Teams in Europa League knockouts: Final standings, list of clubs qualified for knockout rounds in 2025/26 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
After the thrilling conclusion to Champions League action the day before, the Europa League took centre stage on Thursday to determined the 24 participants for the knockout stage.
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Teams finishing in the top eight positions earned a coveted bye straight through to the Round of 16, while those that finished ninth through 24th in the league phase standings enter the knockout playoff round.
Thus, nearly every match on the final day had something at stake, whether it was teams fighting for top eight spots, those pushing for playoff round seeding, or just fighting to stay alive in the competition altogether.
Here is a run-down of how things shook out in terms of teams qualifying for all the various positions, as well as those eliminated at the bottom of the standings.
MORE:Breaking down how the Europa League knockout stage bracket will look
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Teams in Europa League knockouts: Final standings
The top eight teams in the league-phase table qualified directly to the Round of 16, bypassing the playoff round completely.
It’s an extremely coveted position as those sides not only avoid the peril of a playoff matchup but are also seeded in the Round of 16 draw, eventually partnered against an opponent that finished lower in the table.
MORE:All teams qualified to the Champions League knockout stage, including those with Round of 16 byes
Final standings for Europa League league phase
Heading into the final matchday of league phase play, only Lyon and Aston Villa have had clinched a top eight spot. The other six spots were up for grabs right down to the wire.
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The top eight spots earn a bye straight through to the Round of 16, while positions nine through 24 advance to the knockout playoff round. Those 25th and below are eliminated from European competition.
With the final matchday now complete, here’s how the final league phase table looks in the 2025/26 Europa League:
|
Pos. |
Team |
Pts |
W-L-D |
GD |
GF-GA |
|
1. |
Lyon |
21 |
7-0-1 |
+13 |
18-5 |
|
2. |
Aston Villa |
21 |
7-0-1 |
+8 |
14-6 |
|
3. |
Midtjylland |
19 |
6-1-1 |
+10 |
18-8 |
|
4. |
Real Betis |
17 |
5-2-1 |
+6 |
13-7 |
|
5. |
FC Porto |
17 |
5-2-1 |
+6 |
13-7 |
|
6. |
Braga |
17 |
5-2-1 |
+6 |
11-5 |
|
7. |
SC Freiburg |
17 |
5-2-1 |
+6 |
10-4 |
|
8. |
AS Roma |
16 |
5-1-2 |
+7 |
13-6 |
|
9. |
Genk |
16 |
5-1-2 |
+4 |
11-7 |
|
10. |
Bologna |
15 |
4-3-1 |
+7 |
14-7 |
|
11. |
VfB Stuttgart |
15 |
5-0-3 |
+6 |
15-9 |
|
12. |
Ferencvaros |
15 |
4-3-1 |
+1 |
12-11 |
|
13. |
Nottingham Forest |
14 |
4-2-2 |
+8 |
15-7 |
|
14. |
Viktoria Plzen |
14 |
3-5-0 |
+5 |
8-3 |
|
15. |
Red Star Belgrade |
14 |
4-2-2 |
+1 |
7-6 |
|
16. |
Celta Vigo |
13 |
4-1-3 |
+4 |
15-11 |
|
17. |
PAOK |
12 |
3-3-2 |
+3 |
17-14 |
|
18. |
Lille |
12 |
4-0-4 |
+3 |
12-9 |
|
19. |
Fenerbahce |
12 |
3-3-2 |
+3 |
10-7 |
|
20. |
Panathinaikos |
12 |
3-3-2 |
+2 |
11-9 |
|
21. |
Celtic |
11 |
3-3-2 |
-2 |
13-15 |
|
22. |
Ludogorets Razgrad |
10 |
3-1-4 |
-3 |
12-15 |
|
23. |
Dinamo Zagreb |
10 |
3-1-4 |
-4 |
12-16 |
|
24. |
Brann |
9 |
2-3-3 |
-2 |
9-11 |
|
25. |
BSC Young Boys |
9 |
3-0-5 |
-6 |
10-16 |
|
26. |
Sturm Graz |
7 |
2-1-5 |
-6 |
5-11 |
|
27. |
FCSB |
7 |
2-1-5 |
-7 |
9-16 |
|
28. |
Go Ahead Eagles |
7 |
2-1-5 |
-8 |
6-14 |
|
29. |
Feyenoord |
6 |
2-0-6 |
-4 |
11-15 |
|
30. |
Basel |
6 |
2-0-6 |
-4 |
9-13 |
|
31. |
RB Salzburg |
6 |
2-0-6 |
-5 |
10-15 |
|
32. |
Rangers |
4 |
1-1-6 |
-9 |
5-14 |
|
33. |
OGC Nice |
3 |
1-0-7 |
-8 |
7-15 |
|
34. |
FC Utrecht |
1 |
0-1-7 |
-10 |
5-15 |
|
35. |
Malmo FF |
1 |
0-1-7 |
-11 |
4-15 |
|
36. |
Maccabi Tel Aviv |
1 |
0-1-7 |
-20 |
2-22 |
Which teams have qualified for Europa League knockouts?
After matchday seven in 2025/26, Lyon and Aston Villa were the only teams to have mathematically guaranteed a bye to the Round of 16.
The remaining six saw their spots confirmed on matchday eight, the final round of league phase games.
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Teams in qualified for Europa League Round of 16
|
Pos. |
Club |
Nation |
|
1. |
Lyon |
France |
|
2. |
Aston Villa |
England |
|
3. |
FC Midtjylland |
Norway |
|
4. |
Real Betis |
Spain |
|
5. |
FC Porto |
Portugal |
|
6. |
Braga |
Portugal |
|
7. |
SC Freiburg |
Germany |
|
8. |
AS Roma |
Italy |
Teams qualified for Europa League League knockout playoffs
Below the top eight Round of 16 byes, the next 16 clubs qualify to the knockout-round playoffs.
Positions 9-16 will be seeded in the playoff-round draw and will have the preferred second-leg home match, while positions 17-24 are unseeded.
Teams clinching Europa League knockout playoff spots 2025/26
|
Pos. |
Club |
Nation |
|
9. |
Genk |
Belgium |
|
10. |
Bologna |
Italy |
|
11. |
VfB Stuttgart |
Germany |
|
12. |
Ferencvaros |
Hungary |
|
13. |
Nottingham Forest |
England |
|
14. |
Viktoria Plzen |
Czechia |
|
15. |
Red Star Belgrade |
Serbia |
|
16. |
Celta Vigo |
Spain |
|
17. |
PAOK |
Greece |
|
18. |
Lille |
France |
|
19. |
Fenerbahce |
Turkey |
|
20. |
Panathinaikos |
Greece |
|
21. |
Celtic |
Scotland |
|
22. |
Ludogorets Razgrad |
Bulgaria |
|
23. |
Dinamo Zagreb |
Croatia |
|
24. |
Brann |
Norway |
Teams eliminated from Europa League 2025/26
Coming into matchweek eight, only six teams had their interest in the competition completely ended, meaning 30 of the 36 competitors still had something at stake as league phase play wrapped up on January 29.
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Teams below the cut line do not drop down to the Conference League, and are instead fully eliminated from European play.
Teams eliminated from the Europa League
|
Pos. |
Club |
Nation |
|
25. |
BSC Young Boys |
Switzerland |
|
26. |
Sturm Graz |
Austria |
|
27. |
FCSB |
Romania |
|
28. |
Go Ahead Eagles |
Netherlands |
|
29. |
Feyenoord |
Netherlands |
|
30. |
Basel |
Switzerland |
|
31. |
RB Salzburg |
Austria |
|
32. |
Rangers |
Scotland |
|
33. |
Nice |
France |
|
34. |
FC Utrecht |
Netherlands |
|
35. |
Malmo FF |
Sweden |
|
36. |
Maccabi Tel Aviv |
Israel |
When are the Europa League knockout playoffs 2025/26?
The first legs of the playoff matches will take place on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
The return legs are a week later on Thursday, February 26.
Seeded teams will be home for the second leg, while unseeded teams will host the first leg.
When are Europa League Round of 16 games 2025/26?
The Round of 16 games will be played over Thursday, March 12 (first leg) and Thursday, March 19 (second leg).
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Teams that earn a bye straight to this round do not need to contest knockout playoff matches, and thus will be off from the competition until this point.
Like the knockout playoff round, those seeded teams which earned byes will be home for the second leg, while those progressing from the knockout playoff round will host the first leg.