UCL 2026-27 2nd qualifying round was conducted in Nyon
The draw established a clear pathway for teams seeking to qualify for Europe's premier club competition
A total of 28 clubs or pairings were divided across two distinctive competitive avenues during the Nyon proceedings
The official draw for the UEFA Champions League 2026-27 second qualifying round was conducted at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Wednesday (June 17, 2026). Scheduled to take place over two legs, the first set of matches will be played on July 21 and 22, with the return fixtures following on July 28 and 29.
The draw established a clear pathway for teams seeking to qualify for Europe's premier club competition. This critical stage indeed presents the initial meetings of preliminary winners and higher-seeded domestic runners-up teams.
Format:
A total of twenty-nine teams gain direct entry into the league phase, while the last seven positions are filled through qualifying rounds, which conclude with the play-offs in August. The point at which teams begin their qualifying journey is determined by their respective association club coefficient rankings. All matchups are conducted over two legs.
Continuing with the tried-and-tested format, every pairing sets up a direct knockout on the home-and-away aggregate tie, where any draw across 180 minutes (two matches) will have extra time and a penalty shootout (if required) to decide who progress to the next round.
A total of 28 clubs or pairings were divided across two distinctive competitive avenues during the Nyon proceedings: the Champions Path and the League Path.
The Champions Path features 24 teams, combining 10 automatic entrants with fourteen progressing winners from the first qualifying round, which concludes on July 15, 2026.
Conversely, the League Path features four teams, comprising domestic runners-up from associations ranked higher in the UEFA club coefficients.
Seedings And Pairings
The seedings and localised groupings established by the 'Club Competitions Committee' ensured that higher-ranked teams avoided each other, thus setting up matches between continental mainstays and underdogs.
The final pairings have thrown up several anticipated matchups that are expected to serve as the main highlights of the mid-summer schedule.
| Team 1 | Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Champions Path | ||||
| Mj�llby AIF�Sweden | Match 1 | Winner of�match 4 | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Winner of�match 5 | Match 2 | Serbia�Red Star Belgrade | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Winner of�match 1 | Match 3 | Winner of�match 7 | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Winner of�match 14 | Match 4 | Winner of�match 8 | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| AGF�Denmark | Match 5 | Poland�Lech Pozna? | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Winner of�match 6 | Match 6 | Winner of�match 2 | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Winner of�match 11 | Match 7 | Winner of�match 9 | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Omonia�Cyprus | Match 8 | Winner of�match 13 | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Thun�Switzerland | Match 9 | Croatia�Dinamo Zagreb | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Winner of�match 12 | Match 10 | Israel�Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Winner of�match 3 | Match 11 | Slovakia�Slovan Bratislava | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Winner of�match 10 | Match 12 | Slovenia�Celje | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| League Path | ||||
| Fenerbahce�Turkey | Match 1 | Poland�G�rnik Zabrze | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
| Sturm Graz�Austria | Match 2 | Scotland�Heart of Midlothian | 21 or 22 Jul | 28 or 29 Jul |
As the draw took place before the first qualifying round concluded, many ties have placeholder pairings, with top-seeded clubs still yet to know their eventual opponents.
These high-stakes matchups not only determine survival in Europe's elite club tournament but also provide a safety net, a fallback option, as the defeated teams will be demoted to the UEFA Europa League qualifying phase.
Surviving teams will still need to navigate the third qualifying round and the final playoff matches in August to secure one of the seven coveted qualification spots available.
The tournament proper, under the revamped modern tournament, features 36 teams and kicks off on July 7 with the league phase.
What's Happening In FIFA World Cup 2026
Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America is about to complete its round one. So far, pre-tournament favourites except for Spain have registered facile wins. La Roja were held to a goalless draw by tournament debutants Cape Verde in their Group H openers.
Curacao, also making their maiden World Cup appearance, were not so fortunate. After conceding an early goal, The Blue Wave did mount a fightback by scoring an equaliser, but what followed was a bloodbath. Die Mannschaft, probably offended, hit back with six more goals. With Ivory Coast and Ecuador also in the group, Curacao will have a few sleepless nights.
See the full schedule and results here
In Group J, defending champions Argentina romped to a 3-0 win over Algeria with Lionel Messi scoring his first World Cup hat-trick, and they are expected to have relatively easy outings against Austria and Jordan.
Star-studded French and Norwegian teams have also recorded big wins, 3-1 over Senegal and 4-1 against Iraq, respectively, in Group I. Both Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland hit a brace.
