Serhiy Palkin, CEO of "Shakhtar" Donetsk, awaits today's UEFA draw in Nyon that will determine the club's potential third-round opponent in the 2025/26 Europa League qualification campaign. The Ukrainian Cup holders will discover who they might face if they successfully overcome Turkish side "Besiktas" in their upcoming fixtures scheduled for July 24 and 31.
"Our focus remains primarily on the Besiktas challenge, but we're certainly keeping an eye on potential future opponents," a club representative shared with reporters ahead of the draw set to begin at 2:00 PM Kyiv time.
The Donetsk team enters the draw as a seeded club, narrowing their possible opponents to winners from three specific matchups. Should "Shakhtar" advance past "Besiktas", they could face the victor from either Rangers (Scotland) versus Panathinaikos (Greece), Viktoria (Czech Republic) against Servette (Switzerland), or Brann (Norway) taking on Salzburg (Austria).
Interestingly, UEFA officials reduced the number of potential opponents just hours before the scheduled ceremony, providing greater clarity for the Ukrainian side's potential pathway.
In case "Shakhtar" stumbles against the Turkish outfit, they'll drop to Conference League qualification. There, they could meet one of six possible opponents, including teams from Norway, Lithuania, Austria, Georgia, Denmark, Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, or Estonia.
The miners' European journey continues to unfold with third-round matches scheduled for August 7 and 14. Can the Ukrainian cup winners navigate through the qualification maze to secure their place in the Europa League group stage? The path begins to take shape today in Switzerland.
