sides switch to the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round Main Path).

Second qualifying round

Teams involved
16 (eight enter in this round, eight winners from the first qualifying round)

First legs: 24 July 2025

Lugano 0-0 CFR Cluj
Celje 1-1 AEK Larnaca  
Levski Sofia 0-0 Braga
Baník Ostrava 2-2 Legia Warszawa
Anderlecht 1-0 Häcken
Sheriff Tiraspol 1-3 Utrecht
Midtjylland 1-1 Hibernian
Beşiktaş 2-4 Shakhtar Donetsk

Second legs: 31 July 2025

CFR Cluj vs Lugano
AEK Larnaca vs Celje
Braga vs Levski Sofia
Legia Warszawa vs Baník Ostrava 
Häcken vs Anderlecht 
Utrecht vs Sheriff Tiraspol
Hibernian vs Midtjylland 
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Beşiktaş

How does it work?
• The winners of each tie advance to the third qualifying round Main Path.
• Defeated sides switch to the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round Main Path.

Third qualifying round

Teams involved
Champions Path: 12 (defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round Champions Path)
Main Path: 14 (three enter in this round, eight winners from the second qualifying round, three defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round Main Path)

First legs: 7 August 2025

Champions Path

Lincoln Red Imps vs Noah/Ferencváros
Rijeka/Ludogorets vs Shelbourne/Qarabağ
RFS/Malmö vs KuPS Kuopio
Hamrun Spartans vs Pafos/Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Zrinjski vs Lech Poznań/Breidablik
Shkëndija/FCSB vs Drita

Main Path

Celje/AEK Larnaca vs Baník Ostrava/Legia Warszawa
Fredrikstad vs Midtjylland/Hibernian
Lugano/CFR Cluj vs Levski Sofia/Braga
PAOK vs Wolfsberger
Viktoria Plzeň/Servette vs Sheriff Tiraspol/Utrecht
Anderlecht/Häcken vs Brann/Salzburg
Rangers/Panathinaikos vs Beşiktaş/Shakhtar Donetsk

Second legs: 14 August 2025

Champions Path

Noah/Ferencváros vs Lincoln Red Imps
Shelbourne/Qarabağ vs Rijeka/Ludogorets
KuPS Kuopio vs RFS/Malmö
Pafos/Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Hamrun Spartans
Lech Poznań/Breidablik vs Zrinjski
Drita vs Shkëndija/FCSB

Main Path

Baník Ostrava/Legia Warszawa vs Celje/AEK Larnaca
Midtjylland/Hibernian vs Fredrikstad
Levski Sofia/Braga vs Lugano/CFR Cluj
Wolfsberger vs PAOK
Sheriff Tiraspol/Utrecht vs Viktoria Plzeň/Servette
Brann/Salzburg vs Anderlecht/Häcken
Beşiktaş/Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rangers/Panathinaikos

How does it work?
• The winners of each tie advance to the play-off round of their respective path.
• Defeated sides in the Champions Path switch to the UEFA Conference League play-off round.
• Defeated sides in the Main Path switch to the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.

Play-off round

Teams involved
24 (five enter in this round, 13 winners from the third qualifying round, six defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round)

Dates
Draw: 4 August 2025
First legs: 23 August 2025
Second legs: 28 August 2025

How does it work?
• The winners of each tie advance to the league phase.
• All defeated sides switch to the league phase of the UEFA Conference League.

League phase draw

UEFA via Getty Images

The league phase draw for the 2025/26 Europa League takes place at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, on Friday 29 August.

The draw will feature 36 teams, including the 12 teams that come through Europa league qualifying.