Three Armenian legionnaires played in the second legs of the Champions League third qualifying round

On Tuesday, August 12, the second legs of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round were held. On that day, clubs featuring Armenia national team players Nair Tiknizyan, Tigran Barseghyan, and Edgar Sevikyan took to the field.

Slovan Bratislava dramatically ended their Champions League campaign, losing to Kazakhstan’s Kairat in a penalty shootout. Tigran Barseghyan played the full 120 minutes and was one of his team’s most active players, creating space and setting up shooting opportunities for his teammates. However, it was he who missed the decisive penalty, bringing joy to Kazakh fans who warmly remember his performances for local clubs. Slovan will now continue the season in the Europa League, where they will face Swiss side Young Boys, while Kairat will fight for a place in the UCL group stage against Scottish champions Celtic. Notably, last season it was Barseghyan’s goal that sent Slovan into the Champions League, but this year his miss relegated the team to the Europa League.

Serbian side Crvena Zvezda defeated Poland’s Lech 4–2 on aggregate to advance to the Champions League playoffs. In the next round, the Serbian champions will play Cyprus’s Pafos, who knocked out Dynamo Kyiv. Before the matches, people in Belgrade made it clear they wanted to avoid meeting the Ukrainian club — and they succeeded. Nair Tiknizyan played all 90 minutes in the second leg against Lech.

Hungary’s Ferencváros confidently beat Bulgaria’s Ludogorets 3–0, a team coached by former Noah manager Rui Motta. Compared to their matches against the Armenian club, the Hungarians displayed a noticeably higher quality of football. Armenia national team forward Edgar Sevikyan was not included in the squad for the third round and will likely miss the playoff against Azerbaijan’s Qarabağ as well, since he cannot travel to Baku, and coach Robbie Keane is unlikely to register him for just the home match.

The Champions League playoff matches will take place on August 19–20, and the Europa League playoff on August 21.

Playoff pairs determined on August 12: