UEFA Champions League 2025/26: 12 Clubs Confirmed for the Second Qualifying Round

On Tuesday, July 15, the second-leg matches of the first qualifying round of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League took place. After intense battles, 12 teams have secured their places in the next stage of the competition. Some ties brought real surprises, with matches decided through dramatic extra time or penalty shootouts.

Results of the second-leg matches (July 15):

• Kairat (Kazakhstan) 2–0 Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) (1st leg: 1–1; agg: 3–1)
  → Kairat will face KuPS (Finland) in UCL QR2
  → Olimpija will face Inter Escaldes (Andorra) in UECL QR2

• Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar) 1–0 Vikingur (Faroe Islands) (3–2; 4–2)
  → Lincoln will face Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) in UCL
  → Vikingur automatically progresses to UECL QR3 (per draw)

• Ħamrun Spartans (Malta) 2–0 Žalgiris (Lithuania) (pen: 11–10; 0–2; agg: 2–2)
  → Ħamrun will face Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine) in UCL
  → Žalgiris will face loser of Linfield (NIR) vs Shelbourne (IRL) in UECL

• Malmö (Sweden) 3–1 Iberia 1999 (Georgia) (3–1; 6–2)
  → Malmö will face RFS (Latvia) in UCL
  → Iberia 1999 will face Levadia Tallinn (Estonia) in UECL

• Milsami (Moldova) 0–0 KuPS (Finland) (0–1; 0–1)
  → KuPS will face Kairat in UCL
  → Milsami will face Budućnost (Montenegro) in UECL

• RFS (Latvia) 1–0 Levadia Tallinn (Estonia) (1–0; 2–0)
  → RFS will face Malmö in UCL
  → Levadia will face Iberia 1999 in UECL

• Dudelange (Luxembourg) 2–3 Drita (Kosovo) (0–1; 2–4)
  → Drita will face Copenhagen (Denmark) in UCL
  → Dudelange will face The New Saints (Wales) in UECL

• Shkëndija (North Macedonia) 2–1 The New Saints (Wales) (extra time; 0–0; 2–1)
  → Shkëndija will face FCSB (Romania) in UCL
  → TNS will face Dudelange in UECL

• Inter Escaldes (Andorra) 2–1 FCSB (Romania) (1–3; 3–4)
  → FCSB will face Shkëndija in UCL
  → Inter Escaldes will face Olimpija in UECL

• Breidablik (Iceland) 5–0 Egnatia (Albania) (0–1; 5–1)
  → Breidablik will face Lech Poznań (Poland) in UCL
  → Egnatia will face loser of Dinamo Minsk (BLR) vs Ludogorets (BUL) in UECL

• Budućnost (Montenegro) 2–2 Noah (Armenia) (0–1; 2–3)
  → Noah will face Ferencváros (Hungary) in UCL
  → Budućnost will face Milsami in UECL

• Zrinjski Mostar (Bosnia & Herzegovina) 2–1 Virtus (San Marino) (2–0; 4–1)
  → Zrinjski will face Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) in UCL
  → Virtus automatically progresses to UECL QR3

Key takeaways:

• Ħamrun’s miracle: The Maltese club overturned a 0–2 loss and won an epic 11–10 penalty shootout against Žalgiris.

• Breidablik’s rout: Icelandic side destroyed Egnatia 5–0.

• Drama in Budva: Noah came from behind twice and qualified thanks to the away goal rule.

• FCSB survives: Despite a loss to Inter Escaldes, the Romanian side advanced on aggregate.

The next round will feature stronger opponents. The draw has already taken place, and teams know their upcoming rivals — the race for the Champions League group stage is on.

Two more matches of the first qualifying round will be played on July 16:

• Dinamo Minsk (Belarus) vs Ludogorets (Bulgaria) – 1st leg: 0–1

• Linfield (Northern Ireland) vs Shelbourne (Ireland) – 1st leg: 0–1