UEFA Women's Champions League second qualifying round report: Brann, Frankfurt, Juventus, Ajax among winners
Saturday, August 8, 2026
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Eleven teams progressed to the third qualifying round from some dramatic mini-tournaments.
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Four-time winners Eintracht Frankfurt and past quarter-finalists Ajax, Brann and Juventus are among the 11 teams that progressed from the UEFA Women's Champions League second qualifying round after the mini-tournament finals on Friday and Saturday.
Those 11 teams are now through to the third qualifying round, joining seven direct entrants in Tuesday's draw at 13:00 CET, with the two-legged ties to decide the nine sides directly qualified for the league phase. The clubs who finished second and third in the mini-tournaments, which began with the semi-finals on Tuesday and Wednesday, now transfer to UEFA Womem's Europa Cup qualifying.
Women's Champions League third qualifying round contenders
Champions path: Austria Wien (AUT), Brann (NOR), Czarni Sosnowiec (POL), HB Køge (DEN), OH Leuven (BEL), PSV Eindhoven (NED), Servette FCCF (SUI), Sparta Praha (CZE)*
League path: Ajax (NED), Chelsea (ENG)*, Eintracht Frankfurt (GER), Inter (ITA)*, Juventus (ITA), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)*, Real Madrid (ESP)*, Real Sociedad (ESP)*, St. Pölten (AUT), Wolfsburg (GER)*
*Entering directly in third qualifying round
Frankfurt won their mini-tournament with a 2-0 defeat of debutants Malmö FF, who in their semi-final knocked out one of last year's league phase contenders, Vålerenga. None of Malmö's fellow newcomers were able to make the third qualifying round but two got very close; Fenerbahçe were pipped on penalties by OH Leuven, who made the knockout play-offs in 2025/26 on their own bow, and Hearts lost to Mille Gejl's added-time goal for former group contenders HB Køge.
Scotland's other entrants also fell in added time as Rangers were eliminated by a last-gasp Sherida Spitse penalty for Ajax, joined in the next stage by PSV Eindhoven thanks to Liz Rijsbergen's hat-trick against HJK Helsinki. Juventus went through in extra time against Hammarby, meaning last season's Europa Cup runners-up are among the teams now transferring to that competition.
Brann edged out PAOK 3-2 in a breathless finish, while St. Pölten continue their bid to negotiate qualifying for the fifth season running thanks to a penalty shoot-out defeat of Sporting CP. St. Pölten are joined in the next stage by compatriots Austria Wien, winners against Farul Constanța (who in the semis edged out Mura, for who Mateja Zver scored in her 17th European campaign having returned to her original Slovenian club following more than a decade abroad, then on Saturday featured exactly 20 years on from her UEFA club debut).
Czarni Sosnowiec became the only team so far to go from the first to third qualifying round under this format as they saw off Spartak Myjava (who also began in July's opening stage). Former group contenders Servette FCCF defeated their mini-tournament hosts Aktobe, who in both their semi-final win against Breidablik on Tuesday and Friday's decider attracted Kazakhstan's record crowds for this competition.
How qualifying works
A total of 44 teams were involved in the second qualifying round, 39 of which entered directly. Those clubs were split into champions and league paths. Five more teams progressed from July's first qualifying round, all in the champions path.
The 11 second qualifying round final winners advance to the third qualifying round, in which seven teams enter automatically. The winners of the nine two-legged third qualifying round ties will join the nine clubs directly qualified for the league phase.
Meanwhile, the teams finishing as runners-up and in third place in each of the second qualifying mini-tournaments will transfer to the UEFA Women's Europa Cup. The third-placed teams will enter the Women's Europa Cup in the first qualifying round, and the beaten finalists in the second qualifying round.
