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A stat for each of the seven winning sides from the UEFA Champions League play-off round

DA

David Parkes

Published 2 hours ago

The UEFA Champions League play-off round came to an end on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the last seven teams to book a place in the league phase now confirmed.

[p][i]Flashscore [/i]takes a look at a stat involving the seven winning teams, with three of them booking a berth in the competition proper for the very first time.[/p][h2]Sabah, LASK produce thrilling comebacks[/h2][p]Tuesday's action began with incredible drama in Azerbaijan, where [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sabah-baku/fNGcxbyr/"]Sabah[/a] scored a last-gasp goal to force extra time against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/h-beer-sheva/EXAD1YZP/"]Hapoel Be'er Sheva[/a]. Two more goals in the extra time period helped them [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/h-beer-sheva-EXAD1YZP/sabah-baku-fNGcxbyr/?mid=0KccwcGq"]prevail 5-2 on the night[/a] and 6-4 on aggregate to become Azerbaijan's second participants in the UCL proper.[/p][p]The Eurasian country will also be represented at this stage for the second year running after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/qarabag-agdam/Qgd3eSin/"]Qarabag[/a] made the knockout round play-offs last term. However, Sabah's run to this stage is even more incredible seeing this was their maiden particpation at any round of the competition. Having started from the first qualifying round [b]they are the eighth different team to successfully negotiate all four rounds of UCL qualifying.[/b][/p][embed guid="de3aad74-9b97-438f-9230-b15def395a6c" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2092333373209375163?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]This is also the third summer running that a club have managed to do so, after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/slovan-bratislava/QRaWdwQf/"]Slovan Bratislava[/a] in 2024/25, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kairat-almaty/CrO7xXpJ/"]Kairat Alamty[/a] last year.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lask-linz/MipWYeKQ/"]LASK Linz[/a] also made the headlines after completing a comeback for the ages. Down 3-0 from the first match versus former European Cup winners [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/celtic/QFKRRD8M/"]Celtic[/a], the Austrian side conceded a fourth midway through the first half. Surely it was too tall an order. Not quite! [i]Die Laskler [/i]turned it around by scoring four more in normal time - including a stoppage time leveller - before adding a fifth in extra time [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/celtic-QFKRRD8M/lask-MipWYeKQ/?mid=OOklm0j3"]to win 5-1 at home[/a] and 5-4 overall.[/p][p]In qualifying for the group stage/league phase for the first time, LASK become the fifth different Austrian side to get this far, with the last debutant from the Central European nation being [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/austria-vienna/lvnOzIkE/"]Austria Wien[/a] 13 years ago. Moreover, [b]Austria are now the 14th different country to have five or more different teams make the UCL proper.[/b][/p][embed guid="18773ac3-d74c-402a-851b-78bf8356d3af" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2092366557443666134?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The last nation to join this group were Denmark in 2020/21, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/midtjylland/8GZDmdbB/"]FC Midtjylland[/a] got past the qualifying stage.[/p][p]Norway's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bodo-glimt/S0WZMUNG/"]Bodo/Glimt[/a] announced themselves in the Champions League last campaign when they reached the round of 16 before bowing out. They are starting to pick up from where they left off as they completed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/bodo-glimt-S0WZMUNG/nijmegen-nRluRF0T/?mid=YwP3q51N"]an impressive 3-0 defeat[/a] of 10-man [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nijmegen/nRluRF0T/"]NEC Nijmegen[/a] to move on 6-1 across the two legs.[/p][p]Few will want to face Bodo during the league phase as they look to build on from last year's showing. The Nordic club were the 97th different team to qualify for the main rounds of the competition on multiple occasions - that total is now 98 after Wednesday's results. Of the 98, [b]Glimt are the 30th team to make their first two appearances in a UCL group stage/league phase in consecutive seasons.[/b][/p][embed guid="cc88c2a4-e482-4a15-82c3-d64dbc87f382" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2092355676794147175?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/atalanta/8C9JjMXu/"]Atalanta[/a] were the last club to achieve this in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns.[/p][h2]Fenerbahce make long-awaited return[/h2][p]Wednesday did not disappoint either, with the main storyline being [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fenerbahce/MsbmracL/"]Fenerbahce[/a] finally returning to the big-time. It took them 18 years to do so, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/fenerbahce-MsbmracL/lyon-2akflumR/?mid=l00Yi0Pa"]but their 2-1 victory[/a] at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lyon/2akflumR/"]Olympique Lyon[/a] - they prevailed 3-2 on aggregate - saw them go through.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/muriqi-vedat/CjwNDgqi/"]Vedat Muriqi[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brown-archie/p6vn3k5m/"]Archie Brown[/a] were the players to find the back of the net for the Turkish giants in France as they survived a late Lyon surge to win. Not only did it take 18 years for them to make a comeback to the elite, but [b]Fener played in the qualifying rounds 10 times during that period. [/b]Yes, it took them 10 attempts to negotiate the qualifying stages in order to taste group phase football.[/p][embed guid="083d8a1c-936a-4d38-b828-8b5c0d4b8256" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2092717356241854708?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The team with the active streak for the most consecutive failures in qualifying are Wales' [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tns/lGMtZWUH/"]The New Saints[/a] on 18.[/p][p]A day after Bodo's triumph, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/viking/bXAgOWwb/"]Viking[/a] joined them [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/din-zagreb-8G5ufQTg/viking-bXAgOWwb/?mid=vHqZWB0t"]with a stunning 3-1 success[/a] at the expense of the more fancied [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/din-zagreb/8G5ufQTg/"]Dinamo Zagreb[/a]. Two goals in two minutes right after the restart propelled [i]De Morkebla [/i]to a memorable win to take them to the competition proper.[/p][embed guid="00e1d74d-0dc4-4473-8381-a4fa55a4a97b" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2092719600727159101?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Before last season, it took Norway almost two decades to end up with another group phase participant. Now, they have multiple teams making it that far. Believe it or not, [b]this also happened 27 years ago, [/b]when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rosenborg/G8LlPCOi/"]Rosenborg[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/molde/KYcp5BgH/"]Molde[/a] qualified for the 1999/2000 group stage. The former even made the second group stage before their elimination.[/p][p]Another team ending a fairly long wait for group phase football were [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/aek/ANpZncAM/"]AEK Athens[/a], who earned the biggest win of the week when they topped [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/levski-sofia/E5OOzgs4/"]Levski Sofia[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/aek-athens-ANpZncAM/levski-sofia-E5OOzgs4/?mid=63Dqw6Ot"]4-0 in the Greek capital[/a]. That was also the aggregate score, as the first leg ended 0-0.[/p][embed guid="bf2de3ad-b22a-4eff-b403-1e1d96b26764" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2092718923233865858?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Now back after an eight-year wait, AEK will be looking to do something they have never done before: reach the UCL knockout round. For now, they can be pleased to get past the qualifying stages, which is never easy. In fact, [b]Wednesday's win was their second over Bulgarian opposition (2-2-0 overall).[/b][/p][p]The last whistle blew in Slovenia, which saw Slovan Bratislava get the better of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/celje/SpbURe4O/"]Celje[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/celje-SpbURe4O/slovan-bratislava-QRaWdwQf/?mid=67VRHb7k"]2-1 in extra time[/a]. That was enough for the Slovak champions to edge out their opponents 3-2 on aggregate in a battle between two sides who benefitted from UCL titleholder rebalancing.[/p][p]It means that Slovan have made it through qualifying for the second time in three seasons, all under in the league phase era. They have progressed from eight two-legged Champions League qualifiers in the last three seasons, the most of any side during that time. One of four teams from their country to get to the competition's group stage or league phase, [b][i]Belasi [/i]are the first to do so on multiple occasions.[/b][/p][embed guid="c4aed09c-c9ba-4e32-a849-4fad74bf7c6d" url="https://x.com/ChampionsLeague/status/2092727025249173586?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vss-kosice/I3y16Jf7/"]VSS Kosice[/a] were the first to do so in 1997/98, before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/petrzalka/j9ewhGUA/"]Petrzalka[/a] followed suit in 2005/06. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/zilina/8tSMqaer/"]Zilina[/a] also made it to the UCL proper in 2010/11 before Slovan made their debut two years ago.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/europe/champions-league/"]Follow this season's UEFA Champions League action on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]

Updated August 27, 2026 · 4:35 AM

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