This week, in this extended article, we present our annual UEFA Women's Champions League Review for Round 1 of the 2021-22 season.

We discuss the new changes in the WCL format this season and focus on the rosters for teams that have been eliminated—particularly their imports. We include a discussion with BIIK Kazygurt of Kazakhstan head coach Kaloyan Petkov, whose side lost a close game to host side (and lower seed) Glasgow City in Scotland in the Round 1 Final.

Women's Champions League Round 1 Groups Review

The 2021-2022 UEFA Women's Champions League began on August 17 and 18, with a new format that will see group play for the final 16 teams when previously it was straight knock-out play for the final 32 teams onward. Round 1 is one of two rounds before the new 16-team group stage, which begins in October. Round 1 was split into two paths: the League Path and the Champions Path. In both paths, Round 1 consists of two stages, each of one-off matches: semi-finals (August 17 and 18) and finals/third-place play-offs (August 20 and 21). The winners of each final (11 in the Champions Path, four in the League Path) progress to Round 2, with the draw determined on August 22 (see below). Four teams were the top four seeds in the tournament and qualified directly for the Round of 16: 2020-21 champions Barcelona, Paris SG, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

League Path

Sixteen teams entered at this League Path stage: the runners-up from the associations ranked seventh to 16th and the third-placed teams from the associations ranked first to sixth; they commenced play with four knockout mini-tournaments of four teams each. The winners of the four finals moved onto Round 2, into which six teams have direct entry: Lyon, Wolfsburg, Manchester City, Slavia Praha, Rosengård and Real Madrid. Five group stage places will be on offer in Round 2.

Champions Path

Forty-three teams are entering at this Champions Path stage: the champions of the associations ranked eighth and below and played 11 knockout mini-tournaments: ten with four teams and one with three teams. The winners of the 11 finals progress to Round 2, into which three teams have direct entry—the champions of the associations ranked fifth through seventh: Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic, Hacken of Sweden and Koge in Denmark. Seven group stage places will be on offer in Round 2, which will be played over two legs, home and away.

This is a real change in format that affects the lower ranked clubs and nations in particular, rather than the former format when group play of four teams in the Qualification Stage were held in 10 venues involving 40 teams, with each club being guaranteed three games. In the past, we saw exciting final days with groups coming down to that third match or even both matches in a group in order to determine which side (or sides in some cases) would move on. With the new structure implemented, essentially a loss on Day 1 results in a team being out of the competition, though there is a 3rd/4th round game with money on the line. One team official said that the reward split for the four finishers in each group was 5,000 Euros for first, 2,500 for second, 2,000 for third and 1,000 for fourth. This official did feel that, with 16 teams advancing to the Group Stage and the elimination of the Round of 32 knockout stage, it will benefit the larger clubs and be harder for a minnow side to make the final 16 or beyond than in the past.

For 2021-22, Brøndby (Denmark), KÍ Klaksvík (Faroe Islands) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) are entering for a record 19th time (including the pre-2009 UEFA Women's Cup). For Brøndby and Sarajevo, this is their 19th straight entry.
Juventus are aiming to reach the final on home turf, with the May 22, 2022 decider set to be played at their men's side home stadium.

Ten teams are making their debuts in 2021-22 in the UEFA Women's Champions League: Dinamo-BSUPC (Belarus), Czarni Sosnowiec (Poland), Hayasa (Armenia), Bordeaux (France), Hoffenheim (Germany), Kristianstads (Sweden), Slovácko (Czech Republic), AC Milan (Italy), Celtic (Scotland) and Lokomotiv Moskva (Russia)
Rosenborg of Norway previously entered as Trondheims-Ørn, their former name.

All groups consist of four teams except the three-sided Champions Path Group 11. The seeded club, Vllaznia, progress straight to the Round 1 final.

We present the scores for each Group and will—as in the past—focus on a few teams that were eliminated during the week of Round 1 and look at their rosters—particularly for imports—as we will do throughout the season as the competition progresses.

League Path

Group 1 (hosts Zürich)

17 August: Semi-finals
Hoffenheim of Germany 1 Valur of Iceland 0

In their debut WCL match, Hoffenheim of Germany advanced to the group final with a 1-0 win over Iceland's Valur on August 17 in the first match of 2021-22 Women's Champions League tournament. Austrian international forward Nicole Billa (25)—one of four Austrians on the German club—scored the winner in the 57th minute. Billa has been with Hoffenheim since the 2015/16 season, after winning a title at home the previous season with St. Polten.

Current league leaders in Iceland Valur had an all-domestic side except for three North American college graduates who are all forwards. American Mary Vignola (ex-University of Tennessee) played last season at Throttur where she scored 6 times in 12 games. Canadian forward Clarissa Larisey was a second team All-American player at the University of Memphis. Their most recent signing was American forward Cyera Makenzie Hintzen, who has scored twice in eight league matches since joining the club in July. She played at the University of Texas and with the U.S. U-19 national team; she was drafted by the Utah Royals (now Kansas City NWSL) in the fourth round (#31 overall) of the 2020 draft, but did not see action last season at the club.

Zürich of Switzerland 1 AC Milan of Italy 2

Swiss international midfielder Naomi Megroz (who played the last two seasons with Freiburg in Germany, scoring 4 goals in 26 appearances and has been capped at U-17, U19 and full levels) scored in the 68th minute for Zurich but Valentina Giacinti (27) scored her second goal of the game and the ultimate winner in the 82nd minute for AC Milan.

FC Zurich had only two imports on their side. American defender Alana O'Neill (25) played at Syracuse University at home and spent last season with Arminia Bielefeld in the German second division. O'Neill was previously with Benfica in Portugal (where she saw no games due to COVID) and Lugano in the Swiss league. Midfielder Laura Vetterlein (29) of Germany played 30 games with one goal across two seasons with West Ham United in England, after years spent with SC Sand and Wolfsburg in the top two divisions in Germany. FC Zurich's coach is Inka Grings of Germany, who fell four caps short of the century mark as a player for her country after disagreements with long-time Germany WNT head coach Silvia Nild, but won two European Championships with the team. She played for a short time during her career with FC Zurich followed by a one summer tour with the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL in 2013; she took charge of the side this summer.

20 August:
Third-place match

Zurich of Switzerland 1 Valur of Iceland 3

American Cyera Hintzen scored a brace within two minutes early in the second half to power Valur to the win over Inka Grings' Swiss side.

Final

Hoffenheim of Germany 2 AC Milan of Italy 0

Hoffenheim continued their dream debut run in Round 1 of the Champions League by dispatching fellow debutants AC Milan 2-0 on August 20. Eighteen-year-old Julie Brand scored the winner in the 36th minute while Isabella Hartig (24) scored a second tally on the hour mark for Hoffenheim. Brand was capped at the full level earlier this year by Germany in June friendlies against France and Chile while Hartig has been with Hoffenheim since 2015-16 and is a German youth international, winning the UEFA U-17 title in 2013-14.

AC Milan's imports were primarily from Europe, including two each from France and Spain, one each from Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Scotland, Slovakia and Switzerland, along with South African international midfielder Refiloe Jane, who joined Milan three seasons ago after a standout campaign with Canberra United in Australia. She has over 100 caps for her country and played at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games finals

Group 2 (hosts Kristianstads)

18 August: Semi-finals
Brøndby of Denmark 0 Kristianstads of Sweden 1

This was a huge upset as WCL debutants Kristianstads of Sweden dispatched veteran WCL side Brondby of Denmark 1-0 on midfielder Alice Nilsson's goal in the 32nd minute. Nilsson, who won the UEFA U-19 Championship with Sweden in 2011-12, has been with the club since 2010. Brondby has made at least the Quarterfinals of the Champions League format since 2009-10 in seven of their eleven appearances, including the last two seasons. Brondby's imports this season, who were all 24 or younger, included:

GK Ann-Kathrin Dilfer (19) of Germany

D Samara Cruz (24) of Spain

D Malin Sunde (21) of Norway

M Barbara Gisladottir (20) of Iceland

M Katrine Jorgensen (24) of Norway

F Beatrice Persson (21) of Sweden

Bordeaux of France 1 Slovácko of Czech Republic 0

In a battle of WWC first-timers, Bordeaux took a 1-0 lead from French international midfielder Ines Jaurena in the 37th minute, which held up until second half injury time, when Bordeaux's English goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse surrendered an own goal for Slovacko in the 93rd minute. Then Canadian defender Vanessa Gilles—fresh off winning a Gold Medal for Canada at the Japan Olympic Games—scored the winner in the 94th minute, though some reports credited American defender Malia Berkely (in her second year with Bordeaux and who only played in 3 matches last season). Moorhouse is in her second season at Bordeaux after two seasons each at West Ham United and Arsenal in the WSL. Gilles is in her fourth season with the club.

Slovacko used all domestic players except for three from Slovakia, who were all between the ages of 16 and 21.

21 August:
Third-place match

Brondby of Denmark 2 Slovacko of Czech Republic 1

All the scoring took place in the first 40 minutes as Brondby took third place in the group.

Final

Bordeaux of France 3 Kristianstads of Sweden 1

In the final featuring two WCL first-timers, Bordeaux bested home side Kristianstads 3-1 on August 21. All the scoring came in the first half with Canada's Gilles scoring the ultimate winner in the 20th minute, following Costa Rican international forward Daphne Herrera Monge's goal in the 9th minute. Dutch international forward Katja Snoeijs (24) countered Swedish international defender Mia Carlsson's 26th minute goal with her own in the 43rd minute for the final score. Carlson has been with Kristianstads for 13 seasons. Herrera Monge (24) had previously been with Stade de Reims for two seasons, scoring 8 goals in 16 games last campaign. She played all three games of Costa Rica's debut Women's World Cup Finals in 2015 and won on their 2014 U-20 WWC side. She previously played with Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia and with FC Indiana in the UWS summer league in the States.

Group 3 (hosts Rosenborg)

18 August: Semi-finals
FC Minsk of Belarus 1 Rosenborg of Norway 2

Norwegian international Lisa-Marie Utland (with over 50 caps) scored the winner in the 75th minute to deny Minsk from advancing to the group final. Utland played in 2019-20 with Reading in the English Super League. Rosenborg utilized two imports: midfielder Sarah Hansen (24) of Denmark—who joined the Norwegian side from Thy ThistedQ at home and has been capped at the full level in 2017—and midfielder Martyna Sobczyk (19) of Poland.

Minsk's imports were:

• G Maria Zhamanakova (32) of Russia, who joined the Belarus side after playing at home with Ryazan and Zorkiy.
• D Onome Ebi (38) of Nigeria, who won the African Cup of Nations in 2018 and has played in the last five Women's World Cup finals with her country, and is in her second spell with Minsk after winning three titles from 2014-2016. She has also played in Sweden, Turkey and for three seasons with Henan Jianye in China—though she had not played since late 2019 because of the COVID pandemic. She is on a one year deal.
• M Regina Out (25) of Nigeria has played for her country in Olympic Games Qualifiers last year and played at home with Edo Queens and Rivers Angels. She is also on a one year contract.
• M Selma Kapetanovic (24) of Bosnia and Herzegovina has won four titles at home with SFK 2000 and one in Hungary in 2019-20 with Ferencvaros.
• M Darija Djkic (25) of Montenegro plays for the national side and won a championship with Vllaznia in Albania in 2017-18.
• F Armisa Kuc (29) of Montenegro, who has 50 caps for her country, scored her side's only goal of their Round 1 loss to Rosenborg and has played in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain and Sweden.

Levante of Spain 2 Celtic of Scotland 1

Levante was up by two goals after 51 minutes through strikes by France's international midfielder Sandie Toletti (in her second season with the club after years with Montpellier) and Spain's international forward Alba Redondo Ferrer (in her third year at the club). Defender Caitlin Hayes of England's late goal in the 64th minute was not enough to turn the result around for Celtic. Hayes played at the youth level for Manchester United, and then played at Mississippi College in the U.S., with Apollon in Cyprus and at Lewes in the English second division before joining Celtic.

Celtic in their WCL debut had four American imports, three from England, two from the Republic of Ireland, one each from Iceland and the Netherlands, along with two imports from Asia:

• 19-year-old midfielder Mengyu Shen of China (19)—the first Chinese women's footballer in Scotland—who signed in mid-July from Shanghai Shengli (whose teammate Tang Jiali went on loan to Tottenham Hotspur of the WSL this season). Shen was a late omission for China's 2020 Olympic Games Final side which finished tied for ninth with Zambia on 1 point at the Group Stage earlier this summer
• Forward Jacynta Galabadaarachchi (20) of Australia, who came to West Ham United in the WSL in 2019-20 from Perth Glory in the W-League. She played four games with Napoli last season and is in her first season with Celtic.

21 August:
Third-place match

Minsk of Belarus 3 Celtic of Scotland 2 after extra time

Armsia Kuc of Montenegro scored a brace within 20 minutes during the 30 minutes of overtime to give the Belarus side the 3-2 win in 120 minutes of play over debutants Celtic, who will have learned a lot about international club play from their first run in Europe.

Final

Levante of Spain 4 Rosenborg of Norway 3 after extra time

Giovana Queiroz Costa (18) of Spain was the hero for Levante with two extra time goals—within four minutes at the 105th and 109th minute mark—to give Levante a Round 2 berth. Utland scored again for Rosenborg—once in regulation time and once in the overtime period.

Group 4 (hosts Lokomotiv Moskva)

18 August: Semi-finals

Arsenal of England 4 Okzhetpes of Kazakhstan 0

The result was never in doubt for the former WCL champions (2006-07) Arsenal with Japanese international Mana Iwabuchi (who moved to the London side from Aston Villa in the off-season) and Scottish international Kim Little of Scotland scoring from the penalty spot, with the two goals sealing the win by the 18th minute, with Okzhetpes taking only 2 shots all game to 27 for Arsenal (1 to 10 for shots on goal).

This was Okzhetpes of Kazakhstan second year in the WCL. Last season they had no imports on their roster but this year had three imports from Cameroon and two from eastern Europe: Azerbaijan international goalkeeper Aitaj Sharifova (24), who helped Keflavik win promotion in 2019 in the Icelandic second division, and defender Armine Khachatryan (34), an Armenian international who previously played at Alashkert at home and in Turkey with Hakkarigucu Spor.

The three Cameroon imports were:

• Defender Annecy Nguiadem Kamdem (27).
• Midfielder Catherine Mbengono (24), who played in the Olympic Games Intercontinental play-offs versus Chile (losing 1-2 on aggregate to just miss an Olympic Games Finals berth.
• Forward Marie Ngah Manga (18), who was a top scorer at home for Guinness Super League side Amazones Fap and was on the squad at the 2018 WWC U-17 Finals in Uruguay.

PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands 3 Lokomotiv Moskva of Russia 1

PSV advanced over debutants Lokomotiv Moscow 3-1. Lokomotiv had two imports on their squad for the Champions League matches:

• Goalkeeper Ekaterina Miklashevich (29) of Belarus; she played one season at Bobruichanka at home after many years with Minsk, where she won five league tiles and was a runner-up in the Israeli Ligat Al Women in 2018-19 with Maccabi Kiryat Gat.
• Forward Kaylan Williams (23) of the U.S. has 2 goals in 11 matches this season and played at Ramat HaSharon in Israel prior to joining Lokomotiv in March of this year.

21 August:
Third-place match

Okzhetpes of Kazakhstan 0 Lokomotiv Moskva of Russia 4

Final

Arsenal of England 3 PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands 1

Japan's international Iwabucci was on the scoreboard again, this time with a brace, while Netherlands international forward Vivianne Miedema (25)—the all-time WSL scoring leader with 60 goals across five seasons with the Gunners—added one for Arsenal.

Champions path

Group 1 (hosts Gintra)

18 August: Semi-finals

Breidablik of Iceland 7 KÍ Klaksvík of the Faroe Islands 0

No surprise here as three Iceland internationals scored braces including full international team pool player Selma Magnusdottier (23)—who has been capped at the U-17 and U-19 level as well—international Karitas Tomasdottir (25)—who is in her first year with the club after many years with Selfoss from 2013 through 2020—and international Alga Albertsdottir (22)—who leads her club with 10 goals in 15 games to leave her tied for second in goal scoring with Valur's Elin Jensen and two behind Selfoss' Brenna Lovera (12 goals from 13 games) along with one from American Tiffany McCarty (ex-Florida State University, WPS and NWSL who also has played in Japan and Norway) gave Breidablik an easy 7-0 win over fellow North Atlantic side KI from the Faroe Islands, with five of their goals coming in the first half.

The Faroe Islands clubs typically use very few imports in their league. KI's only import is their head coach, Serbian Aleksandar Djordjevic (52), who has coached in the nation since January 2010.

Gintra Universitetas of Lithuania 2 Flora Tallinn of Estonia 0

Gintra won 2-1 over fellow Baltic side Flora with the two tallies coming from American imports Jessica Ayers (28)—she played last season with Myran in Finland and collegiately at Colorado College and was drafted by FC Kansas City in the NWSL in 2015—and Madison Gibson (24), who played at Monmouth University. Flora Tallinn of Estonia did not have any imports on their roster, fielding an all domestic-based side.

21 August:
Third-place match

KÍ Klaksvík of the Faroe Islands 0 Flora Tallinn of Estonia 1

Final

Gintra Universitetas of Lithuania 1 Breidablik of Iceland 8

Albertsdottir had a hat-trick and McCarty had a brace as the reigning champions in Iceland built on a 3-0 halftime lead to finish off Gintra 8-1 and advance to Round 2.

Gintra's 9 imports included 5 from CONCACAF:

• D Tristan Corneil (27)—Canada—she won a league title in 2020 with Gintra after playing in Sweden's Elitettan in 2019.
• D Nikoleta Nikolic (29)—Serbia—she is a full international who has also played with Medyk Konin in Poland, BIIK Kazygurt in Kazakhstan, SFK 2000 Sarajevo of Bosnia and Herzegovina and won two titles at home with Spartak Subotica
• D Alika Keene (27)—U.S./Jamaica—ex-Harvard University and Orlando Pride of the NWSL in 2019, but who did not play any league matches in the NWSL.
• D Anastaia Rocane (28)—Latvia—she is a full international for Latvia and has won 5 titles in Latvia and 2 in Estonia, in addition to one achieved this year in Lithuania with Gintra.
• M Jessica Ayers (28)—US—played last season with Myran in Finland and who played at Colorado College and was drafted by FC Kansas City in the NWSL in 2015.
• M Jelena Cubrilo (27)—Serbia—she has played with Rayo Vallecano in Spain. A full and youth international for Serbia, she won three league titles at home with Subotica and two with Gintra, as well as playing in Croatia.
• M Madison Gibson (24)—U.S.—ex-Monmouth University.
• M Karlina Miksone (21)—Latvia—who played last season with IBV in Iceland.
• F Trudi Carter (26)—Jamaica—Played in 2019 WWC for Jamaica and played one game in Italy with Roma in 2018/19 She played collegiately in the US at Navarro Community College in Texas and the University of South Florida.

Group 2 (hosts Glasgow City)

18 August: Semi-finals
Glasgow City of Scotland 3 Birkirkara of Malta 0

First half goals by imports Clare Shine of the Republic of Ireland, Priscila Chinchilla of Costa Rica and Vital Kats of Israel allowed Glasgow City to coast in the second half to a 3-0 win over Birkirkara in order to turn their thoughts to preparing to meet Kazakh power BIIK in the Group Final. BIIK knocked City out in the Round of 32 in 2017-18 (4-4 on away goals) in a classic, dropping the first leg in Kazakhstan 3-0 and then winning 4-1 but just missing out on the next round. For Glasgow City, forward Priscilla Chinchilla (20) was seen on national team duty for Costa Rica and transferred from Liga Deportiva Alajuelense in the Costa Rican women's league. Clare Shine (25) is a full international for Ireland who has played at home for Raheny United and Cork City. She is in her second stint and fourth season with City. Vital Kats (21) was raised in Canada, has been capped by Canada at the U-17 and U-20 level, played in the 2016 Women's World Cups at both levels but plopped for Israel at the full international level, where she was born. She played collegiately at Kent State University in Ohio, scoring 22 goals and 24 assists for 68 points in 58 matches.

Birkirkara used an all domestic-based side except for 31-year-old forward Do Rosario Fartaria of Portugal.

BIIK-Shymkent of Kazakhstan 4 Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia 0

BIIK's two Zambian imports—Racheal Kundananji (2) and Prisca Chilufya (1)—combined for three goals, with American Kennedy Rose chipping in one for BIIK's relatively easy 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava. Rose (25) is ex-Stephen F. Austin University, Xavier University and Tyler Junior College, and is in her third season with BIIK. Midfielder Prisca Chilufya of Zambia (22) is in her first year at the club and was a late omission from her nation's 2020 Tokyo Olympics side this summer. Forward Rachael Kundananji (21) also hails from Zambia and joined the side in 2019 and did make the Olympic Team this summer. BIIK was cautiously confident as a number 1 seed in Round 1 as they had made the WCL Round of 16 four times in the last five years.

Slovan Bratislava used a roster composed entirely of Slovakians.

21 August:
Third-place match

Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia 1 Birkirkara of Malta 0 after extra time

Seventeen-year-old Pavlina Hrdlickova of Slovakia scored the only goal in the 93rd minute to give Slovan the win over Birkirkara.

Final

BIIK-Shymkent of Kazakhstan 0 Glasgow City of Scotland 1

It came down to one goal around the hour mark from Glasgow City's new Costa Rica import Priscilla Chinchilla to send hosts City on to Round 2.

TribalFootball.com talked to BIIK-Shymkent coach Kaloyan Petkov in a wide-ranging series of telephone calls the week of August 9, just ahead of the WCL matches. When discussing the opponents that his side drew in Group 2, he said that Slovan Bratislava hadn't played in fifteen months because of COVID but had won a recent cup match 9-0 and he had scouted them and that they were a good side. On Glasgow City, he specifically mentioned their new signing from Costa Rica Chinchilla, feeling that she was very good. He scouts Latin American players after spending years coaching with FC Indiana in the States. She ended up being a key thorn in BIIK's side during their game with a number of dangerous chances and scoring the winning tally.

Glasgow City's new signing from Costa Rica for 2021-22: forward Priscila Chinchilla. Photo courtesy Glasgow City.

BIIK had a difficult route to take to Glasgow, flying from Kazakhstan to Kiev in Ukraine, then to Amsterdam, London and Glasgow. Even thought they were a top sea dint he group, they still had to travel to number 2 seed Glasgow City as BIIK—though frequently bidding with UEFA—has yet to be awarded WCL early round group hosting rights.

Petkov has been able to bring in more imports this season compared to last year, when COVID severely limited the ability of players to travel abroad; his team was even marooned in Turkey early in the pandemic in 2020 during preseason training because of lockdowns. This season he has seven Americans, two Zambians (see below) and one each from Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia and Ukraine, for a total of 13 imports and 12 players from Kazakhstan on his roster. Eastern Europe has been also fruitful for his squad building over the years. The Eurasian Economic Union was begun in 2014 as a free trade and movement of citizens between first Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, with Armenia and Krygyzstan joining shortly thereafter. Petkov said that "The EEC is good for attracting players but they leave to move to a bigger club and league." BIIK's advantage has always been competitive salaries with many other clubs and leagues in Europe because the players can save virtually of their monthly pay packets, as all expenses (even internet usage) is covered by the club, which has top notch training facilities.

Despite the change in the WCL format this season, Petkov would like to see three qualification rounds with home and away matches for lower ranked teams and leagues. The first round would have the lowest rated teams meeting, followed by a second round with higher seeds entering and then a third round with the highest rated seeds coming in. The problem is, as we discussed in the introduction, is that one loss in Round 1, like SRK 2000 Sarajevo's surprise loss to outsiders Racing of Luxembourg (see below), ends their continental club campaign for the year. The same approach was used last year to replace the three group games in 10 groups during the Qualification Phase because of COVID travel restictions and to get the tournament started—as it began in November of 2020 rather than its regular start in August. This plan could be followed by either the current 16 team group stage or straight home and away knockouts.

Despite the narrow loss in Glasgow, Petkov has done wondrous things with BIIK and is in demand. He had an offer to take over Beijing Phoenix in China but the COVID pandemic ended that potential opportunity. He has since taken over the Kazakhstan women's national team reigns for the second time ahead of the 2022-23 UEFA Women's World Cup qualifiers that begin in mid-September. He hopes to be able to reinstitute monthly player stipends ($300-$400 a month) for the national team players—which in the past had been funded by the National Olympic Committee. This can help the players who are still in school or working other jobs.

Group 3 (hosts Osijek)

18 August: Semi-finals
Anderlecht of Belgium 3 Hayasa of Armenia 0

Hayasa held firm in defense until Stefania Vatafu (28), an international midfielder with Romania, scored just ahead of the hour, after which Charlotte Tison (23), a Belgium international who has won four league titles with Anderlecht and a fifth with Standard Liege, and fellow international Tessa Wullaert, who spent the last two seasons at Manchester City, added to the lead. Anderlecht had 25 shots to only 2 for the Armenian side with 16 on frame versus 0.

