She has Persian ancestry and we discussed the idea of her playing international for Iran, who have captured the imagination of followers of the AFC over the past year.
We also look at results from the 2025-26 UEFA Women’s Champions League third round qualifiers and from the first qualifying round of UEFA’s new Women’s Europa Cup. For the latter, we look at rosters and some key players for the 11 teams that qualified directly for the Europa Cup by finishing second or third in their league last season, rather than from earlier rounds of the WCL. We also have the draw for the second round ties for the Europa Cup this month.
Lily Nabet interview
TribalFootball.com last week talked exclusively with midfielder Lily Nabet (26), who has played with Angel City FC in Los Angeles in the NWSL since their expansion season in 2022 and just recently joined Ft. Lauderdale United of the USL Super League on a three month loan through the end of the Super League fall campaign. Nabet, a native of Southern California, played collegiately at Duke University in North Carolina for five seasons (2017-2021), where she was an Academic All-American.
She was drafted as the 36th pick (third round) in the 2022 NWSL draft by ACFC and has played in 35 NWSL regular season games to date. She can play internationally per FIFA rules for the U.S. and Iran. TribalFootball.com talked to her about the style of play in the NWSL compared with the USL and, with Iran making the 12-team AFC Women’s Asian Cup finals early next year in Australia—which doubles as the Confederation’s 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifiers—if she has thought of playing for Iran.
Nabet explained that: “The style of play that Ft. Lauderdale plays is something that suits me well. I think a lot of teams in the NWSL are looking to be that possession-oriented team. Obviously it differs depending on what players you have and what suits your players. I’ve only played one game, against Dallas (a 4-1 Ft. Lauderdale win at home on September 13). The way that we built, moved the ball, our patience was great and when we could move forward in transition, we also did that well… It depends on what our opponent is bringing. It is very similar to the NWSL as well. This league is new and the players are predominately new to playing professional soccer and there are some nuances there but I definitely think it is growing and the way that the teams in this league are playing, they will have a lot of growth and excel and get to the next step.”
Nabet expanded on the nuances for the Super League when she added: “I remember my first two years playing in the NWSL (where she played in 10 games in 2022 and 11 games in 2023), you want to make the perfect pass and play quickly but there is a learning curve; there is a big jump from the college game to playing professional…There are younger players (and) this league (Super League) is going to be great, to develop their game and be more comfortable on the ball and on the pitch.”
She said that she had been practicing with United for only two weeks and played in the Dallas game but already felt that there was good young talent in the league: “A lot of girls I think can actually play in the NWSL but this is step I would have taken too to get minutes in and get more experience on the pitch (if it had been available earlier in her career).” We have seen a plethora of loan agreements between teams in the NWSL and the S-League, since the latter started in 2024-25, as well as some to the Northern Super League in Canada which started this season, and even a few going to Koge in Denmark from Kansas City to play in the new UEFA Europa Cup (see below) and Danish league games. These new North American leagues are allowing NWSL teams to make loans to give players more game time, experience a different city and style of play while adding to their overall soccer knowledge."
When asked about the American style of play, focused on transitional play, Nabet didn’t see huge differences between the two American leagues: “U.S. soccer culture in general is we attack on the transition, we score on the transition, and players are very athletic. Not to say that other players (in leagues abroad) aren’t but they are looking to play the opposition out, to play through; it is more of a chess match than a running match, but the game is changing. There is a lot of good football being played and I think it will just get better.”
When asked about her goals for her current stint in the Super League, she said: “My goal is to win and put this team in a good position in the front half of the season. My goal is to win as many games as I can and help this team grow. There’s a lot of great players on this team and I love how they play. (My goal is) doing the best that I can to bring my best self and bring the best out of everyone else around me.” Lily Nabet has certainly helped the team as she assisted on the ultimate winning goal on September 28 (three days after our interview) in a 2-1 win away to Brooklyn and United is now top of the league table after five games, with an undefeated record of 3-2-0 (W-D-L) for 11 points."
As part of the Iranian diaspora, we wondered if the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation had reached out to her or if playing for Iran was an aspiration of hers. She replied: “It’s never really been a thought of mine; I’ve never been in discussions with them…they’ve never reached out. I am super proud of being Persian and being first generation, my parents and whole family grew up in Iran… Maybe in the future if it is something that comes up, I will keep it in mind.”
This column has documented the vast improvement of Iranian football over the past year (see: The Week in Women's Football: Asian Cup qualifiers; reviewing OFC Champions League - TribalFootball.com). Iran should be scouting their diaspora overseas—particularly in France and Southern California—to improve their team ahead of the AFC Finals, as many nations have done ahead of major tournament. Essentially, they have a 50% chance of capturing a direct 2027 WWC spot from the AFC Finals, though the favorites to advance directly include host side Australia, China, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic and Philippines. The Philippines in particular have been serious in scouting diaspora and have held multiple tryout camps for years in Southern California, but then supplemented the side that qualified directly for the 2023 WWC from the Asian qualifiers with additional imports from America as well as Norway and Australia.
There is still time for Iran to recruit players from abroad but it may be that they wait until after the AFC Finals. If Iran does not make the top six, they still have a 33% chance to make the 10 team Intercontinental Finals for three final sports in Brazil. The recruitment of diaspora really depends on a number of factors, beginning with the interest of the player, the monetary ability of the federation to absorb the additional expenses, perceptions of the acceptability of using their diaspora (not always well received at home) and integration into the squad (where there can be some resistance from players as someone new is seen to arrive to take the sport of someone local that has been on the squad for some time or from a developing player).
Some countries have built up the majority of their squad with their first and second generation players like Philippines and Guyana, while others are just starting to scout abroad, for example Korea Republic. One American player told me years ago that, through her family, she could play for one of the top five countries in Europe or one of the top three nations in South America. She would have been an asset to either country but neither had ever reached out to her—I think in 2025 both countries would certainly now but this was prior to the 2015 WWC in Canada and neither nation qualified for those finals. She ended up playing for the U.S. at multiple levels. In other instances, players have reached out to the federation to present their credentials and their heritage. There is no set model for this process.
Lily Nabet is an experienced professionally football who could bring confidence, guidance and top level play to a developing team like Iran, who are on the verge of making history and qualifying for the 2027 WWC Finals, something no one would have predicted even five years ago, as women’s outdoor football was suppressed for decades, while women primarily played futsal. Again, it is a two-way street and players like Nabet and others would have to decide that it is a correct move for them, both professionally and personally. Either way, Lily Nabet will have an impact on her professional teams in the U.S. in the years to come.
2025-26 UEFA Women’s Champions League Third Round Qualifiers Playoffs
First legs of the 2025-26 WCL’s third round qualifiers were held on September 11 with the second legs on September 18. We follow on from our annual review of this important competition from earlier this season; for the second qualifying round (Champions Path) see: The Week in Women's Football: Izzy Groves exclusive; Champions League qualifying review - TribalFootball.com, (League Path): The Week in Women's Football: Bermuda win Island Games; Champions League review; Hera make history - TribalFootball.com and the first qualifying round: The Week in Women's Football: Farah Abu Tayeh exclusive; Examining UEFA Champions League qualifying - TribalFootball.com.
Results were as follows:
(First team shown is home for the second leg)
Champions Path
Ferencváros vs Vålerenga (first leg: 0-3, 1-2; 1-5 on aggregate)
Aiming to match their group stage run of last season, Vålerenga would love to make the WCL Final next season as it will be staged in Oslo, where they play. In the first leg, they hit second-half goals through Norwegian internationals Karina Sævik (29)—who has eight goals in 63 full internationals—and Sara Horte (24), who is in her second season with Valerenga after moving from Rosenborg in Trondheim, along with American Michaela Kovacs (28), who played at Michigan State University, in Portugal, Sweden and is in her third season with Valerenga. In the second leg, Norwegian international veteran (with over 125 caps) Elise Thorsnes (37) scored a brace within the first 16 minutes—one from the penalty spot—while Hungarian international Viktoria Nagy (24) scored Ferenc’s lone goal six minutes later. Thorsnes played nine games in the NWSL with the Utah Royals in 2018 and had two stints with Canberra United in Australia. With their aggregate win, Valerenga has advanced to the league (nee group) stage for the second year in a row.
Fortuna Hjørring vs St. Pölten (first leg: 1-3, 1-2; 2-5 on aggregate)
Twente vs GKS Katowice (first leg: 4-0, 4-1; 8-1 on aggregate)
OH Leuven vs Vorskla Poltava (first leg: 2-0, 0-0; 2-0 on aggregate)
The Belgium side continued their amazing debut WCL season with an undefeated run and a surprising 2-0 first leg win at home; with a scoreless deadlock in the second leg they made the league phase, with six more games scheduled over the next three months. They hosted the return leg as well, due to the war in Ukraine. Belgium’s Julie Biesmans’s (31) third-minute goal set them on their way and was the ultimate tie winner before OH scored a second just past the hour mark from fellow Belgium native Aurélie Reynders (18). Biesman played two seasons for Bristol City in the WSL from 2017-19 and then moved to PSV Eindhoven in Netherlands. She joined OH Leuven for the 2024-25 season. Biesman has eclipsed a century of caps for her country. Reynders is in her third season with the club and is a youth international at multiple levels.
League Path
Sporting CP vs Roma (first leg: 2-1, 0-2; 2-3 on aggregate)
In the first leg on September 11, Sporting scored two goals in stoppage time to stun Roma at home. Roma, aiming to get through qualifying for the fourth year in a row, had most of the play and seemed set to take a lead into the second leg thanks to Italian international winger Lucia Di Guglielmo’s (28)—in her fifth season with Roma and she was on Italy’s Women’s EURO side this past summer—goal midway through the first half and a resolute defense. However, substitute and Portugal native Carolina Santiago (19)—who joined Sporting as a 14-year-old in 2020 and played on loan at Valadares Gaia at 2024-25—scored two minutes into added time and Telma Encarnação (23)—a full Portugal international who scored seven goals in 17 regular season matches last season in her first season with Sporting—then claimed a dramatic winner to boost Sporting CP’s hopes of joining fellow-Lisbon side Benfica in the league phase.
Roma spoiled their plans by scoring twice in the second leg in Lisbon, through American Ashley Barron (24) in first half injury time and Italian international Valentina Bergamaschi (28) just the past the hour mark to send Roma into the WCL group stage and send Sporting into the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup. Barron played at the University of Cincinnati and with Orebro in Sweden. Bergamaschi is in her first season at Roma after a season at Juventus, who she joined after six seasons (and 119 league matches) with AC Milan, who took over the Brescia franchise, where she played during the 2017-18 season.
Atlético de Madrid vs Häcken (first leg: 1-1; 2-1 after extra time; 3-2 on aggregate)
Brazil’s Luany (22), who scored the winning goal in a derby win over Real Madrid on September 5 at home (2-1), opened the scoring in the 17th minute for Atletico. Hacken left it to the 86th minute and tied it up through 18-year-old Felicia Schröder, a youth and senior international, winning her first cap earlier on May 30 in a 0-0 Nations League tie with Italy. In the second leg, Atletico defeated Hacken 2-1 in extra time to move on to the group stage in the Champions League. Atletico had an incredible comeback to please the home fans after Swedish international forward Anna Anvegard (28)—who played a season in the WSL with Everton in 2021-22—gave Hacken the lead in the first half and then Norwegian international Synne Jensen (29) scored in the 92nd minute to tie the aggregate score. Luany scored the winner in the match and the tie ten minutes into the first overtime period to send Atletico to the WCL league stage.
