Champions League draw gives Bodø/Glimt path through playoffs against Olympiakos or NEC

By: Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press Posted: 7:32 AM CDT Monday, Aug. 3, 2026

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Bodø/Glimt, last season's feel-good story in the Champions League, must get past Olympiakos or NEC Nijmegen in the qualifying playoffs round drawn Monday to return to the elite stage.

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NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Bodø/Glimt, last season’s feel-good story in the Champions League, must get past Olympiakos or NEC Nijmegen in the qualifying playoffs round drawn Monday to return to the elite stage.

Bodø/Glimt faces Union Saint-Gilloise on Tuesday in the first leg of the third qualifying round, and the overall winner next week will then play the Greek league runner-up from last season or the third-place Dutch team making its Champions League debut.

From a Norwegian fishing town north of the Arctic Circle, Bodø/Glimt made a stellar run to the Champions League round of 16 in March after wins against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and twice against Inter Milan.

FILE - Glimt's players celebrate at the end of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Inter Milan and Bodo Glimt, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, on Feb.24, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

Also paired Monday in the section for teams that did not win their domestic league, the winner between Fenerbahce and Sturm Graz will advance to the playoffs round against Sparta Prague or Lyon.

First-leg games are on Aug. 18 or 19 and return games are one week later.

Seven teams will advance from the qualifying rounds into the elite 36-team main phase draw to be made Aug. 27 in Monaco.

Celtic was paired with LASK of Austria in the qualifying section for national champions.

Red Star Belgrade, the European Cup winner in 1991, must first beat Hapoel Beer-Sheva to earn a playoff against AGF Aarhus or Sabah from Azerbaijan.

Hapoel hosts the first leg against Red Star on Tuesday in Hungary. Israeli teams have gone to neutral countries for all home games in UEFA competitions for security reasons since the conflict with Hamas started in October 2023.

Dinamo Zagreb or Kauno Zalgiris of Lithuania will advance to the playoffs round against Viking, which edged Bodø/Glimt for the Norwegian title last year.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer