Europa League and Conference League playoff participants have been decided
📢 Breaking News! 📢 The Europa League and Europa Conference League group stages have wrapped up, and the participants for the knockout phase have been decided!
Hop on, because we're breaking down which teams made the cut for the thrilling knockout stage of the Europa League: "West Ham", "Freiburg", "Brighton", "Marseille", "Rangers", "Sparta Prague", "Atalanta", "Sporting", "Liverpool", "Toulouse", "Villarreal", "Rennes", "Slavia Prague", "Roma", "Bayer", and "Qarabag".
Some Champions League third-placers will also join the party, including "Galatasaray", "Lens", "Braga", "Benfica", "Feyenoord", "Milan", "Young Boys", and "Shakhtar".
Moving on to the Europa Conference League, here are the teams vying for conference cup glory: "Lille", "Maccabi Tel Aviv", "Victoria Plzen", "Club Brugge", "Aston Villa", "Fiorentina", PAOK, "Fenerbahce", "Slovan", "Gent", "Dinamo Zagreb", "Bodo/Glimt", "Legia", "Ferencvaros", "Eintracht", and "Ludogorets".
Keep your eyes peeled, as the knockout phase draw for the Europa League and Europa Conference League will be announced on Monday, December 18! 📆🥁
🔍 Bonus Insights 🔍Did you know that the top 16 teams in the 2024/25 Europa League campaign advanced to the knockout round play-offs, with the winners progressing to the Round of 16? Currently, four teams are left in the semifinals, but the exact semifinal draw date isn't specified. The final is scheduled for May 2025, according to UEFA's structure.
Staying ahead in the game, the knockout round play-off draw for the 2025/26 Europa League is set for January 30, 2026, with matches taking place on February 19 and 26. The schedule for the Europa Conference League is still to be determined due to insufficient data.
Keep an eye on your favorite teams as qualifiers for future knockout phases will typically consist of:- Europa League: League-phase finishers (positions 1–24) and Champions League third-placed group-stage teams- Europa Conference League: Third-placed Europa League group teams and domestic cup winners/league finishers from lower-ranked associations
The qualifiers for next season's 2025/26 campaign will be determined based on domestic league and cup performances, with qualifying rounds scheduled to kick off in July 2025. Key dates for the 2025/26 Europa League include:- Knockout play-offs: 19 & 26 February 2026- Round of 16: 12 & 19 March 2026- Final: 20 May 2026 (Istanbul)
- Qarabag will compete in the knockout phase of the Europa League, aiming to advance further in the tournament.
- Feyenoord is one of the Champions League third-placed teams joining the Europa League knockout stage, adding more excitement to the competition.
- In the Europa Conference League, teams like Maccabi Tel Aviv, Aston Villa, and Fenerbahce are preparing for the knockout phase, eager to win the conference cup.
- For the 2025/26 Europa League campaign, participants for the knockout round play-offs will consist of league-phase finishers from positions 1-24 and Champions League third-placed group-stage teams, just like in the current season where teams like Qarabag and Feyenoord are participating.