FC Hayasa, on their European club debut, used three imports from Ukraine, two from Romania, one from Moldova, and 40-year-old Belgium defender Delphine Preaux, who played at home at Charleroi and Anderlecht and is opening a school for young women near Solre in the west of the country. She joined Hayasa as they, "needed a central-back for their European meeting," where she faced Anderlecht, her favorite club. She will now retire from the game as a player. Faustina Kyeremeh (22), an international midfielder from Ghana, is also a new import this year who won the league with Hayasa this most recent season.

Faustina Kyeremeh of Ghana with the Armenian 2020-21 women's league title won with her club FC Hayasa. Photo courtesy of Professional Footballers' Association of Ghana.

Kyeremech, who played at home with Immigration Ladies FC, talked to the Professional Footballers' Association of Ghana about her experience of moving to Armenia to further her professional career, "I didn't face any real problems when I joined this club but had issues in terms of communicating with my colleagues because of the language barrier. Our head coach speaks English but my teammates and other technical team members can't speak or write English [nor] could I speak their language. My mates have however been really helpful to me. They try helping me and teaching me their language and I also try my best to teach them English to help in our communication. Luckily, football speaks one language so certain things naturally bonded us together."

Osijek of Croatia 5 Breznica Pljevlja of Montenegro 0

An early goal from veteran international defender Kristina Nevrkla of Croatia (31), who has won eight league titles over the years with her club, gave the home side the early advantage.

Breznica Pljevlja of Montenegro had two imports on their side: defender Zeljka Belovan (22)—a Serbian U-19 international in her second season with the club—and forward Minela Gacanica 21, a Bosnia and Herzegovina international.

21 August:
Third-place match

Breznica Pljevlja of Montenegro 3 Hayasa of Armenia 2

Seventeen year old Karine Yeghyan had a brace for the Armenians, who tied the game in the 65th minute but lost on a late Andela Toskovic—who is also 17 and a Montenegro international—goal in the 84th minute.

Final

Anderlecht of Belgium 0 Osijek of Croatia 1

Osijek advanced to Round 2 on Croatian international forward Izabela Lojna's goal in the 54th minute. Lojna (29) has won 9 league titles with Osijek and has over 50 caps for her country. This is Osijek's 16th campaign in Europe but they have only advanced out of the qualifiers on two occasions to the Round of 32.

Anderlecht had the vast majority of their side based in Belgium, with three imports: international midfielder Stefania Vatafu of Romania (28), who won six league titles at home with Olimpia Cluj, 19-year-old Slovakian U-17 international Karina Pelikanova, and 19-year-old Sakina Ouzraoui Diki (in her fourth season with the club) from Spain. One player to watch in the future is 16-year-old Belgium forward Iman Galai.

Group 4 (hosts SFK 2000 Sarajevo)

18 August: Semi-finals

SFK 2000 Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 Racing FC Union Luxembourg 1

Certainly this match saw the upset of the first set of group games if not the tournament, French import Precillia Rinaldi (23) of France—who played for Fiorentina in Italy in 2017/18, including WCL action—scored the winner in the 66th minute for Racing for the first ever tournament win for a club from Luxembourg. Racing was appearing in the WCL for the second consecutive season. In 2021-22 Sarajevo is participating in its 19th

consecutive Women's European Champions season, but has advanced to the knockout stage only three times, including in 2018-19 where they fell to Chelsea 11-0 over two legs.

Hosts SFK Sarajevo of Bosnia-Herzegovina included two imports in their side:

defender Sanja Nedic (26)—a full international from Montenegro who won an Albanian league title with Vllaznia in 2018-19 and played at home with ZFK Ekonomist in Niksic—and Serbian U-19 international forward Krstina Tanaskovic (18).

Benfica of Portugal 4 Maccabi Kiryat-Gat of Israel 0

Benfica advanced to the Group 4 Final with all their goals coming in the second half as Brazilian international midfielder Ana Vitoria scored a brace within 3 minutes early in the half, with one coming from the penalty spot. Benfica had 21 shots on goal to 6 for Qiryat, (13 to 3 on frame).

Maccabi Kiryat-Gat Israel used two imports from Brazil and two from Africa:

• M Ana Carolina Bruniera Arruda (36) of Brazil, who played the past five seasons with Santos of Sao Paolo State, finishing as CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina runner-up in 2018.
• M Sandra Francisca Perieira (36) of Brazil; she also spent the past five years at Santos.
• M Genevieve Ngo Mebeleck (28) of Cameroon; she is a senior international who has played club ball in Europe in Spain and Belarus before coming to Israel.
• F Peace Efih 24 of Nigeria, previously played with Sporting de Huelva of Spain and Nigeria at the U-20 WWC in 2018 and U-17 WWC in 2016.

21 August:
Third-place match

SFK 2000 Sarajevo of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 Maccabi Kiryat-Gat of Israel 1 (Sarajevo won 4-2 on penalties)

Final

Benfica of Portugal 7 Racing Union of Luxembourg 0

Lighting didn't strike twice as Racing Union couldn't build on their historical semifinal win for the country's first ever WCL win and fell short of advancing in their second consecutive tournament. The Portuguese champions were effective in front of goal, scoring 7 times on 13 shots on frame (23 in total to only 4 for Racing).

Racing FC Union from Luxembourg had 11 players from France—up from 8 last year—along with defender Da Mata Gomes of Portugal, forward Francine Zouga Edoa (33) of Cameroon—who played in the 2015 Women's World Cup—along with forwards Karolina Kohr (25) of Germany (ex-Koln in the first and second division at home) and 15-year-old Sara Armannsdottir of Iceland. Long-time French-based midfielder Marlyse Ndoumbouk (36) played for Cameroon in the 2019 Women's World Cup and is in her second season with Racing.

Group 5 (hosts Åland United)

18 August: Semi-finals
Servette FCCF of Switzerland 1 Glentoran of Northern Ireland 0

Jade Boho Sayo of Spain (34) scored the winner in the second minute of play for Servette over Glentoran from Belfast. Last season, the club from Geneva qualified for their first WCL and made the round of 32, falling to Atletico Madrid. Servette were champions of their Swiss Super League this past season; their debut game was a little nervy for the Swiss and though they led in total shots 13 to 5, only one was on target versus four for Glentoran. Sayo was born in Spain and was a U-19 international for Spain but played at the full international for Equatorial Guinea and with Bristol Academy in 2015 and Reading in 2016 in England.

Tess Tamplin (20) is an attacking right back signed recently with Servette from the Newcastle Jets in Australia's W-League and been featured in this column in the past. She has been capped at the youth levels by Australia but moved to Europe through the FIFA parentage rule (via the Netherlands). She did not play in the Round 1 matches in Finland. We will have an interview with Tamplin in the next few weeks as she discusses Servette's march in the WCL this season and her move from the Jets.

Olimpia Cluj of Romania 0 Åland United of Finland 4

Cluj has participated in every WCL since 2011-12 and made the round of 32 in four of ten previous campaigns, including the round of 16 in 2012-13, but have now failed to advance from the first round for four consecutive seasons (beginning in 2018-19).

If not a surprise result for the hosts over veterans Cluj, the scope of the win and the final margin was unexpected, with Mariana Periera Jaleca of Portugal scoring a first half brace on August 21.Cluj has now fallen in the Qualifying Group/Round 1 stage in 2019-20, 2020-21 and now 2021-22

21 August:
Third-place match

Olimpia Cluj of Romania 0 Glentoran of Northern Ireland 2

Glentoran of Northern Ireland defeated Olimpia Cluj of Romania 2-0 on August 21 with second half goals by Northern Irish full international Joely Andrews (19) and fellow international Chloe McCarron (23). Glentoran used an entirely home-based side from Northern Ireland.

Olimpia Cluj of Romania had four imports this season including three Americans in goalkeeper Erin Louise Seppi (22 and ex-University of Maryland), defenders Rashida Beal (26)—who played last season for Cloppenberg of the German second division after time with the FC Kansas City Reserves in 2017 and collegiately at the University of Minnesota—and Riley West (22)—who played at Sonoma State University of California—along with Karlee Pedersen (27) of Canada, who has played for multiple Elitettan (second division sides in Sweden.as well as WFC Ramat Hasharon in Tel Aviv Israel, including in last year's WCL).

Final

Servette FCCP of Switzerland 1 Aland United of Finland 0

Laura Felber (20) of Switzerland scored the only goal for Servette late in first half injury time and the Geneva side held on in a match that was played at a very high rate of speed throughout, in front of an enthusiast home crowd on Aland Island—between Finland and Sweden. Servette was the better side overall with more dangerous attacks and 18 shots overall to 8 for Aland United (6 vs. 3 on target). Servette's Portuguese full international goalkeeper Ines Pereira (22—who won a league title with Sporting at home in 2017-18 and has played in 20 national team matches since 2018) played quite well and was very poised in helping her side to the win. On August 23, they had a good draw with Glasgow City in Round 2 (see below); despite Glasgow City's many years of experience in the Champions League, Servette could advance to the Round of 16 after the Round 2 home and away stage.

For more information on the Finnish side, (see:The Week in Women's Football: Man Utd poach Skinner; Finland update; UWS Championship - Tribal Football).

Group 6 (hosts Apollon LFC)

18 August: Semi-finals
Apollon LFC of Cyprus 2 Dinamo-BSUPC of Belarus 0 after extra time

Both games in this Group needed extra time to determine the finalists and third-fourth place matchups. Apollos's American-born and raised forward Krystyna Freda, who plays internationally for Cyprus, scored in the 99th minute and Slovakia international forward Patricia Hmirova (who has played primarily in Poland as well as a short time in Switzerland and moved this season to Apollon from Gornik in Poland) secured the match in the 105th minute.

Dinamo of Belarus had two eastern European imports who are both goalkeepers: Natalia Munteanu (27) of Moldova, who has been capped at the senior level and played with clubs at home except for in 6 games with Donchanka Zova in Russia in 2017, and Ekaterina Ulasevich of Russia, who played last season at Neman in Belarus, after years at home with a variety of clubs in the Russian league and a spell in Turkey.

The club also had four imports from Africa:

• D Claudia Dabda (20) of Cameroon, who is in her second year with the Belarus side and has 4 goals this season in 16 Belarus Premier League Women's games. She was capped at the U-17 level.
• D Lebohang Ramalepe (29) South Africa; she played in the 2019 WWC in France.
• M Colette Ndzana Fegue (21) Cameroon, who is a full international who played with her country in the Olympic Games Intercontinental Playoffs against Chile earlier this year
• M Nadege Cisse (24) of the Ivory Coast; a full international who played in her country's Women's World Cup debut in 2015 in Canada and has been with Minsk from 2018-2020 before joining Dinamo this season.

CSKA Moskva of Russia 4 Swansea City of Wales 1 after extra time

The last few minutes of regulation time of this match was probably the most dramatic of all of the Round 1 matches on August 18 as Serbian international defender Neneva Damjanovic (28) gave CSKA the lead in the 89th minute but 22-year-old forward Chloe Chivers, a full international with Wales (who previously played in England with Oxford United) scored in the first minute of injury to deadlock the match.

At the start of the first overtime period, Nadezhda Smirnova (25)—an international midfielder with Russia who has won league titles the last two seasons with CSKA—scored twice within the first twenty minutes and then fellow Russian international midfielder Margarita Chernomyrdina scored her side's fourth goal in the 112th minute to finish off the brave Welsh amateur side, who had only 3 shots to CSKA's 23, with only 2 on goal versus 11 for CSKA.

Swansea used all of their players from Wales except for two from England: midfielder Melissa Sartain (32) and Laura Davies (32) of England.

21 August:
Third-place match
Dinamo-BSUPC of Belarus 2 Swansea City of Wales 0

Dinamo went ahead in the 3rd minute through defender Shaunna Jenkins, who has been capped at the U-17 and U-19 national team by Wales, was credited with an own goal and then Colette Ndzana Fegue of Cameroon (21) scored a second goal just before halftime.

Final

Apollon of Cyprus 2 CSKA Moskva 1

Apollon moved on to Group 2 with a narrow 2-1 victory over CSKA Moscow on August 21, with American striker Krystyna Freda (who plays internationally for Cyprus and is in her third season with Apollon) and English import and midfielder Katie Lockwood (23)—who played at Campbell University and Eastern Florida State College (formerly Brevard Community College) and is in her second season with Apollon—scoring the goals.

