2015–16 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase

The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase began on 30 June and ended on 6 August 2015. A total of 157 teams competed in the qualifying phase to decide which 44 teams would participate in the play-off round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, the final round before the group stage.[1]

All times were CEST (UTC+2).

Round and draw dates

[edit]

All draws were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[2]

Round Draw date and time First leg Second leg
First qualifying round 22 June 2015, 13:00 & 14:30[3] 2 July 2015 9 July 2015
Second qualifying round 16 July 2015 23 July 2015
Third qualifying round 17 July 2015, 13:00[4] 30 July 2015 6 August 2015

Matches could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.

Format

[edit]

In the qualifying phase and play-off round, each tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs advanced to the next round. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time was played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by penalty shoot-out.[1]

In the draws for each round, teams were seeded based on their UEFA club coefficients at the beginning of the season, with the teams divided into seeded and unseeded pots. A seeded team was drawn against an unseeded team, with the order of legs in each tie decided by draw. Due to the limited time between matches, the draws for the second and third qualifying rounds took place before the results of the previous round were known. For these draws (or in any cases where the result of a tie in the previous round was not known at the time of the draw), the seeding was carried out under the assumption that the team with the higher coefficient of an undecided tie advanced to this round, which means if the team with the lower coefficient was to advance, it simply took the seeding of its defeated opponent. Prior to the draws, UEFA formed "groups" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they were purely for convenience of the draw and for ensuring that teams from the same association were not drawn against each other, and did not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition.[1]

Teams

[edit]

A total of 157 teams were involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round (including the 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round which entered the play-off round). The 22 winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 16 teams which entered in the group stage and the 10 losers of the Champions League play-off round.

Below are the participating teams (with their 2015 UEFA club coefficients),[5] grouped by their starting rounds.[6]

