The draws for the Champions League playoffs and the Europa and Conference League qualifiers were held in Nyon. Dinamo discovered five potential opponents on their path to the Champions League, while Scottish clubs face tough tests.
On Monday, August 3, 2026, UEFA held the draws for the Champions League playoffs and the Europa and Conference League qualifiers in Nyon, Switzerland. The draw provided a clearer picture of potential opponents for numerous European clubs, including Dinamo Zagreb and several Scottish representatives.
Before even thinking about the playoffs, Dinamo must first overcome Lithuanian side Kauno Žalgiris in the third qualifying round. The first leg is scheduled for Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 8 PM at Maksimir, with the return leg a week later on August 11 at 7 PM in Lithuania. Mario Kovačević's squad eliminated Swiss side Thun in the second qualifying round with an aggregate score of 4:3 after extra time.
If they get past the team led by Croatian coach Željko Sopić, Dinamo will be seeded in the playoffs. The draw determined five potential opponents: Austria's LASK, Norway's Viking, and the winners of the ties between Ararat Armenia (Armenia) and Celje (Slovenia), Levski (Bulgaria) and Kairat (Kazakhstan), and Aarhus (Denmark) and Sabah (Azerbaijan).
According to Transfermarkt data, Dinamo's squad is valued at €65.61 million. Among potential opponents, the closest in value are LASK (€43.9 million) and Viking (€47.48 million), while the financially weakest are Ararat Armenia (€8.47 million) and Celje (€13.78 million). The first playoff legs are scheduled for August 18 and 19, with return legs on August 25 and 26, 2026.
A defeat against Kauno Žalgiris would not spell the end of their European season. In that case, Dinamo would drop into the Europa League playoffs, where they would not be seeded because the coefficient of the weaker club in the pair is used. If they fail to overcome that hurdle as well, they would directly qualify for the Conference League group stage.
The Europa League draw also provided clarity for Scottish representatives. Rangers must eliminate Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok in the third qualifying round. If successful, they could face Norwegian club Lillestrøm or the winner of the tie between Northern Ireland's Larne and Georgia's Iberia 1999 in the next stage.
An additional threat comes from teams eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers. Rangers could thus face the loser of the tie between Levski Sofia and Kairat Almaty, or the defeated side from the clash between Sweden's Mjällby and Slovan Bratislava.
After being eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers, Hearts received an extremely tough task, Portuguese giants Benfica. The winner of that tie will face one of four possible opponents: Greek side OFI Crete, the winner of the Thun vs. Víkingur Reykjavík tie, the loser of the AGF Aarhus vs. Sabah clash, or the defeated side from the Dinamo vs. Kauno Žalgiris matchup. It is precisely because of this last option that Croatian fans will also be following the Europa League draw with particular attention.
The Conference League draw took place at 1 PM, while earlier in the day, at 11 AM British Summer Time, Celtic learned their potential opponents in the Champions League qualifiers.
