UP FOR GRABS! Europe Awaits…

Everything you need to know about three key Champions League (and potentially Europa Cup) qualifiers, explained and previewed by Gethin Thurlow and Dakota Thompson.

There’s more up for grabs in the Champions League qualifiers this time round – with Europa Cup spots also on the menu. All six of the teams in our three featured ties have entered directly into round two out of three qualifying rounds for the Champions League. Although they are separated between the champions path (Fortuna Hjorring v Hibernian) and the league path (Manchester United v PSV, Glasgow City v Austria Wien). So while Hibs are playing against winners of the countries judged to be on same level as Scotland – such as Switzerland, Cyprus and Denmark – the league path involves teams that didn’t win their league but still had a qualifying for finishing second or third.

The way round two is set out, teams are in groups of four, although it is two semi-finals leading to a ‘final’ and ‘third place decider’. If you win the first game, you play the winner of the other tie to determine first and second place. Then the two losers face off to decide third.

First place advances to the next round, second place qualifies for the second and final round of qualifying for the Europa Cup, which is a new competition. Third place secures first round qualifying for the Europa Cup. Last puts you out of Europe all together. Round three of qualifying is a much simpler two-legged match with another group winner from that side of the draw, with the loser of each game entering round two qualifying for the Europa Cup as well. The Europa Cup then becomes a round of 16, directly after qualifying is completed.

Manchester United v PSV Eindhoven

One-time KNVB Women’s Cup champions PSV, may not have had much luck so far in the UWCL, but they won’t be shying away from a tie with Manchester United. As for the Red Devils, they’ve instantly boosted their European experience by picking up a couple of Swedish stars – Fridolina Rolfo (above) from Barcelona and Julia Zigiotti from Bayern – in the summer transfer window. If they can gel with the likes of Grace Clinton and Ella Toone they could go far. As long as Clinton and Rolfo are fit enough to play, of course.

PSV only lost out on the Dutch title last year on goal difference, so will be going into this season looking to heal some wounds. Most of their players are Dutch, but 22-year-old Swiss midfielder Riola Xhemaili, who sent Switzerland into the Euro 2025 knockouts, also features, officially signed for PSV in June after spending last season on loan in Eindhoven from Wolfsburg. Last season she scored 10 goals in 22 appearances, not bad for a player in her position.

As we saw at the Euros, Xhemaili can be a massive threat, and she’ll be hoping to get the season off to the best possible start in Europe. Additionally, defender Aniek Nouwen has returned to the club this summer after moving to Chelsea in 2021 where she had loan spells at AC Milan and most recently Crystal Palace. This experience playing in the English league may prove a huge asset in this tie, as Nouwen will have seen firsthand how good Man Utd can be on their day.

Glasgow City v Austria Wien

Glasgow City, an independent women’s team, have long reigned supreme in Scotland. They won 14 titles in a row from 2008-2021 and reached the Champions League quarter-finals a few times during that period. However, as Celtic, Rangers and more recently Hibernian (Hibs) have become professional, Glasgow City’s monopoly on the title has fallen away. They still compete at the head of the table every year and finished second last season, just three points behind champions Hibs. City lost two of their key players – Samantha van Diemen and Brenna Lovera to European opposition over the summer, but they have brought in exciting players, such as young Irish midfielder Erin Mclaughlin.

Watch out for Ukrainian striker Nicole Kozlova who bagged a brace for Glasgow in their first league match of the season and will have a bigger role than ever, without fellow striker Lovera in the squad anymore. With a distinct style of play that involves having much of the ball, it will be interesting to see how City can adapt in a game where they will be challenged for control more than they are used to.

Austria Wien, founded in 2015, finished second in the league last season, with forward Verena Volkmer becoming the first player to finish top scorer in the league for two consecutive seasons. Volkmer then retired at only 29, so Glasgow at least won’t have to worry about her. That doesn’t mean they can completely relax however – former Bayern Munich player Carina Wenninger is at the club, although she must balance playing with taking charge of the team’s strategic development going forward.

Meanwhile, they have been busy this summer, focusing on younger players, signing Italian U23 player Elisa Pfattner from Juventus, as well as 27-year-old American Courtney Strode, who finished top scorer in Switzerland last season with Young Boys, also winning the Championship. With regular Austria internationals Virginia Kirchberger and Katharina Schiechtl in defence as well as a strong attack, this is by no means an easy tie for Glasgow City.

Fortuna Hjorring v Hibernian

Located in a town of just 25,000, Fortuna Hjorring are Denmark’s most successful team ever. They also happen to be an independent team, remaining as dominant as ever in Denmark as they brought home the league and cup double last year. Their best European result actually came in the 2002-03 UEFA Cup, when they were runners-up. In terms of the Champions League, in 2016-17 the Danish side got to the quarter finals where they lost to Manchester City. Hjorring also qualified for the round of 16 since then, being blown away by Lyon and Barcelona.

The team has a reputation for having a great youth academy, which is one of the reasons they have been able to sustain that success – right from winning the league in 1994 to winning again over 30 years later. Nigerian striker Omewa Joy Ogochukwu had a brilliant season in 2024-25, scoring 25 goals in 28 games and winning the league player of the year award. Hibs will be focusing on stopping her scoring as a defensive priority.

While Hibs only became professional recently, they have a long history in Scotland, mostly finishing second behind Glasgow City all those years. Having slipped back behind teams like Celtic and Rangers and even Hearts since the league was restructured in 2022, Hibs came from nowhere to win a title no one predicted last season.

This makes it difficult to judge how Hibs might perform this year. Was it a fluke? Is their squad good enough to do it again? The club have firmly staked their belief in the current players, bringing in only two young attackers during the window. That includes Hannah Jordan, who wowed throughout pre-season.
In their first league game, the ‘Hibees’ brushed aside a new and improved Aberdeen side including Chelsea keeper Katie Cox 5-1; looking as fluent and clinical as in their greatest games last season. Ciara Grant, an extremely technically-gifted midfielder is worth looking out for. In a game where Hibs are going to create less than usual a magical set piece or through ball could decide it, and Grant would be the one providing that.

When and Where:
Man U v PSV, 11am BST, Stockholm Arena, Sweden – live on MUTV
Glasgow City v Austria Wien, 6pm BST, Franz-Horr Stadion, Vienna – with VPN, https://www.youtube.com/@kronetv
Fortuna Hjorring v Hibs, 7:30pm BST, Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, Paphos, Cyprus – live on BBCiPlayer, BBCSport
All on Wednesday 27th August.

All following ties played on Saturday 30th August