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.

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 does it work?

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

Second qualifying round

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

All kick-off times CET

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 does it work?

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

Third qualifying round

(All kick-off times CET)

First legs

Tuesday 4 August

Champions path
Larne vs Iberia Tbilisi (21:00)
Shamrock Rovers vs Egnatia (21:00)

Wednesday 5 August

Main path
Ferencváros vs Górnik Zabrze (20:15)

Thursday 6 August

Champions path
KuPS Kuopio vs Universitatea Craiova (17:00)
Lincoln Red Imps vs Omonia (18:00)
Lech Poznań vs Klaksvík (19:00)
Thun vs Víkingur Reykjavík (20:00)

Main path
Jagiellonia Białystok vs Rangers (18:00)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs CSKA Sofia (18:00)
Salzburg vs Pafos (19:00)
Hradec Králové vs Beşiktaş (19:00)
PAOK vs Anderlecht (19:45)
Benfica vs Hearts (21:00)

Second legs

Tuesday 11 August

Champions path
Iberia Tbilisi vs Larne (18:00)

Thursday 13 August

Champions path
Omonia vs Lincoln Red Imps (19:00) 
Universitatea Craiova vs KuPS Kuopio (19:00)
Víkingur Reykjavík vs Thun (19:30)
Klaksvík vs Lech Poznań (20:45)
Egnatia vs Shamrock Rovers (21:00)

Main path
Beşiktaş vs Hradec Králové (19:00)
Pafos vs Salzburg (19:00)
Górnik Zabrze vs Ferencváros (19:00)
CSKA Sofia vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv (20:00)
Rangers vs Jagiellonia Białystok (20:30)
Anderlecht vs PAOK (20:30)
Hearts vs Benfica (20:45)

How does it work?

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

Play-off round

Draw: Monday 3 August
First legs: Thursday 20 August
Second legs: Thursday 27 August

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 on Friday 28 August.