Key to colours
Winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage
Play-off round
Team Coeff
Netherlands Ajax[CL-LR] 66.195
Austria Red Bull Salzburg[CL-CR] 43.135
Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň[CL-CR] 41.825
Romania Steaua București[CL-CR] 40.259
Switzerland Young Boys[CL-LR] 31.375
Czech Republic Sparta Prague[CL-LR] 30.825
Turkey Fenerbahçe[CL-LR] 30.020
Greece Panathinaikos[CL-LR] 19.880
Poland Lech Poznań[CL-CR] 17.300
Azerbaijan Qarabağ[CL-CR] 11.500
Finland HJK[CL-CR] 11.140
Norway Molde[CL-CR] 10.375
Denmark Midtjylland[CL-CR] 7.960
Hungary Videoton[CL-CR] 7.950
Moldova Milsami Orhei[CL-CR] 3.750
Third qualifying round
Team Coeff
Germany Borussia Dortmund 99.883
Russia Rubin Kazan 57.099
Spain Athletic Bilbao 56.999
Netherlands AZ 46.695
Belgium Standard Liège 25.440
France Bordeaux 24.483
Italy Sampdoria 18.102
Portugal Vitória de Guimarães 17.776
France Saint-Étienne 16.983
Switzerland Zürich 16.875
Czech Republic Slovan Liberec 16.325
England Southampton 16.078
Russia Krasnodar 15.099
Portugal Belenenses 12.276
Ukraine Vorskla Poltava 11.033
Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 10.533
Greece Atromitos 10.380
Netherlands Vitesse 10.195
Czech Republic Jablonec 9.325
Austria Sturm Graz 9.135
Cyprus AEK Larnaca 8.460
Israel Ironi Kiryat Shmona 7.200
Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir 6.520
Romania Târgu Mureș 5.259
Austria Rheindorf Altach 5.135
Second qualifying round
Team Coeff
Denmark Copenhagen 40.960
Greece PAOK 40.880
Turkey Trabzonspor 36.520
Poland Legia Warsaw 24.800
Croatia Rijeka 13.700
Switzerland Thun 10.375
Romania Astra Giurgiu 9.759
Belarus Dinamo Minsk 9.650
Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav 8.825
Belgium Charleroi 7.440
Sweden IFK Göteborg 6.045
Austria Wolfsberger AC 5.135
Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva 4.700
Scotland Inverness CT 3.580
Bulgaria Cherno More 3.350
First qualifying round
Team Coeff
England West Ham United 16.078
Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 14.500
Norway Rosenborg 11.875
Sweden IF Elfsborg 11.545
Croatia Hajduk Split 11.200
Cyprus Apollon Limassol 10.460
Cyprus Omonia 10.460
Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 9.250
Sweden AIK 9.045
Azerbaijan Neftçi 9.000
Poland Śląsk Wrocław 8.800
Slovakia Žilina 8.750
Kazakhstan Aktobe 8.575
Netherlands Go Ahead Eagles 8.195
Serbia Red Star Belgrade 7.775
Hungary Debrecen 7.700
Denmark Brøndby 7.460
Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk 7.150
Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi 6.875
Bulgaria Litex Lovech 6.850
Serbia Vojvodina 6.275
Slovakia Spartak Trnava 6.250
Iceland FH 6.100
Scotland St Johnstone 6.080
Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar 6.000
Denmark Randers 5.960
Norway Strømsgodset 5.875
Iceland KR 5.600
Poland Jagiellonia Białystok 5.550
Romania Botoșani 5.259
Croatia Lokomotiva Zagreb 5.200
Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 5.150
Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 5.025
Azerbaijan Inter Baku 5.000
Northern Ireland Linfield 4.975
Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora 4.850
Malta Valletta 4.841
Luxembourg Differdange 03 4.775
North Macedonia Rabotnicki 4.675
Belarus Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino 4.650
Scotland Aberdeen 4.580
Moldova Dacia Chișinău 4.500
Slovenia Koper 4.475
Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic 4.400
Israel Beitar Jerusalem 4.200
Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar 4.000
Faroe Islands HB 3.950
Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica 3.875
Malta Birkirkara 3.591
Slovenia Domžale 3.475
Liechtenstein Vaduz 3.450
Serbia Čukarički 3.275
Slovenia Celje 3.225
Hungary Ferencváros 3.200
Estonia Nõmme Kalju 3.200
Estonia Flora 3.200
Montenegro Sutjeska 3.125
Latvia Skonto 3.100
Faroe Islands Víkingur Gøta 2.950
North Macedonia Renova 2.925
Norway Odd 2.875
Albania Kukësi 2.825
Azerbaijan Gabala 2.750
North Macedonia Shkëndija 2.675
Kazakhstan Kairat 2.575
Kazakhstan Ordabasy 2.575
Hungary MTK Budapest 2.450
Armenia Shirak 2.300
Montenegro Mladost Podgorica 2.125
Albania Laçi 2.075
Armenia Ulisses 2.050
Moldova Saxan 2.000
Northern Ireland Glentoran 1.975
Finland VPS 1.890
Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi 1.875
Georgia (country) Tskhinvali 1.875
Estonia Sillamäe Kalev 1.700
Andorra Lusitanos 1.666
Finland SJK 1.640
Finland Lahti 1.640
Iceland Víkingur Reykjavík 1.600
Latvia Jelgava 1.600
Bosnia and Herzegovina Olimpic 1.500
Faroe Islands NSÍ 1.450
Andorra Sant Julià 1.416
Lithuania Atlantas 1.400
Northern Ireland Glenavon 1.225
Republic of Ireland Cork City 1.150
Republic of Ireland UCD 1.150
Lithuania Kruoja Pakruojis 1.150
San Marino La Fiorita 1.099
Wales Airbus UK Broughton 1.075
Albania Partizani 1.075
Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn 1.025
Lithuania Trakai 0.900
Latvia Spartaks Jūrmala 0.850
Malta Balzan 0.841
Wales Bala Town 0.825
San Marino Juvenes/Dogana 0.599
Wales Newtown 0.575
Armenia Alashkert 0.550
Gibraltar Europa 0.300
Notes

First qualifying round

[edit]

Seeding

[edit]

A total of 102 teams played in the first qualifying round.[3] The draw was held on 22 June 2015.[7][8] Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with ten teams and another run for the group with twelve teams.

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded

Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol (2)
Bulgaria Litex Lovech (1)
Scotland St Johnstone (3)
Belarus Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino (5)
Slovenia Koper (4)

Norway Odd (6)
Albania Kukësi (7)
Iceland Víkingur Reykjavík (9)
Latvia Jelgava (8)
Armenia Alashkert (10)

England West Ham United (1)
Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi (2)
Slovakia Spartak Trnava (3)
Malta Valletta (4)
Moldova Dacia Chișinău (5)

North Macedonia Renova (7)
Azerbaijan Gabala (6)
Andorra Lusitanos (8)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Olimpic (10)
Wales Newtown (9)

Norway Rosenborg (3)
Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk (4)
Iceland FH (1)
Luxembourg Differdange 03 (2)
Scotland Aberdeen (5)

Faroe Islands Víkingur Gøta (10)
North Macedonia Shkëndija (7)
Finland SJK (8)
Northern Ireland Glenavon (9)
Wales Bala Town (6)

Group 4 Group 5 Group 6
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded

Sweden IF Elfsborg (1)
Denmark Brøndby (2)
Serbia Vojvodina (5)
Northern Ireland Linfield (4)
Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic (3)

Latvia Skonto (10)
Hungary MTK Budapest (7)
Finland Lahti (8)
Faroe Islands NSÍ (9)
San Marino Juvenes/Dogana (6)

Croatia Hajduk Split (1)
Hungary Debrecen (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar (3)
Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora (4)
Israel Beitar Jerusalem (5)

Montenegro Sutjeska (6)
Kazakhstan Ordabasy (7)
Estonia Sillamäe Kalev (8)
Lithuania Atlantas (9)
Malta Balzan (10)

Cyprus Apollon Limassol (1)
Serbia Red Star Belgrade (2)
Denmark Randers (3)
North Macedonia Rabotnicki (5)
Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica (4)

Estonia Flora (7)
Kazakhstan Kairat (6)
Moldova Saxan (8)
Andorra Sant Julià (10)
Latvia Spartaks Jūrmala (9)

Group 7 Group 8 Group 9
Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded Seeded Unseeded

Cyprus Omonia (5)
Kazakhstan Aktobe (2)
Poland Jagiellonia Białystok (3)
Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers (4)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar (1)

Estonia Nõmme Kalju (6)
Armenia Shirak (8)
Georgia (country) Dinamo Batumi (7)
Lithuania Kruoja Pakruojis (10)
Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn (9)

Sweden AIK (1)
Netherlands Go Ahead Eagles (2)
Iceland KR (4)
Azerbaijan Inter Baku (3)
Faroe Islands HB (5)

Hungary Ferencváros (6)
Albania Laçi (10)
Finland VPS (8)
Republic of Ireland Cork City (9)
Lithuania Trakai (7)

Azerbaijan Neftçi (1)
Slovakia Žilina (5)
Norway Strømsgodset (3)
Luxembourg F91 Dudelange (4)
Slovenia Domžale (2)

Serbia Čukarički (6)
Montenegro Mladost Podgorica (8)
Northern Ireland Glentoran (7)
Republic of Ireland UCD (9)
Albania Partizani (10)

Group 10
Seeded Unseeded

Slovakia Slovan Bratislava (2)
Poland Śląsk Wrocław (1)
Romania Botoșani (4)
Croatia Lokomotiva Zagreb (3)
Malta Birkirkara (6)
Liechtenstein Vaduz (5)

Slovenia Celje (8)
Armenia Ulisses (7)
Georgia (country) Tskhinvali (12)
San Marino La Fiorita (10)
Wales Airbus UK Broughton (11)
Gibraltar Europa (9)

Summary

[edit]

The first legs were played on 30 June and 2 July, and the second legs were played on 7 and 9 July 2015.

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Víkingur Reykjavík Iceland2–3Slovenia Koper0–12–2
Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova0–3Norway Odd0–30–0
Kukësi Albania2–0Belarus Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino2–00–0
Alashkert Armenia2–2 (a)Scotland St Johnstone1–01–2
Jelgava Latvia3–3 (a)Bulgaria Litex Lovech1–12–2
Newtown Wales4–2Malta Valletta2–12–1
Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia (country)2–3Azerbaijan Gabala2–10–2
Renova North Macedonia1–5Moldova Dacia Chișinău0–11–4
Olimpic Bosnia and Herzegovina1–1 (a)Slovakia Spartak Trnava1–10–0
West Ham United England4–0[a]Andorra Lusitanos3–01–0
Glenavon Northern Ireland1–5Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk1–20–3
Differdange 03 Luxembourg4–3Wales Bala Town3–11–2
Shkëndija North Macedonia1–1 (a)Scotland Aberdeen1–10–0
Víkingur Gøta Faroe Islands0–2Norway Rosenborg0–20–0
SJK Finland0–2Iceland FH0–10–1
Linfield Northern Ireland5–4[a]Faroe Islands NSÍ2–03–4
Brøndby Denmark11–0San Marino Juvenes/Dogana9–02–0
MTK Budapest Hungary1–3Serbia Vojvodina0–01–3
Skonto Latvia4–1Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic2–12–0
Lahti Finland2–7Sweden IF Elfsborg2–20–5
Atlantas Lithuania1–5Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora0–21–3
Debrecen Hungary3–2Montenegro Sutjeska3–00–2
Ordabasy Kazakhstan1–2Israel Beitar Jerusalem0–01–2
Balzan Malta0–3Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar0–20–1
Sillamäe Kalev Estonia3–7Croatia Hajduk Split1–12–6
Budućnost Podgorica Montenegro1–3[a]Latvia Spartaks Jūrmala1–30–0
Red Star Belgrade Serbia1–4Kazakhstan Kairat0–21–2
Flora Estonia1–2North Macedonia Rabotnicki1–00–2
Sant Julià Andorra0–4Denmark Randers0–10–3
Saxan Moldova0–4Cyprus Apollon Limassol0–20–2
Progrès Niederkorn Luxembourg0–3Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers0–00–3
Aktobe Kazakhstan0–1Estonia Nõmme Kalju0–10–0
Dinamo Batumi Georgia (country)1–2Cyprus Omonia1–00–2
Kruoja Pakruojis Lithuania0–9Poland Jagiellonia Białystok0–10–8
Shirak Armenia3–2Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar2–01–2
Cork City Republic of Ireland2–3Iceland KR1–11–2 (a.e.t.)
Go Ahead Eagles Netherlands2–5Hungary Ferencváros1–11–4
Trakai Lithuania7–1Faroe Islands HB3–04–1
Laçi Albania1–1 (a)Azerbaijan Inter Baku1–10–0
VPS Finland2–6Sweden AIK2–20–4
UCD Republic of Ireland2–2 (a)Luxembourg F91 Dudelange1–01–2
Domžale Slovenia0–1Serbia Čukarički0–10–0
Glentoran Northern Ireland1–7Slovakia Žilina1–40–3
Strømsgodset Norway4–1[a]Albania Partizani3–11–0
Neftçi Azerbaijan3–3 (a)[a]Montenegro Mladost Podgorica2–21–1
Celje Slovenia1–4Poland Śląsk Wrocław0–11–3
La Fiorita San Marino1–10Liechtenstein Vaduz0–51–5
Birkirkara Malta3–1Armenia Ulisses0–03–1
Airbus UK Broughton Wales3–5Croatia Lokomotiva Zagreb1–32–2
Botoșani Romania4–2Georgia (country) Tskhinvali1–13–1
Europa Gibraltar0–9Slovakia Slovan Bratislava0–60–3
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c d e Order of legs reversed after original draw.

Matches

[edit]
Víkingur Reykjavík Iceland0–1Slovenia Koper
Report
  • Pučko 77'
Koper Slovenia2–2Iceland Víkingur Reykjavík
Report
Attendance: 1,500[9]

Koper won 3–2 on aggregate.


Sheriff Tiraspol Moldova0–3Norway Odd
Report
Odd Norway0–0Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol
Report

Odd won 3–0 on aggregate.


Kukësi Albania2–0Belarus Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino
Report
Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino Belarus0–0Albania Kukësi
Report
Attendance: 2,950[9]

Kukësi won 2–0 on aggregate.


Alashkert Armenia1–0Scotland St Johnstone
  • Manasyan 59'
Report
St Johnstone Scotland2–1Armenia Alashkert
Report
Attendance: 5,764[9]

2–2 on aggregate; Alashkert won on away goals.


Jelgava Latvia1–1Bulgaria Litex Lovech
Report
Litex Lovech Bulgaria2–2Latvia Jelgava
Report

3–3 on aggregate; Jelgava won on away goals.


Newtown Wales2–1Malta Valletta
Report
Attendance: 1,420[9]
Valletta Malta1–2Wales Newtown
Report

Newtown won 4–2 on aggregate.


Dinamo Tbilisi Georgia (country)2–1Azerbaijan Gabala
Report
Gabala Azerbaijan2–0Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi
Report
Attendance: 4,400[9]

Gabala won 3–2 on aggregate.


Renova North Macedonia0–1Moldova Dacia Chișinău
Report
Dacia Chișinău Moldova4–1North Macedonia Renova
Report

Dacia Chișinău won 5–1 on aggregate.


Olimpic Bosnia and Herzegovina1–1Slovakia Spartak Trnava
Report
Spartak Trnava Slovakia0–0Bosnia and Herzegovina Olimpic
Report

1–1 on aggregate; Spartak Trnava won on away goals.


West Ham United England3–0Andorra Lusitanos
Report
Attendance: 34,966[9]
Referee: Vadims Direktorenko (Latvia)
Lusitanos Andorra0–1England West Ham United
Report

West Ham United won 4–0 on aggregate.


Glenavon Northern Ireland1–2Belarus Shakhtyor Soligorsk
Report
Shakhtyor Soligorsk Belarus3–0Northern Ireland Glenavon
Report

Shakhtyor Soligorsk won 5–1 on aggregate.


Differdange 03 Luxembourg3–1Wales Bala Town
Report
  • Sheridan 38'
Attendance: 1,223[9]
Referee: Milan Ilić (Serbia)
Bala Town Wales2–1Luxembourg Differdange 03
Report
  • Er Rafik 90+5'

Differdange 03 won 4–3 on aggregate.


Shkëndija North Macedonia1–1Scotland Aberdeen
Report
Aberdeen Scotland0–0North Macedonia Shkëndija
Report

1–1 on aggregate; Aberdeen won on away goals.


Víkingur Gøta Faroe Islands0–2Norway Rosenborg
Report
Rosenborg Norway0–0Faroe Islands Víkingur Gøta
Report

Rosenborg won 2–0 on aggregate.


SJK Finland0–1Iceland FH
Report
FH Iceland1–0Finland SJK
Report

FH won 2–0 on aggregate.


Linfield Northern Ireland2–0Faroe Islands NSÍ
Report
NSÍ Faroe Islands4–3Northern Ireland Linfield
Report

Linfield won 5–4 on aggregate.


Brøndby Denmark9–0San Marino Juvenes/Dogana
Report
Juvenes/Dogana San Marino0–2Denmark Brøndby
Report

Brøndby won 11–0 on aggregate.


MTK Budapest Hungary0–0Serbia Vojvodina
Report
Vojvodina Serbia3–1Hungary MTK Budapest
Report

Vojvodina won 3–1 on aggregate.


Skonto Latvia2–1Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic
Report
  • Greene 21'
Attendance: 1,780[9]
Referee: Fran Jović (Croatia)
St Patrick's Athletic Republic of Ireland0–2Latvia Skonto
Report
Attendance: 2,354[9]

Skonto won 4–1 on aggregate.


Lahti Finland2–2Sweden IF Elfsborg
Report
IF Elfsborg Sweden5–0Finland Lahti
Report
Attendance: 3,304

IF Elfsborg won 7–2 on aggregate.


Atlantas Lithuania0–2Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora
Report
Beroe Stara Zagora Bulgaria3–1Lithuania Atlantas
Report
Attendance: 7,432[9]
Referee: Orkhan Mammadov (Azerbaijan)

Beroe Stara Zagora won 5–1 on aggregate.


Debrecen Hungary3–0Montenegro Sutjeska
Report
Sutjeska Montenegro2–0Hungary Debrecen
Report

Debrecen won 3–2 on aggregate.


Ordabasy Kazakhstan0–0Israel Beitar Jerusalem
Report
Beitar Jerusalem Israel2–1Kazakhstan Ordabasy
Report

Beitar Jerusalem won 2–1 on aggregate.


Balzan Malta0–2Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar
Report
Željezničar Bosnia and Herzegovina1–0Malta Balzan
Report

Željezničar won 3–0 on aggregate.


Sillamäe Kalev Estonia1–1Croatia Hajduk Split
Report
Hajduk Split Croatia6–2Estonia Sillamäe Kalev
Report

Hajduk Split won 7–3 on aggregate.


Budućnost Podgorica Montenegro1–3Latvia Spartaks Jūrmala
Report
Spartaks Jūrmala Latvia0–0Montenegro Budućnost Podgorica
Report

Spartaks Jūrmala won 3–1 on aggregate.


Red Star Belgrade Serbia0–2Kazakhstan Kairat
Report
Kairat Kazakhstan2–1Serbia Red Star Belgrade
Report
Attendance: 21,550[9]

Kairat won 4–1 on aggregate.


Flora Estonia1–0North Macedonia Rabotnicki
Report
Rabotnicki North Macedonia2–0Estonia Flora
Report
Attendance: 1,690[9]

Rabotnicki won 2–1 on aggregate.


Sant Julià Andorra0–1Denmark Randers
Report
Randers Denmark3–0Andorra Sant Julià
Report

Randers won 4–0 on aggregate.


Saxan Moldova0–2Cyprus Apollon Limassol
Report
Apollon Limassol Cyprus2–0Moldova Saxan