After finishing a difficult season on a positive note by winning the State Cup against Hapoel Beersheba, Maccabi Tel Aviv has entered the Europa League qualifying rounds. The draw for the second qualifying round will take place on Wednesday, and the Israeli club already knows its possible opponents.
Despite being seeded, Maccabi faces a challenging list that includes strong Turkish side Besiktas and Twente, which features Stieau Lemkin. Other possible opponents are Tromso of Norway, Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine, St. Gallen of Switzerland and Hammarby of Sweden. Additional rivals will come from the winners of the first qualifying round.
Maccabi Tel Aviv must clear three rounds to reach the Europa League group stage, two qualifying rounds and a playoff. If it is eliminated from the Europa League, it will drop into the Conference League, where it would need to pass only two qualifying rounds to reach a league stage in either competition.
Maccabi’s first tie is scheduled for July 23, with the return leg one week later on July 30. The qualifying phase will conclude on August 27 with the second leg of the playoff round.