⚽ UEFA Conference League 2026-2027 🥉

[Slow death]

Some results from this round didn't surprise me. Here are the cases:

Austria Wien 0 - 2 Braga

This team has difficulty scoring goals, and Braga has invested heavily in defense in this competition. So I imagined that playing away they would try very hard not to concede a goal because they were ahead in the tie, even if only by 2 goals. They were ahead and all they needed was a draw. Therefore, playing away from home, they opted for defensive strengthening and thus came away with a draw.

Brighton 4 - 0 Tromso

In the first leg away from home, Brighton couldn't score and didn't concede a goal. I was even surprised by that result, but for this home game I had no doubt that Brighton would win with relative ease. It's a great pity I didn't bet on this game. If I had put them on my parlay, I would have profited a lot.

The biggest challenge for the teams that advanced will be in the next phase. I don't see these teams becoming champions. I'm not underestimating them, but when I look at all of them, I just think: "All these teams that played yesterday won't be champions; they'll just give points to other teams." Even Atalanta has declined a lot; in two-legged matches, they only managed to score one goal. What will they do in the next phase? What will Braga do in the next phase? What will Ajax do in the next phase? I don't see these teams winning the title.

[paco92x]

It seems you were wrong, at least as far as Hajduk is concerned. Hajduk only qualified for the group stage of the conference league after a 15-year wait, after a 3-2 extra-time win against Rakow.
I actually had the feeling that Rakow and Hajduk were equal teams in terms of quality, after watching their first match, and that Hajduk was not without a chance to win and advance to the group stage of the competition.
In any case, Rakow was a much more favorable draw for Hajduk than opponents in previous years, such as Everton, Galatasaray, Villarreal or PAOK, who were too strong opponents for Hajduk.
Hajduk took advantage of their opportunity and achieved great success for the club and Croatian club football.
In the match between Rijeka and Midtjylland, it is 1-1 after half-time and it is obvious that Rijeka is in for a very difficult task.
However, this was expected because this Rijeka team is weaker than last season, when they played in the group stage of this competition, and Midtjylland is a stronger and more quality opponent than Rijeka.

Yes, Hajduk, after a 15-year wait and all kinds of losing streaks, have finally made it to the group stage of a European tournament. For me, Hajduk were better than Raków, and it would have been a shame if they didn't pass. Congrats to them, and I'm happy we have 2 teams in Europe.
Rijeka, on the other hand, were defeated by a much, much better team, and there is no shame in that. The draw was not kind to Rijeka, and they will now focus entirely on the Croatian Championship and hopefully be part of the title challenge.

[Mayor of ogba]

The Qarabag pitch is an extremely difficult pitch. One for the support, two because it is a particularly difficult pitch where last year, even in the Champions League, many high-profile teams really struggled. Chelsea even managed to lose. So i wouldn't give up on Qarabag.

It doesn't mean that Qarabag cannot lose at home because of their field. I know that most teams do take their home matches very serious but it also boils down to their opponents. Chelsea was in a bad condition last season and I'm not surprised that they found it difficult to win Qarabag at home. Qarabag might lose their next match at home.

Had Qarabag next opponent was a high profile team like Bayern Munich or PSG that can win at any ground it would have easy for Qarabag to lose their next match at home, considering Qarabag will be playing against Dynamo Kiev that managed to beat them 1-0 in their home plus Qarabag home advantage, Dynamo Kiev can't win Qarabag at home the best result they can get is a draw.

[Daniel91]

It seems you were wrong, at least as far as Hajduk is concerned. Hajduk only qualified for the group stage of the conference league after a 15-year wait, after a 3-2 extra-time win against Rakow.
I actually had the feeling that Rakow and Hajduk were equal teams in terms of quality, after watching their first match, and that Hajduk was not without a chance to win and advance to the group stage of the competition.
In any case, Rakow was a much more favorable draw for Hajduk than opponents in previous years, such as Everton, Galatasaray, Villarreal or PAOK, who were too strong opponents for Hajduk.
Hajduk took advantage of their opportunity and achieved great success for the club and Croatian club football.
In the match between Rijeka and Midtjylland, it is 1-1 after half-time and it is obvious that Rijeka is in for a very difficult task.
However, this was expected because this Rijeka team is weaker than last season, when they played in the group stage of this competition, and Midtjylland is a stronger and more quality opponent than Rijeka.

Yes, Hajduk, after a 15-year wait and all kinds of losing streaks, have finally made it to the group stage of a European tournament. For me, Hajduk were better than Raków, and it would have been a shame if they didn't pass. Congrats to them, and I'm happy we have 2 teams in Europe.
Rijeka, on the other hand, were defeated by a much, much better team, and there is no shame in that. The draw was not kind to Rijeka, and they will now focus entirely on the Croatian Championship and hopefully be part of the title challenge.

Yes, many will probably belittle and underestimate Rakow as a weak team and say that Hajduk made it to the group stage of this competition because of luck in the draw, but this same Rakow team won second place in the group stage of the competition last season in this same competition.
Judging by today's draw for the group stage of this competition, and based on the calculations that 8 points will probably be enough to pass the group and qualify for the knockout stage of this competition, it seems that Hajduk has a realistic chance of qualifying among the first 24 teams and qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.
I think that Hajduk will certainly have a chance for a good result against Lincoln, Nordsjaelland, Thun and Sint-Truiden, while they will probably have much less chance in the matches against Ajax and Midtylland.
Rijeka is playing weaker in European competitions this season and they were actually lucky to even manage to qualify for this stage of the competition.

[swogerino]

It seems you were wrong, at least as far as Hajduk is concerned. Hajduk only qualified for the group stage of the conference league after a 15-year wait, after a 3-2 extra-time win against Rakow.
I actually had the feeling that Rakow and Hajduk were equal teams in terms of quality, after watching their first match, and that Hajduk was not without a chance to win and advance to the group stage of the competition.
In any case, Rakow was a much more favorable draw for Hajduk than opponents in previous years, such as Everton, Galatasaray, Villarreal or PAOK, who were too strong opponents for Hajduk.
Hajduk took advantage of their opportunity and achieved great success for the club and Croatian club football.
In the match between Rijeka and Midtjylland, it is 1-1 after half-time and it is obvious that Rijeka is in for a very difficult task.
However, this was expected because this Rijeka team is weaker than last season, when they played in the group stage of this competition, and Midtjylland is a stronger and more quality opponent than Rijeka.

Yes, Hajduk, after a 15-year wait and all kinds of losing streaks, have finally made it to the group stage of a European tournament. For me, Hajduk were better than Raków, and it would have been a shame if they didn't pass. Congrats to them, and I'm happy we have 2 teams in Europe.
Rijeka, on the other hand, were defeated by a much, much better team, and there is no shame in that. The draw was not kind to Rijeka, and they will now focus entirely on the Croatian Championship and hopefully be part of the title challenge.

Yes, many will probably belittle and underestimate Rakow as a weak team and say that Hajduk made it to the group stage of this competition because of luck in the draw, but this same Rakow team won second place in the group stage of the competition last season in this same competition.
Judging by today's draw for the group stage of this competition, and based on the calculations that 8 points will probably be enough to pass the group and qualify for the knockout stage of this competition, it seems that Hajduk has a realistic chance of qualifying among the first 24 teams and qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.
I think that Hajduk will certainly have a chance for a good result against Lincoln, Nordsjaelland, Thun and Sint-Truiden, while they will probably have much less chance in the matches against Ajax and Midtylland.
Rijeka is playing weaker in European competitions this season and they were actually lucky to even manage to qualify for this stage of the competition.

First time another Albanian team is playing in European competition after Skenderbeu played for two times in Europa League group stages, now Egnatia, Albania Champions for 3 consecutive years made it to the Conference League. In the games at home against Kaunas and Lincoln chances are high they will be a win while away they have very difficult games against good adversaries like Braga and Aarhus. This league though is made exactly for this, for low quality leagues compared to big ones to be eligible to play here as teams from Georgia, Andorra and Albania have made it here, so it is created I believe to give little joy to also eastern European countries to compete in big European football.

[Daniel91]

It seems you were wrong, at least as far as Hajduk is concerned. Hajduk only qualified for the group stage of the conference league after a 15-year wait, after a 3-2 extra-time win against Rakow.
I actually had the feeling that Rakow and Hajduk were equal teams in terms of quality, after watching their first match, and that Hajduk was not without a chance to win and advance to the group stage of the competition.
In any case, Rakow was a much more favorable draw for Hajduk than opponents in previous years, such as Everton, Galatasaray, Villarreal or PAOK, who were too strong opponents for Hajduk.
Hajduk took advantage of their opportunity and achieved great success for the club and Croatian club football.
In the match between Rijeka and Midtjylland, it is 1-1 after half-time and it is obvious that Rijeka is in for a very difficult task.
However, this was expected because this Rijeka team is weaker than last season, when they played in the group stage of this competition, and Midtjylland is a stronger and more quality opponent than Rijeka.

Yes, Hajduk, after a 15-year wait and all kinds of losing streaks, have finally made it to the group stage of a European tournament. For me, Hajduk were better than Raków, and it would have been a shame if they didn't pass. Congrats to them, and I'm happy we have 2 teams in Europe.
Rijeka, on the other hand, were defeated by a much, much better team, and there is no shame in that. The draw was not kind to Rijeka, and they will now focus entirely on the Croatian Championship and hopefully be part of the title challenge.

Yes, many will probably belittle and underestimate Rakow as a weak team and say that Hajduk made it to the group stage of this competition because of luck in the draw, but this same Rakow team won second place in the group stage of the competition last season in this same competition.
Judging by today's draw for the group stage of this competition, and based on the calculations that 8 points will probably be enough to pass the group and qualify for the knockout stage of this competition, it seems that Hajduk has a realistic chance of qualifying among the first 24 teams and qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.
I think that Hajduk will certainly have a chance for a good result against Lincoln, Nordsjaelland, Thun and Sint-Truiden, while they will probably have much less chance in the matches against Ajax and Midtylland.
Rijeka is playing weaker in European competitions this season and they were actually lucky to even manage to qualify for this stage of the competition.

First time another Albanian team is playing in European competition after Skenderbeu played for two times in Europa League group stages, now Egnatia, Albania Champions for 3 consecutive years made it to the Conference League. In the games at home against Kaunas and Lincoln chances are high they will be a win while away they have very difficult games against good adversaries like Braga and Aarhus. This league though is made exactly for this, for low quality leagues compared to big ones to be eligible to play here as teams from Georgia, Andorra and Albania have made it here, so it is created I believe to give little joy to also eastern European countries to compete in big European football.

Yes, I agree with you.
Some already call this Conference League a "league for the poor", but the fact is that clubs from many so-called small football countries such as Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Andorra, etc. would never have had the opportunity to advance to the group stage of a European club competition and bring joy to their fans and earn some money if UEFA had not created this competition.
It must be admitted, a very good strategic decision by UEFA, and thanks to that, in previous seasons we could watch clubs like Celje or Zrinjski compete for the first time in the group stage of the European club competition.
This season, we again have Bosnia's representative in the group stage of the competition, Borac, even the representatives of Gibraltar, L. Red Imps, and Andorra, Inter Escaldes, made it to the group stage, so it can be said that UEFA gave everyone a chance to become part of the European family and jointly share UEFA's "financial cake" from these competitions.
I read somewhere that until now only clubs from San Marino and Montenegro have not taken advantage of this opportunity, that is, only clubs from those 2 countries have never managed to make it to the group stage of a European club competition.

[kriminall]

It seems you were wrong, at least as far as Hajduk is concerned. Hajduk only qualified for the group stage of the conference league after a 15-year wait, after a 3-2 extra-time win against Rakow.
I actually had the feeling that Rakow and Hajduk were equal teams in terms of quality, after watching their first match, and that Hajduk was not without a chance to win and advance to the group stage of the competition.
In any case, Rakow was a much more favorable draw for Hajduk than opponents in previous years, such as Everton, Galatasaray, Villarreal or PAOK, who were too strong opponents for Hajduk.
Hajduk took advantage of their opportunity and achieved great success for the club and Croatian club football.
In the match between Rijeka and Midtjylland, it is 1-1 after half-time and it is obvious that Rijeka is in for a very difficult task.
However, this was expected because this Rijeka team is weaker than last season, when they played in the group stage of this competition, and Midtjylland is a stronger and more quality opponent than Rijeka.

Yes, Hajduk, after a 15-year wait and all kinds of losing streaks, have finally made it to the group stage of a European tournament. For me, Hajduk were better than Raków, and it would have been a shame if they didn't pass. Congrats to them, and I'm happy we have 2 teams in Europe.
Rijeka, on the other hand, were defeated by a much, much better team, and there is no shame in that. The draw was not kind to Rijeka, and they will now focus entirely on the Croatian Championship and hopefully be part of the title challenge.

Yes, many will probably belittle and underestimate Rakow as a weak team and say that Hajduk made it to the group stage of this competition because of luck in the draw, but this same Rakow team won second place in the group stage of the competition last season in this same competition.
Judging by today's draw for the group stage of this competition, and based on the calculations that 8 points will probably be enough to pass the group and qualify for the knockout stage of this competition, it seems that Hajduk has a realistic chance of qualifying among the first 24 teams and qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.
I think that Hajduk will certainly have a chance for a good result against Lincoln, Nordsjaelland, Thun and Sint-Truiden, while they will probably have much less chance in the matches against Ajax and Midtylland.
Rijeka is playing weaker in European competitions this season and they were actually lucky to even manage to qualify for this stage of the competition.

First time another Albanian team is playing in European competition after Skenderbeu played for two times in Europa League group stages, now Egnatia, Albania Champions for 3 consecutive years made it to the Conference League. In the games at home against Kaunas and Lincoln chances are high they will be a win while away they have very difficult games against good adversaries like Braga and Aarhus. This league though is made exactly for this, for low quality leagues compared to big ones to be eligible to play here as teams from Georgia, Andorra and Albania have made it here, so it is created I believe to give little joy to also eastern European countries to compete in big European football.

That's one of the aims of the Conference League. That's why only one team from the Premier League participates here, because that team is always the biggest contender for the championship. For smaller European countries and those with less success in football, the Conference League is a tournament that increases the excitement of the sport. Of course, the teams here don't dream of the Champions League, but the Conference League is as prestigious a tournament for them as the Champions League.

[pawel7777]

Sharing 1win.com odds for the outright winner of the Conference League.

Looks like the biggest favourite is Brighton, but the odds look a bit ...odd. Unlike all the others, they have two decimal places and the figure looks too precise in comparison to others.

Anyhow, yeah, Brighton is a strong team, but I expected Atalanta to be rated higher. I haven't analysed games of each team, so maybe Brighton have an easier path.
Monaco are also strong, but they were lacking consistency in the prior season, mixing really good periods with ones in which they underperformed.

[Daniel91]

It seems you were wrong, at least as far as Hajduk is concerned. Hajduk only qualified for the group stage of the conference league after a 15-year wait, after a 3-2 extra-time win against Rakow.
I actually had the feeling that Rakow and Hajduk were equal teams in terms of quality, after watching their first match, and that Hajduk was not without a chance to win and advance to the group stage of the competition.
In any case, Rakow was a much more favorable draw for Hajduk than opponents in previous years, such as Everton, Galatasaray, Villarreal or PAOK, who were too strong opponents for Hajduk.
Hajduk took advantage of their opportunity and achieved great success for the club and Croatian club football.
In the match between Rijeka and Midtjylland, it is 1-1 after half-time and it is obvious that Rijeka is in for a very difficult task.
However, this was expected because this Rijeka team is weaker than last season, when they played in the group stage of this competition, and Midtjylland is a stronger and more quality opponent than Rijeka.

Yes, Hajduk, after a 15-year wait and all kinds of losing streaks, have finally made it to the group stage of a European tournament. For me, Hajduk were better than Raków, and it would have been a shame if they didn't pass. Congrats to them, and I'm happy we have 2 teams in Europe.
Rijeka, on the other hand, were defeated by a much, much better team, and there is no shame in that. The draw was not kind to Rijeka, and they will now focus entirely on the Croatian Championship and hopefully be part of the title challenge.

Yes, many will probably belittle and underestimate Rakow as a weak team and say that Hajduk made it to the group stage of this competition because of luck in the draw, but this same Rakow team won second place in the group stage of the competition last season in this same competition.
Judging by today's draw for the group stage of this competition, and based on the calculations that 8 points will probably be enough to pass the group and qualify for the knockout stage of this competition, it seems that Hajduk has a realistic chance of qualifying among the first 24 teams and qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.
I think that Hajduk will certainly have a chance for a good result against Lincoln, Nordsjaelland, Thun and Sint-Truiden, while they will probably have much less chance in the matches against Ajax and Midtylland.
Rijeka is playing weaker in European competitions this season and they were actually lucky to even manage to qualify for this stage of the competition.

First time another Albanian team is playing in European competition after Skenderbeu played for two times in Europa League group stages, now Egnatia, Albania Champions for 3 consecutive years made it to the Conference League. In the games at home against Kaunas and Lincoln chances are high they will be a win while away they have very difficult games against good adversaries like Braga and Aarhus. This league though is made exactly for this, for low quality leagues compared to big ones to be eligible to play here as teams from Georgia, Andorra and Albania have made it here, so it is created I believe to give little joy to also eastern European countries to compete in big European football.

That's one of the aims of the Conference League. That's why only one team from the Premier League participates here, because that team is always the biggest contender for the championship. For smaller European countries and those with less success in football, the Conference League is a tournament that increases the excitement of the sport. Of course, the teams here don't dream of the Champions League, but the Conference League is as prestigious a tournament for them as the Champions League.

I would say you hit the nail on the head here.
Of course, not all clubs in Europe are at the same level and cannot be compared in terms of quality, financial power, earnings, etc.
About 30 years ago, it was different, and each country could only have 1 club in the then version of the Champions League, and a maximum of 3 foreigners in the team.
Because of this, the clubs were much more equal and balanced and it could happen that even clubs like Red Star Belgrade or Steaua would be European champions.
Today, such a scenario would be impossible due to the huge difference in quality, primarily between clubs from the English and Spanish leagues, plus PSG and Bayern, and the rest of Europe.
Given this, UEFA did the best thing by creating this competition where so-called small clubs from countries like Bosnia, Andorra, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, etc. can compete on an equal footing, win points, earn money and bring joy to their fans.
This competition is an opportunity for everyone to participate and be part of the European football family.