Austria Wien vs Paris FC (first leg: 0-0, 0-2; aggregate 0-2)
Manchester United vs Brann (first leg: 0-1, 3-0; 3-1 on aggregate)
In the first round on September 11, Brann defeated the English powerhouse 1-0 in front of 16,019, a record both for a female game in Norway and for a UEFA women’s club qualifying match. With 13 minutes to go in the match, Norwegian youth international Ingrid Stenevik (31)—who has been with Brann since 2019—headed in Norwegian international Signe Gaupset’s (20) free-kick for the 2023-24 quarter-finalists. United used a hat-trick in the second leg, ironically from Norwegian international Elisabeth Terland (24)—who played with Brann earlier in her career—with goals in the 9th, 13th and 62nd minutes to move United into the group stage and send Brann into the Europa Cup.
Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt (first leg: 2-1, 3-0; 5-1 on aggregate)
Real Madrid, the only side to win through qualifying in all four seasons under the previous group stage format, progressed again in 2025-26 after goals in the first 35 minutes by Swedish international Filippa Angeldahl (28)—who has 23 goals in 72 senior national team appearances—and Denmark international Signe Bruun (27)—who has scored 25 goals in 55 senior appearances. Just before half-time, German youth and senior international Nicole Anyomi (25) reduced the arrears for the hosts. In the 3-0 second leg Real win in Madrid, the scorers were Naomie Feller (23) of France, Signe Brunn again and Colombian international Linda Caicedo (20), who is in her second season with the club.
2025–26 UEFA Women’s Europa Cup
(First team shown is home for the first leg)
First qualifying round
The first qualifying round first legs of the new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup were played on September 10 and 11 September, with the second legs on September 17 and 18. The winners of the ties advanced to the Women’s Europa Cup second qualifying round. Eleven teams entered directly into the new Women’s Europa Cup in the first qualifying round, while Slovácko of Czech Republic was drawn a bye into the second round—none had played Women’s Champions League matches earlier in the 2025-26 season. They were joined by 11 clubs finishing third in the Women’s Champions League second qualifying round. Results were as follows:
Glasgow City (SCO) vs. Athlone Town (IRL) (3-0, 3-0; 6-0 on aggregate).
Athlone Town, in their debut season in Europe, played in both the Women’s Champions League and Women’s Europa Cup tournament. Experienced European side Glasgow City—participating in their 19th European campaign—beat Athlone Town 3-0 in both legs (see: The Week in Women's Football: Izzy Groves exclusive; Champions League qualifying review - TribalFootball.com). Canadian-born Ukrainian international Nikole Kozlova had a penalty kick saved in the 79th minute but then scored two goals in the remaining minutes for Glasgow in the second leg.
Grasshopper (SUI)* vs BIIK Shymkent (2-0, 3-1, 5-1 on aggregate)
Koge (DEN)* vs Farul Constanta (3-2, 3-0, 6-2 on aggregate)
Nordsjaelland vs KuPS*(3-1, 5-1, 8-2 on aggregate)
Ajax (NED)* vs Sturm Graz* (2-0 vs. 2-0; 4-0 on aggregate)
Aris Limassol* (CYP) vs Anderlecht* (BEL) (0-5, 0-9, 0-14 on aggregate)
Vllaznia (ALB) vs Kolos Kovlivka (UKR)* (2-0, 2-0; 4-0 on aggregate)
Rosenborg (NOR)* vs PSV Eindhoven (NED) (3-0, 0-4, 3-4 on aggregate)
Rosenborg established a 3-0 win after their home triumph, ahead of the second leg in Eindhoven. PSV used a major fightback to take the second match 4-0 and the tie 4-3. PSV had tied the aggregate scores at 3-3 two minutes into the second half but a red card to Rosenborg’s Norwegian defender Synne Aunehaugen (21) in the 59th minute hurt the Norwegians’ cause and six minutes later Swiss midfielder Riola Xhemaili (22) scored PSV’s crucial fourth goal. Xhemaili has played 34 full internationals for Switzerland with seven goals scored. She joined PSV last season on loan from Germany’s VfL Wolfsburg and has signed a three year permanent contract this summer with Eindhoven.
SFK 2000 vs ABB Fomget (0-0, 3-3; 3-3—3-2 on penalties—on aggregate)
After a 0-0 tie in the first leg, Montenegro international Armisa Kuc (33) scored a hat trick for Fomget of Turkey, with her 100th minute goal giving Fomget a 3-2 lead. SFK’s Croatian international Veronika Terzic tied the match up two minutes into injury time at the end of the first overtime period. With no further scoring, the Sarajevo club advanced to the next round 3-2 on penalties. Kuc has 40 goals for Montenegro in 90 internationals
Inter Milan (ITA) vs Hibernian (SCO) (4-1, 1-0; 5-1 on aggregate)
Partizani (ALB)* vs Spartak Subotica (SRB)* (0-5, 0-3; 0-8 on aggregate)
*denotes qualified directly to the Women’s Europa Cup as a second or third place finisher in their domestic league in 2024-25.
We look at the rosters of the 11 teams that qualified directly for the Europa Cup as a second or third place team in their league and played in the first qualifying round. These 11 sides had not previously played in WCL qualifying rounds, with five advancing to the next round of the Europa Cup and six being eliminated, with three ties between the direct Women’s Europa Cup qualifiers (Ajax versus Strum Graz, Aris Limassol versus Anderlecht and Partizani versus Spartak Subotica). There were three ties between teams who started in the WCL this season (Glasgow City vs. Athlone Town, SFK 2000 versus ABB Fomget and Inter Milan versus Hibernian).
The five clubs who advanced to the second qualifying round included:
Ajax
Ajax used all Netherlands nationals on their squad. Last season in the WCL, they only had one import in American international Lily Yohannes (18), who moved to OL Lyonnes in France for the 2025-26 season and scored one goal in her first Ligue 1 game.
Anderlecht
The Belgium side’s imports came from France (2), Italy (2), and one each from Iceland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, and Sweden.
Lithuanian forward Rimantė Jonušaitė (21) recently joined from Servette of Switzerland, after time with AC Milan in Italy. She scored 141 goals with Gintra Universitetas at home from 2018 to 2021.
French youth international Amélie Delabre (24) played at the 2022 FIFA U-20 WWC in Costa Rica, where France lost to Japan on penalties (5-3) after a 3-3 tie in the quarterfinals. She has returned to Anderlecht after a half season with FC Koln in Germany earlier this year. This is her third season with the Belgium side.
French youth international Mickaella Cardia (25) joined Anderlecht at the end of July from Le Havre; she won a French second division title with Olympique Marseille in the 2015-16 and also played with Bordeaux. She scored five goals for Anderlecht in their two first round games of the Europa League, four in the second leg 9-0 rout of Aris Limassol.
Romanian international midfielder Stefania Vatafu (32) is in her eighth season with Anderlecht; she has won six league titles at home with Olimpia Cluj and has played in Spain at Tenerife; she has over 40 senior caps with Romania.
Forward Vigdís Kristjánsdóttir (20) of Iceland has scored three goals in two Europa Cup games. She moved to Anderlecht from Breidablik, where she won a title in 2024. She signed a two year contact with Anderlecht. She is a U-23 international. When she joined the club in January 2025, Dave Mattheus, the Anderlecht Women club director, said:
"The arrival of Vigdís fits in perfectly with our philosophy. Vigdís is a player who can make an immediate impact on the team, but she’s also still young and has plenty of room for improvement. We want to continue to develop her potential at RSCA and prepare her to take the next step in her career.”
Forward Vigdís Kristjánsdóttir (20) has signed a two year contract with Anderlecht at the beginning of 2025. Photo courtesy of RSC Anderlecht Women.
Grasshopper
Grasshopper Club of Zurich had eight imports: two from France and one each from Albania, Jamaica, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the U.S.
Forward Kayla McKenna (29) represents Jamaica but grew up in Illinois and played at Duke University. She has played in the NWSL, in Scotland with Rangers, in Spain with Villarreal and Madrid CFF and just moved to Grasshoppers. She was capped by the U.S. at the U-23 level in 2018 before joining Jamaica in 2019 and was on the squad for the 2023 WWC Finals.
American goalkeeper Lauren Kozal (25) played at Michigan State University and played for the U.S. U-23 national team in 2023. She was with the Portland Thorns in 2023-24 but did not see action in any NWSL regular season games and went on loan to the Tampa Bay Sun of the USL for the fall 2024 season but only played in one game for the ultimate 2024-25 league champions.
HB Koge
HB Koge of Denmark had six imports from the U.S. and one each from Angola, Finland, Iceland, Kenya, Netherlands, Serbia and Sweden.
Flora Marta Lacho (26) of Luanda, Angola won a African Women’s Champions League title in 2024 with DR Congo’s TP Mazembe. She signed with the NWSL Kansas City Current in March of 2025 and is on loan to Koge after playing in six matches this season in K.C.
Kenyan international forward Mwanalima Jereko (28) is also on loan with Koge after signing with K.C. and played in three games during the 2024 season and one this season. She has also played three seasons with Hakkarigücü Spor of Turkey.
Koge’s American imports are:
Defender Macy Ruth Schultz (24) played at Texas Tech University.
Defender Courtney Ruedt (21) played collegiately at Colombia University and Rutgers.
Defender Avani Brandt (22) played at Stanford University and played twice with the U.S. U-20 in 2022 for two wins against Costa Rica.
Defender Skyler Biggs (24) played at the University of California-Berkeley.
Midfielder Emma Pelkowski (22) played at Virginia Tech and scored against Strum Graz.
Forward Olivia Garcia (22) won a national championship in 2023 with Florida State University. She played with the Kansas City Current II (second team) in the WPSL. She joined Koge mid-year of the 2023-24 season and scored 18 goals in 24 games to finish second in the league in scoring in 2024-25.
Spartak Subotica
Spartak of Serbia, who have won 14 league titles at home, had two imports from Korea Republic and one each from Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Jamaica and Nicaragua. Fourteen of Spartak Subotica’s team are teenagers, including a 15-year-old midfielder from Serbia, Sara Sivic.
Nicaraguan international midfielder Jenifer Sarantes (20) joined Spartak this season from Real Esteli at home on a one year loan; she is viewed as an outstanding player at home with a huge upside. She played in both first round matches and became only the fourth Nicaraguan to play in European soccer, after Ana Cate Aguilar (who was born in America and played for years in Iceland), Yorcelly Humphreys (who played in Turkey) and Erica Cunningham (who started this season with Athlone Town in Ireland and is now playing in Germany—she has also played in Saudi Arabia, England, Sweden and Switzerland). Sarantes is the first women’s player from her country to join a team in Serbia.
Jamaican U-20 international forward Andrene Smith (18) joined Spartak Subotica from Los Perfectos of Jamaica’s Women’s Premier League. Smith scored two goals for Jamaica in the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 qualifiers earlier this year in Nicaragua.
Six sides lost their first round ties who had qualified directly for the Europa League and had not started play in the WCL this season included:
Aris Limassol of Cyprus
Aris’ imports came from: Gabon (2), Greece (2), Poland (2), Austria (1), Brazil (1), Ghana (1) and Spain (1)
Forward Victoire Biatholi of Gabon is in her third season with Aris and has played previously at Sporting Club Byanga and the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Midfielder Vanessa Mombo Seidieu (24) of Gabon is in her second season with Aris Limassol and was selected for the Cyprus women’s league’s best 11 last season. She joined from Gabonese side Missile FC.
Vanessa Mombo Seidieu of Aris Limassol was in Cyprus’ Best XI for 2024-25. Photo courtesy of Africa-Press.net
During the second round of the TotalEnergies Women’s AFCON 2026 qualifiers last March, Seidieu and Biatholi were joined by another Aris Limassol teammate in Tatiana Obounet (21); she is still with Aris as her contract was extended for 2025-26 but was not on the latest UEFA roster. Gabon lost heavily to Mali: 6-0 in Franceville, then 4-1 in Bamako, and were eliminated from the competition, which ultimately will decide CAF’s representatives for the 2027 WWC.
Midfielder Olivia Anokye (25) of Ghana is in her second season with Aris after three seasons with fellow Cyprus side Apollon Limassol.
Midfielder Micheli Ferreira (24) of Brazil played last season with Partizani Tirana in Albania, scoring four goals in 19 games, and has also played with KFF Mitrovica in Kosovo, KF Murlani of Albania, and at home with a number of clubs including Vitoria and Bahia.
Kolos Kovalivka
Their roster was comprised of all Ukrainian nationals.
KuPS
The Finnish side used only two imports, both forwards, with one from North Macedonia and one from Brazil.
Gentjana Rochi (31) of North Macedonia scored one goal during their first qualifying round games against Nordsjaelland of Denmark. She is a full international for North Macedonia and has played for clubs in Germany and at home. She has been with KuPS since the 2019-20 season. Forward Ana Paula Silva Santos ‘Paulinha’ (27) of Brazil is in her third year with KuPs and previously played in Iceland at Keflavik.
Last season, during their Women’s Champions League matches, the club had an import from Canada—Kaela Hansen (25)—who had also played with ZFK Spartak Subotica in Serbia but she is currently playing back at home in the first year Northern Super League with the regular season champions AFC Toronto.
Partizani
Six imports are registered as nationals from Kosovo and the rest are registered as Albanians.
Rosenborg of Norway
Rosenborg had four imports, two from Denmark and one each from Iceland and Sweden.
Strum Graz
Their imports came from Croatia (3), Denmark (2), Germany (2), Slovenia (2) and one each from Slovakia and Serbia.
2025-26 Europa Cup second round ties
For the second round of UEFA Women’s Europa Cup qualifiers later this month, the 11 first round winners (five who started their European campaign in the Europa Cup) are joined by the 9 sides eliminated in the Women’s Champions League third qualifying round, 11 sides finishing second in the WCL second qualifying round mini-tournaments and Slovacko, who were drawn directly into the second qualifying round of the Europa Cup. The ties are as follows:
Second qualifying round ties (October 7/8 and 15/16)
Häcken (SWE)* vs GKS Katowice (POL)*
Sparta Praha (CZE)* vs Ferencváros (HUN)*
Inter (ITA) vs Vllaznia (ALB)
GC Frauenfussball (SWE) vs Ajax (NED)
Sporting CP (POR)* vs Rosengård (SWE)*
FC Minsk (BLR)* vs PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Eintracht Frankfurt (GER)* vs Slovácko (SVK)
Vorskla Poltava (UKR)* vs Fortuna Hjørring (DEN)*
Breidablik (ISL)* vs Spartak Subotica (SRB)
Gintra (LTU)* vs Nordsjælland (DEN)
Anderlecht (BEL) vs Braga (POR)*
YB Frauen (SUI)* vs SFK 2000 Sarajevo (BIH)
HB Køge (DEN) vs Glasgow City (SCO)
Slavia Praha (CZE)* vs Austria Wien (AUT)*
Mura (SVN)* vs Dinamo-BSUPC (BLR)*
Hammarby (SWE)* vs Brann (NOR)*
*Transferred from Women’s Champions League into this round
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey