After 26 teams battled in fierce, two-legged ties that officially concluded on Thursday, 13 August 2026, the dust has finally settled on the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
Twelveof the 13 teams kept their primary continental dreams alive, while thirteen others were left to pick up the pieces and shift their focus to the Conference League play-offs, with one fixture still to be played on Friday, 14 August.
The undisputed headline of the round belonged to Albanian underdogs KF Egnatia, who pulled off a truly historic comeback.
ALSO READ: 2026/27 UEFA Champions League: Third qualifying round results, talking points & playoffs fixtures
Trailing 3–1 after a rough first leg in Ireland against Shamrock Rovers FC, their chances looked bleak, especially after they were reduced to ten men just before half-time.
Yet, against all odds, Egnatia roared back to win the second leg 5–1 on 13 August, sealing a spectacular 6–4 aggregate victory.
Meanwhile, Polish outfit Jagiellonia Białystok produced the round’s biggest upset by knocking out Scottish giants Rangers 3–2 on aggregate, holding firm for a 1–1 draw in front of a stunned Ibrox crowd in the second leg.
Traditional European powerhouses handled their business with varying degrees of comfort. S.L. Benfica cruised through 7–2 on aggregate after doing the heavy lifting in the first leg against Heart of Midlothian, while Besiktaş J.K. used a clinical 1–0 home win to dismiss FC Hradec Králové.
When is the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League play-off round?
The UEFA Europa League play-off round matches will be played across two consecutive weeks on 20 and 27 August 2026.
The action begins with the first-leg matches on Thursday, 20 August 2026, when teams will look to secure a crucial advantage on home turf.
The decisive second-leg matches will follow one week later on Thursday, 27 August 2026, determining the final aggregate scores and settling any extra-time or penalty-shootout drama.
What is the format for the play-offs, who will take part, and who will qualify for the league phase draw?
A total of 24 clubs will take part in this final qualification stage, competing for the remaining spots in the main tournament.
This group is made up of the thirteen triumphant survivors from the third qualifying round, alongside six clubs eliminated from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.
The final five spots are filled by high-ranking teams entering the qualification bracket directly for the first time, based on their strong domestic cup or league finishes.
The twelve winning teams from these ties will officially qualify for the main UEFA Europa League league phase draw.
Meanwhile, the twelve losing clubs will drop directly into the UEFA Conference League league phase draw, bypassing further qualification to secure autumn football.
Here is the full overview of the 2026 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round results and play-off pairings.
Third qualifying round collated results
Teams involved
- Main path: 14 (three directly, nine winners from the second qualifying round and two defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round)
- Champions path: 12 (12 defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round)
First legs – Tuesday, 4 August
Champions path
- Larne 0–0 Iberia Tbilisi
- Shamrock Rovers 3–1 Egnatia
Wednesday, 5 August
Main path
- Ferencváros 1–0 Górnik Zabrze
Thursday, 6 August
Champions path
- KuPS Kuopio 1–1 Universitatea Craiova
- Lincoln Red Imps 1–1 Omonia
- Lech Poznań 1–0 Klaksvík
- Thun 3–0 Víkingur Reykjavík
Main path
- Jagiellonia Białystok 2–1 Rangers
- Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0–3 CSKA Sofia
- Salzburg 1–0 Pafos
- Hradec Králové 0–1 Beşiktaş
- PAOK 0–1 Anderlecht
- Benfica 6–1 Hearts
Second legs – Tuesday, 11 August
Champions path
- Iberia Tbilisi 2–1 aet Larne (agg: 2–1)
Thursday, 13 August
Champions path
- Omonia 1–0 Lincoln Red Imps (agg: 2–1)
- Universitatea Craiova 2–1 KuPS Kuopio (agg: 3–2)
- Víkingur Reykjavík 3–2 Thun (agg: 3–5)
- Egnatia 5–1 Shamrock Rovers (agg: 6–4)
Main path
- Beşiktaş 1–0 Hradec Králové (agg: 2–0)
- Pafos 3–3 Salzburg (agg: 3–4)
- Górnik Zabrze 1–1 Ferencváros (agg: 1–2)
- CSKA Sofia 1–3 Maccabi Tel-Aviv (agg: 4–3)
- Rangers 1–1 Jagiellonia Białystok (agg: 2–3)
- Anderlecht 3–2 PAOK (agg: 4–2)
- Hearts 1–1 Benfica (agg: 2–7)
Friday, 14 August
Champions path
- Klaksvík vs Lech Poznań (20:00)
How does it work?
- The winners of each tie advanced to the play-off round.
- Defeated sides in both the Champions Path and Main Path will enter the UEFA Conference League play-off round.
2026/27 UEFA Europa League play-off round fixtures and kick-off times
Teams involved
- 24 teams: five direct entrants, six defeated sides from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round Champions Path, and the 13 winners of the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round — Champions Path and Main Path.
Kick-off times – East Africa Time
Play-off ties – first legs: Thursday, 20 August
- Kairat Almaty vs Anderlecht (18:00)
- Jagiellonia Białystok vs Iberia Tbilisi (19:00)
- Mjällby vs Salzburg (19:00)
- Trabzonspor vs Ferencváros (20:00)
- Universitatea Craiova vs Ararat-Armenia (20:00)
- Egnatia vs Lillestrøm (20:00)
- Beşiktaş vs Kauno Žalgiris (20:00)
- Sint-Truidense vs Omonia (21:00)
- Crvena Zvezda vs Viktoria Plzeň (21:00)
- OFI Crete vs CSKA Sofia (21:00)
- Benfica vs Aarhus (22:00)
- Lech Poznań / Klaksvík vs Thun (kick-off time TBC)
Second legs – Thursday, 27 August
- Ararat-Armenia vs Universitatea Craiova (19:00)
- Iberia Tbilisi vs Jagiellonia Białystok (19:00)
- Omonia vs Sint-Truidense (20:00)
- Viktoria Plzeň vs Crvena Zvezda (20:00)
- Lillestrøm vs Egnatia (20:00)
- Salzburg vs Mjällby (20:00)
- Kauno Žalgiris vs Beşiktaş (20:00)
- Thun vs Lech Poznań / Klaksvík (21:00)
- Aarhus vs Benfica (21:00)
- CSKA Sofia vs OFI Crete (21:00)
- Ferencváros vs Trabzonspor (21:30)
- Anderlecht vs Kairat Almaty (21:30)
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.