Before the season in Europe, the Žalgiris players celebrate an impressive ranking.

2025-06-16 18:27 © E. Žaldario

In the coming days, potential opponents of "Žalgiris" in European tournaments will become clear - on Tuesday and Wednesday, the draws for the first stages of the European Football Associations Union (UEFA) will be held.

The Lithuanian champion "Žalgiris" will start its journey in Europe from the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League (CL). The opponents will be determined by the draw, in which 28 teams are divided into two pots based on their rankings.

"Žalgiris" has collected 12 coefficient points for its performances in UEFA tournaments over 5 seasons, placing 136th in the European men's club football ranking.

This is a record ranking among the Baltic States and one of the top five among participants in the first round. In the first round draw, the Žalgiris team will be in the pot of higher-ranked teams (seeded).

Potential opponents of the Vilnius team are champions from 14 countries, with which they have not yet met in UEFA tournaments, and according to representatives of states, they have played only against four - North Macedonia, Armenia, the Faroe Islands, and Ireland.

Potential opponents in the first CL round:
• "Inter Club d’Escaldes" (Andorra)
• Tetovo "Shkendija" (North Macedonia)
• Tallinn "Levadia" (Estonia)
• Minsk "Dinamo" (Belarus)
• Hamrun "Spartans" (Malta)
• Almaty "Kairat" (Kazakhstan)
• Orhei "Milsami" (Moldova)
• Armavir "Noah" (Armenia)
• "Differdange 03" (Luxembourg)
• Tbilisi "Iberia 1999" (Georgia)
• Leirvik "Vikingur" (Faroe Islands)
• Dublin "Shelbourne" (Ireland)
• Rogozhino "Egnatia" (Albania)
• "Virtus" (San Marino)

In the second round, Žalgiris was close to the higher pot, but together with the Croatian champions "Rijeka", who have the same number of ranking points, ended up in the lower pot (unseeded). This means potential clashes with more prominent opponents.

Potential opponents in the second CL round:
• FC "Kobenhavn" (Denmark)
• Belgrade "Crvena zvezda" (Serbia)
• Budapest "Ferencvaros" (Hungary)
• Tel Aviv "Maccabi" (Israel)
• Bratislava "Slovan" (Slovakia)
• Agdam "Qarabag" (Azerbaijan)
• Razgrad "Ludogorets" (Bulgaria)
• Kyiv "Dynamo" (Ukraine)
• Bucharest FCSB (Romania)
• Poznan "Lech" (Poland)
• Ljubljana "Olimpija" (Slovenia)
• "Malmö FF" (Sweden)

Before the draws, teams will also be divided into separate small draw groups of five teams each.

The draws for the first qualifying round will be held on Tuesday starting at 3 PM, and the second round on Wednesday starting at 1 PM, and will be broadcast live on the UEFA website.

Teams that do not advance past the first stage of the Champions League will move to the second round of the Conference League (CL), where they will play against other national champions who have lost. In the second stage of the Champions League, the eliminated teams will play in the third qualifying round of the Europa League (EL).

Before reaching the main - league stage - teams need to overcome four qualifying rounds. The qualifying matches will start in the second week of July and finish at the end of August.

The main stages of the Champions and Europa Leagues will take place from September to January, the Conference League from September to December.

Draw schedule:
June 17 - I qualifying round draw (CL, EL, CL)
June 18 - II qualifying round draw (CL, EL, CL)
July 21 - III qualifying round draw (CL, EL, CL)
August 4 - Playoff (IV) round draw (CL, EL, CL)

Match dates for qualifiers:
Champions League (CL):
I round: July 8-9 (first leg), July 15-16 (return leg)
II round: July 22-23 (first legs), July 29-30 (return legs)
III round: August 5-6 (first legs), August 12-13 (return legs)
Playoff round: August 19-20 (first legs), August 26-27 (return legs)
Europa League (EL):
II round: July 24 (first leg), July 31 (return leg)
III round: August 7 (first leg), August 14 (return leg)
Playoff round: August 21 (first leg), August 28 (return leg)
Conference League (CL):
II round: July 24 (first leg), July 31 (return leg)
III round: August 7 (first leg), August 14 (return leg)
Playoff round: August 21 (first leg), August 28 (return leg)