Real Madrid, PSG, and Sabah Among Teams Qualified for 2026/27 Champions League Group Stage

The lineup for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League group stage is now complete, featuring 36 teams. Twenty-nine clubs secured automatic qualification, while seven others advanced through the playoff round, concluding with the second-leg matches. The full group stage draw is scheduled for Thursday.

Notably, Sabah FC from Azerbaijan achieved a historic milestone by qualifying for the Champions League group stage for the first time ever. Despite losing 2-1 to Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the first leg, Sabah won 5-2 after extra time in the return leg in Baku, advancing 6-4 on aggregate. Another remarkable comeback was recorded by LASK Linz, who overturned a 3-0 first-leg defeat to Celtic by winning 5-1 in the second leg, progressing 5-4 on aggregate. Bodø/Glimt also impressed with a dominant 6-1 aggregate victory over NEC Nijmegen.

The competition format remains consistent with previous seasons under the new system. Each team will face eight different opponents, two from each seeding pot, playing one home and one away match. The top eight teams in the group stage will advance directly to the round of 16, while those finishing 9th to 24th will compete in playoffs for the remaining eight knockout spots. Teams ranked 25th to 36th will be eliminated from European competition.

The seeding pots for the draw are as follows: Pot 1 includes Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid. Pot 2 features Aston Villa, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Roma, Sporting Lisbon, Porto, Club Brugge, PSV Eindhoven, and Real Betis. Pot 3 contains Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Galatasaray, Bodø/Glimt, and LASK Linz. Pot 4 includes Sabah, Slavia Prague, Stuttgart, Como, Lens, Fenerbahçe, Viking, Slovan Bratislava, and AEK Athens.