The complete lineup for the UEFA Champions League playoffs for the 2025/2026 season is now confirmed. This information originates from the official website of the European association of football federations.
On Wednesday, the final set of fixtures for the eighth round of the preliminary stage was completed. This round established the top eight clubs that secured direct advancement to the Round of 16. An additional sixteen teams will compete in knockout play-offs to earn their place in that next phase.
The eight teams that qualified directly are: “Arsenal,” “Bayern Munich,” “Liverpool,” “Tottenham Hotspur,” “Barcelona,” “Chelsea,” “Sporting CP,” and “Manchester City.”
It is recalled that in February 2022, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) imposed sanctions that excluded the Russian national team, including their youth squads, and Russian clubs from all competitions under their jurisdiction. Consequently, these clubs are ineligible to participate in the Champions League, Europa League, or Conference League, and the senior men’s national team was prevented from qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. Furthermore, Russian players did not feature in Euro 2024 and were barred from the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
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