League path
Mini-tournament 1 (Hosts: Rangers)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Ajax 2-0 Brøndby
Slavia Praha 1-2 Rangers (aet)
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Slavia Praha 1-1 Brøndby (aet, Brøndby win 5-3 on pens)
Final
Ajax 2-1 Rangers
Lesgue path mini-tournament 1 final standings
1 Ajax (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Rangers (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Brøndby (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Slavia Praha
Mini-tournament 2 (Hosts: Juventus)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Hammarby 4-0 Apolonia
Juventus 2-1 Torreense
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Torreense 5-2 Apolonia
Final
Juventus 3-1 Hammarby (aet)
Lesgue path mini-tournament 2 final standings
1 Juventus (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Hammarby (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Torreense (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Apolonia
Mini-tournament 3 (Hosts: Eintracht Frankfurt)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Vålerenga 0-1 Malmö
Eintracht Frankfurt 8-0 Omonia
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Vålerenga 2-0 Omonia
Final
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 Malmö
Lesgue path mini-tournament 3 final standings
1 Eintracht Frankfurt (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Malmö (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Vålerenga (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Omonia
Mini-tournament 4 (Hosts: St. Pölten)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Sporting CP 5-0 SeaSters Odesa
St. Pölten 4-3 Young Boys
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Young Boys 1-3 SeaSters Odesa
Final
St. Pölten 1-1 Sporting CP (aet, St. Pölten win 4-1 on pens)
Lesgue path mini-tournament 4 final standings
1 St. Pölten (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Sporting CP (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 SeaSters Odesa (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Young Boys
Champions path
Mini-tournament 1 (Hosts: Mura)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Austria Wien 3-2 Hajduk Split
Mura 1-3 Farul Constanța (aet)
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Mura 0-2 Hajduk Split
Final
Austria Wien 5-0 Farul Constanța
Champions path mini-tournament 1 final standings
1 Austria Wien (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Farul Constanța (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Hajduk Split (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Mura
Mini-tournament 2 (Hosts: Ferencváros)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Brann 5-0 Mitrovica
Ferencváros 2-3 PAOK (aet)
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Ferencváros 1-2 Mitrovica
Final
Brann 3-2 PAOK
Champions path mini-tournament 2 final standings
1 Brann (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 PAOK (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Mitrovica (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Ferencváros
Mini-tournament 3 (Hosts: Aktobe)
Tuesday 4 August:
Semi-finals
Dinamo-BSUPC 0-3 Servette FCCF
Breidablik 1-1 Aktobe (aet, Atkobe win 2-0 on pens)
Friday 7 August:
Third-place match
Breidablik 3-2 Dinamo-BSUPC (aet)
Champions path mini-tournament 3 final standings
1 Servette FCCF (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Aktobe (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Breidablik (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Dinamo-BSUPC
Mini-tournament 4 (Hosts: Racing Union Luxembourg)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
SFK 2000 Sarajevo 2-3 PSV Eindhoven
Racing Union Luxembourg 0-2 HJK Helsinki
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
SFK 2000 Sarajevo 4-1 Racing Union Luxembourg
Final
PSV Eindhoven 3-1 HJK Helsinki
Champions path mini-tournament 4 final standings
1 PSV Eindhoven (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 HJK Helsinki (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 SFK 2000 Sarajevo (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Racing Union Luxembourg
Mini-tournament 5 (Hosts: OH Leuven)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Metalist 1925 Kharkiv 1-2 Fenerbahçe
OH Leuven 4-0 TSC Bačka Topola
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Metalist 1925 Kharkiv 3-2 TSC Bačka Topola (aet)
Final
OH Leuven 1-1 Fenerbahçe (aet, OH Leuven win 4-2 on pens)
Champions path mini-tournament 5 final standings
1 OH Leuven (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Fenerbahçe (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Metalist 1925 Kharkiv (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 TSC Bačka Topola
Mini-tournament 6 (Hosts: Apollon LFC)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Apollon LFC 3-3 Czarni Sosnowiec (aet, Czarni win 4-2 on pens)
Vllaznia 1-2 Spartak Myjava
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Vllaznia 1-2 Apollon LFC (aet)
Final
Spartak Myjava 2-4 Czarni Sosnowiec
Champions path mini-tournament 6 final standings
1 Czarni Sosnowiec (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Spartak Myjava (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Apollon LFC (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Vllaznia
Mini-tournament 7 (Hosts: HB Køge)
Wednesday 5 August:
Semi-finals
Gintra 1-2 Hearts
HB Køge 4-1 Riga FC
Saturday 8 August:
Third-place match
Gintra 4-1 Riga FC
Final
HB Køge 2-1 Hearts
Champions path mini-tournament 7 final standings
1 HB Køge (to Women's Champions League third qualifying round)
2 Hearts (to Women's Europa Cup second qualifying round)
3 Gintra (to Women's Europa Cup first qualifying round)
4 Riga FC
Team guide
- Frankfurt are four-time winners of this competition. Brøndby and HJK are past semi-finalists, while Ajax, Breidablik, Brann, Juventus and Slavia have featured in previous quarter-finals.
- Juventus and OH Leuven reached the knockout phase play-offs last season. St. Pölten and Vålerenga were also in the league phase, while Ajax, Brann, Breidablik, Hammarby, HB Køge, Metalist (as WFC Kharkiv), Servette, Slavia and Vllaznia all previously played in the group stage between 2021/22 and 2024/25.
- Hammarby were Women's Europa Cup runners-up last season. Frankfurt and Sparta were beaten semi-finalists in the inaugural edition of the competition, with Austria Wien, Breidablik and Sporting CP also among the last eight.
- SFK 2000 Sarajevo were entering for a record 24th time, all in consecutive years. Gintra and Sparta Praha are contesting their 23rd European campaigns.
- Apolonia, Fenerbahçe, Hearts, Malmö, Omonia, SeaSters Odesa, Torreense and TSC Bačka Topola were making their debuts. A previous Malmö FF side entered in the past and faced Frankfurt in the 2003/04 semi-finals, but they are the club that eventually became Rosengård.
- Czarni Sosnowiec, Mitrovica, PAOK, Riga FC and Spartak Myjava progressed from the first qualifying round.