CSKA Moscow had 7 imports on the roster: defender Yulia Myasnikova of Kazakhstan (28) is a full international who is in her third season with the club and won league titles in 2019 and 2020 as well as at home in 2017 and 2018 with BIIK Kazygurt; two Serbian defenders in Tijana Jankovic (25) and Nevena Damjanovic (28) as well as the well-traveled midfielder Francisca Ordega of Nigeria (27), who has played with Rossiyanka in Russia, Pitea of Sweden, the Washington Spirit in the NWSL, Sydney FC in Australia, Shanghai Shengli in China as well as two clubs in Spain. Other imports included Ukrainian international forward Tetyana Kozyrenko (25), who in four seasons in Russia has played at Zvezda Perm (2018, 2019), Lokomotiv Moscow (2020) and now with CSKA; she also won a Lithuanian league title in 2016 with Gintra-Universitetas. She has 5 goals in 9 games this season.

Long-time CSKA forward Gabrielle Onguene of Cameroon (32) has 8 goals in 18 games and won the 2019 and 2020 Russian League crowns as well as in 2016 with Rossiyanka. She has played in the last two Women's World Cup with her country and in the 2-1 aggregate loss intercontinental Olympic Games Finals qualifiers against Chile.

Forward Sh'Nia Gordon 24 of the U.S. joined WFC CSKA earlier this month; she played collegiately with the West Virginia University Mountaineers, the Seattle Sounders in the WPSL and the past two years in France with Metz in 2019-20 and last season with Dijon, appearing in 23 matches and scoring 7 goals.

Group 7 (hosts PAOK)

18 August: Semi-finals

PAOK of Greece 6 Agarista CSF Anenii Noi of Moldova 0

Forward Esse Akida (28) of Kenya scored a hat trick after coming on as a substitute in the second half to power PAOK to a resounding 6-0 win over Agarista of Moldova. Akida is a full national team member who first played abroad in Israel with FC Ramat HaSharon in 2018-19 and then spent a short spell with Besiktas in Turkey last season.

Anenii Noi last season had no imports last year but this year has one: forward Yelyzaveta Indycha of Ukraine 18, who has been with the side for its last two league titles in Moldova.

Vålerenga of Norway 5 Mitrovica of Kosovo 0

Norwegian international forward (with over 125 caps) Elise Thorsnes (33) scored a hat trick in the last fifteen minutes after substituting on in the 70th minute for Danish forward Agnete Nielsen (22), and fellow Danish forward Janni Thomsen (21) scored a brace. Thorsnes also played for two seasons at Canberra United in Australia and one year with the Utah Royals while Thomsen is in her second season with the club after transferring from Aarhus at home following the 2019-20 season.

Mitrovica used five imports in the WCL: four Albanians and one from North Macedonia.

21 August:
Third-place match

Mitrovica of Kosovo Agarista 3 CSF Anenii Noi of Moldova 0

Edona Kryeziu (25) of Kosovo scored the winner in the second minute and scored the third goal in the 74th minute for the 3-0 win over Anenii Noi.

Final

Valerenga of Norway 2 PAOK of Greece 0

Valerenga advanced to Round 2 with a PAOK own goal in the 54th minute from their Icelandic defender Ingunn Haralsdottir (26), a former U-19 international in her first year abroad after four seasons at KR. Thorsnes had the clinching tally in the last minute.

Group 8 (hosts Juventus)

18 August: Semi-finals

Juventus of Italy 12 Kamenica Sasa of North Macedonia 0

Arianna Caruso (Italy) and Andrea Staskova (Czech Republic)—both 21—scored hat tricks in an easy outing for the Italian Champions, who peppered Kamenica with 55 shots to 0 (28-0 for shots on target).

St. Pölten 7 of Austria Beşiktaş of Turkey 0

Forward Stefanie Enzinger (30), a full international for Austria who has won three league titles with St. Polten after transferring from Sturm Graz ahead of the 2017-18 season, scored a hat-trick while midfielder Maria Mikolajova of Slovakia added a brace in a clear 7-0 defeat of the Turkish champions.

21 August:
Third-place match

Besiktas of Turkey 4 Kamenica Sasa of North Macedonia 0

Besiktas used three imports this year:

• GK Maryam Yektaei (28) of Iran, who played in the Asian Women's Cup in 2010, 2014 and 2018.
• D Giovanna dos Santos Nascimento (24) of Brazil, who formerly played in Brazil and in Colombia with Independiente Santa Fe and with FC Famalicao in Portugal in 2020.
• F Mariana dos Santos Almeida (23) of Brazil, who transferred from Cruzeiro in July of 2021.

The North Macedonian side Kamenica Sasa had no imports on their WCL roster in their debut season of 2020-21 but this year had three; a goalkeeper from Bosnia and Herzegovina, one forward from Serbia and a forward from Bulgaria, ranging from ages 19-23.

Final

St. Polten of Austria 1 Juventus of Italy 4

Italian international forward Barbara Bonansea (30) scored a brace to guide Juventus to a 4-1 win over St. Polten of Austria and a berth in Round 2 on August 21.

Group 9 (hosts Twente)

18 August: Semi-finals
Spartak Subotica of Serbia 5 Peamount United of the Republic of Ireland 2

The veteran Serbian WCL side had a hat-trick from Serbian international forward Tijana Filipovic (22), who has been part of six consecutive championships with the club. Spartak led 5-0 around the hour mark before Irish international forward Eleanor Ryan-Doyle scored two late goals for Peamount and provided a more respectable scoreline. Peamount United used an all-domestic-based roster for the second consecutive season

Twente of the Netherlands 9 WFC Nike of Georgia 0

Oh dear—Twente were up 5-0 at halftime after four goals from Netherlands international forward Feena Kalma of the Netherlands (21), who is in her third season at Twente after three seasons at Heerenveen. WFC Nike of Georgia had four players from Azerbaijan on their roster.

21 August:
Third-place match

Peamount United of Republic of Ireland vs. WFC Nike of Georgia was cancelled

Final

Twente of the Netherlands 5 Spartak Subotica of Serbia 3 after extra time

Twente staged an incredible comeback; being down 3-0 to WCL regulars Spartak from the 73rd minute until Fenna Kalma (21) started the furious fightback in the 80th minute with a goal, then added the tying goal 6 minutes later and scored the ultimate winner from the penalty spot with 12 minute left in the overtime session for her hat trick and scored 7 goals across the two Round 1 matches. Spartak led on shots with 22 to 16 (11 to 10 for shot on target) while Sandra Owusu Ansah of Ghana had a brace for the Serbian club.

Regarding imports for Spartak, Ansah (21) has played in the 2014 and 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cups for her country as well as the 2018 U-20 Finals in France. She transferred to Spartak from Supreme Ladies in Kumasi for this season. Midfielder Alide Kusi (26), also of Ghana, has been capped by the full national team and played at the U-20 WWC finals in 2014.

Spartak also has three Americans in defender Jazmin Jackmon (23), who played collegiately at the University of Oregon and Santa Clara University and was on the Houston Dash's roster in 2019 but did not play in any matches. Molly Fielder (24) is an American midfielder who played at the University of Minnesota. Midfielder Carina Baltrip-Reyes (23) played at the University of Florida and played with the Houston Dash Reserves and was a replacement player for the NWSL side in July and August for the national team players away at the Olympics before moving to Serbia. Vesna Milivojevic (19) is from Australia and played with the Western Sydney Wanderers in 5 games in 2019/20 before moving to Borussia Bocholt in the German second division—scoring 1 goal in 13 games—before joining Spartak.

Group 10 (hosts Pomurje Beltinci)

18 August: Semi-finals
WFC Kharkiv of Ukraine 5 NSA Sofia of Bulgaria 1

A 1-1 tie at halftime turned into a rout with five different goal scorers from the 52nd minute on for Kharkiv in their 5-1 win over NSA Sofia.
NSA Sofia of Bulgaria had only one import on their roster in 28-year-old defender Jessica Coates of Australia. A native of Sydney, Coates played in the U.S. for four seasons at Nicholls State University in Louisiana.

Pomurje Beltinci of Slovenia 6 Rīgas Futbola Skola of Latvia 1

The hosts Pomurje had an easy path to the Round 1 Final with Slovenian international midfielder Sara Makovec (21) scoring twice. Rigas FS of Latvia used no imports this season

21 August:
Third-place match

NSA of Bulgaria 2 Rigas Futbola Skola of Latvia 1

Final

WFC Kharkiv of Ukraine 4 Pomurje of Slovenia 1

Kharkiv again evenly distributed the goal scoring with four scoring one each in a 4-1 win over Pomurje to advance to Round 2, though Pomurje made things interesting with a 1-1 tie after 37 minutes from a successful penalty kick by 19-year old Slovenian international midfielder Kaja Korosec, which held up for only four minutes as Kharkiv scored again to take a 2-1 lead into the sheds at the break.

Pomurje Beltinc used three imports:

• D Helena Bozic (24) of Montenegro, a full international who won a league title in Albania with Vllaznia in 2018/19.
• D Maja Dimitrijevic (30) of Serbia, who has been a full international since 2009 and has played club ball at home and in Slovakia before going to Slovenia.
• F Priscilla Hagan (25) is a full international for Ghana and has played in Romania with Olimpia Cluj, in Turkey with Konak Belediyespor, with AP Lotos Gdansk in Poland before joining Pomurje this season.

Group 11 (hosts Czarni Sosnowiec)

17 August: Semi-final
Ferencváros of Hungary 2 Czarni Sosnowiec of Poland 1

Ferencvaros used goals by Hungarian midfielder Evelyn Fenyvesi in the 17th minute and Hungarian forward Fanni Vago in the 55th minute for their 2-1 win over Zarni Sosnowiec of Poland, with defender Patricia Fischerova (27) of Slovakia scoring in the 50th minute.

For WCL debutant Czarni Sosnowiec of Poland, they had four imports including international Fischerova of Slovakia, along with fellow Slovakian international back Andrea Horvathova (25) to go with midfielders Sanda Malesevic (27) of Serbia's national women's team and forward Nadia Stanovic (21) of Montenegro, who is also a full international.

20 August:
Final
Vllaznia of Albania 0 Ferencvaros of Hungary 0—Vllaznia advanced on penalties 3-1

Note: This was the one three-team group in Round 1.

Ferencvaros of Hungary Their 9 imports included:

• G Chandra Bednar (30) of Canada; she has played for clubs in Sweden since 2015, winning a Damallsvenskan league crown as a backup with Linkoping in 2016.
• D Haley Mays Lukas (25) of the U.S., who played six games over the last two seasons for Guingamp of France after playing with the University of California-Berkeley.
• D Lidija Kulis (29) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is a full international and has joined the Hungarian side from AC Milan, after playing most of her career in Germany with Turbine Potsdam and spent a short time with Glasgow City. She had three campaigns in the UEFA Club tournament as a member of SFK 2000 at home.
• D Inna Zlidnis (31) of Estonia is full international who has won four league titles with Ferencvaros since 2015-16 and played for one season with Hohen Neuendorf in the German second division in 2014.
• M Elizabeth (Betsy) Brandon (24) of the U.S., who played one minute of one game with the Houston Dash in 2019 after a college career at the University of Virginia.
• F Lara Ivanusa (24) of Slovenia, who played in 2017 with Kvarsveden in Sweden's Damallsvenskan and won a league title the next season in Scotland with Glasgow City.
• F Viktoria Nagy (19) of Slovakia, a U-19 international who won the Hungarian league title with Ferenc in 2019-20.
• F Isabelle Linden (30) of Germany was capped by Germany once in 2013 while playing with Bayer Leverkusen and she played in the WSL for 2 seasons (appearing in 5 games) in 2016 and 2017-18. She joined Ferencvaros this season after retiring from the game for one season, after three campaigns with Koln.
• F Michelle Klostermann (20) of Germany joined Ferenc this season after playing with Wolfsburg's second team in the German second division.

Round 2 Draw

The first legs will be held on August 31 and September 1 with the second legs on September 8 and 9, with the following ties determined by UEFA in the draw on August 23.

Champions Path:

Sparta Praha (CZE) vs Køge (DEN)

Osijek (CRO) vs Breidablik (ISL)
Vllaznia (ALB) vs Juventus (ITA)
Twente (NED) vs SL Benfica (POR)
Apollon LFC (CYP) vs WFC Kharkiv (UKR)
Servette FC Chênois (SUI) vs Glasgow City (SCO)
Vålerenga (NOR) vs Häcken (SWE)

League Path:

Levante (ESP) vs Lyon (FRA)
Arsenal (ENG) vs Slavia Praha (CZE)
Real Madrid (ESP) vs Manchester City (ENG)
Wolfsburg (GER) vs Bordeaux (FRA)
Rosengård (SWE) vs Hoffenheim (GER)

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 yours copy today.

Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey