2015–16 UEFA Europa League qualifying
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]
Round and draw dates
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 |
| Play-off round | 7 August 2015, 13:00[5] | 20 August 2015 | 27 August 2015 |
Matches could also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.
Format
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
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),[6] grouped by their starting rounds.[7]
| Key to colours |
|---|
| Winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage |
- Notes
- CL-CR Losers of the Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Route).
- CL-LR Losers of the Champions League third qualifying round (League Route).
First qualifying round
Seeding
A total of 102 teams played in the first qualifying round.[3] The draw was held on 22 June 2015.[8][9] 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 |
|
Sheriff Tiraspol (2) |
Odd (6) |
West Ham United (1) |
Renova (7) |
Rosenborg (3) |
Víkingur Gøta (10) |
| Group 4 | Group 5 | Group 6 | |||
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
|
IF Elfsborg (1) |
Skonto (10) |
Hajduk Split (1) |
Sutjeska (6) |
Apollon Limassol (1) |
Flora (7) |
| Group 7 | Group 8 | Group 9 | |||
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
|
Omonia (5) |
Nõmme Kalju (6) |
AIK (1) |
Ferencváros (6) |
Neftçi (1) |
Čukarički (6) |
| Group 10 | |||||
| Seeded | Unseeded | ||||
|
Slovan Bratislava (2) |
Celje (8) | ||||
Summary
The first legs were played on 30 June and 2 July, and the second legs were played on 7 and 9 July 2015.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Víkingur Reykjavík | 2–3 | Koper | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 0–3 | Odd | 0–3 | 0–0 |
| Kukësi | 2–0 | Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Alashkert | 2–2 (a) | St Johnstone | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Jelgava | 3–3 (a) | Litex Lovech | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Newtown | 4–2 | Valletta | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2–3 | Gabala | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Renova | 1–5 | Dacia Chișinău | 0–1 | 1–4 |
| Olimpic | 1–1 (a) | Spartak Trnava | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| West Ham United | 4–0[a] | Lusitanos | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Glenavon | 1–5 | Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 1–2 | 0–3 |
| Differdange 03 | 4–3 | Bala Town | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| Shkëndija | 1–1 (a) | Aberdeen | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Víkingur Gøta | 0–2 | Rosenborg | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| SJK | 0–2 | FH | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Linfield | 5–4[a] | NSÍ | 2–0 | 3–4 |
| Brøndby | 11–0 | Juvenes/Dogana | 9–0 | 2–0 |
| MTK Budapest | 1–3 | Vojvodina | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Skonto | 4–1 | St Patrick's Athletic | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Lahti | 2–7 | IF Elfsborg | 2–2 | 0–5 |
| Atlantas | 1–5 | Beroe Stara Zagora | 0–2 | 1–3 |
| Debrecen | 3–2 | Sutjeska | 3–0 | 0–2 |
| Ordabasy | 1–2 | Beitar Jerusalem | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Balzan | 0–3 | Željezničar | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Sillamäe Kalev | 3–7 | Hajduk Split | 1–1 | 2–6 |
| Budućnost Podgorica | 1–3[a] | Spartaks Jūrmala | 1–3 | 0–0 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 1–4 | Kairat | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Flora | 1–2 | Rabotnicki | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Sant Julià | 0–4 | Randers | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| Saxan | 0–4 | Apollon Limassol | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| Progrès Niederkorn | 0–3 | Shamrock Rovers | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Aktobe | 0–1 | Nõmme Kalju | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Dinamo Batumi | 1–2 | Omonia | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Kruoja Pakruojis | 0–9 | Jagiellonia Białystok | 0–1 | 0–8 |
| Shirak | 3–2 | Zrinjski Mostar | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Cork City | 2–3 | KR | 1–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |
| Go Ahead Eagles | 2–5 | Ferencváros | 1–1 | 1–4 |
| Trakai | 7–1 | HB | 3–0 | 4–1 |
| Laçi | 1–1 (a) | Inter Baku | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| VPS | 2–6 | AIK | 2–2 | 0–4 |
| UCD | 2–2 (a) | F91 Dudelange | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Domžale | 0–1 | Čukarički | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Glentoran | 1–7 | Žilina | 1–4 | 0–3 |
| Strømsgodset | 4–1[a] | Partizani | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Neftçi | 3–3 (a)[a] | Mladost Podgorica | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Celje | 1–4 | Śląsk Wrocław | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| La Fiorita | 1–10 | Vaduz | 0–5 | 1–5 |
| Birkirkara | 3–1 | Ulisses | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Airbus UK Broughton | 3–5 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | 1–3 | 2–2 |
| Botoșani | 4–2 | Tskhinvali | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Europa | 0–9 | Slovan Bratislava | 0–6 | 0–3 |
Matches
Second qualifying round
Seeding
A total of 66 teams played in the second qualifying round: 15 teams which entered in this round, and the 51 winners of the first qualifying round.[3] The draw was held on 22 June 2015.[9][10] Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with 10 teams and another run for all groups with 12 teams.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
|
PAOK (3) |
Željezničar[†] (10) |
Legia Warsaw (1) |
KR[†] (6) |
Odd[†] (4) |
Alashkert[†] (8) |
| Group 4 | Group 5 | Group 6 | |||
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
|
Trabzonspor (3) |
Randers[†] (8) |
West Ham United[†] (3) |
Strømsgodset[†] (10) |
Copenhagen (3) |
IFK Göteborg (7) |
- Notes
- † Winners of the first qualifying round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the first qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the second qualifying round.
Summary
The first legs were played on 16 July, and the second legs were played on 21 and 23 July 2015.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kukësi | 4–3 | Mladost Podgorica | 0–1 | 4–2 |
| Lokomotiva Zagreb | 2–7 | PAOK | 2–1 | 0–6 |
| Slovan Bratislava | 6–1 | UCD | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Ferencváros | 0–3 | Željezničar | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Vaduz | 5–1 | Nõmme Kalju | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Beroe Stara Zagora | 0–1 | Brøndby | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| KR | 0–4 | Rosenborg | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| AIK | 4–0 | Shirak | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Legia Warsaw | 4–0 | Botoșani | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Dacia Chișinău | 3–6 | Žilina | 1–2 | 2–4 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1–4 | Odd | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2–3 | Thun | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Kairat | 4–2 | Alashkert | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Vojvodina | 4–1 | Spartaks Jūrmala | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Jagiellonia Białystok | 0–1 | Omonia | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Jelgava | 1–2 | Rabotnicki | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Čukarički | 1–2 | Gabala | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 0–3 | Wolfsberger AC | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Trabzonspor | 3–1 | Differdange 03 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Charleroi | 9–2 | Beitar Jerusalem | 5–1 | 4–1 |
| Randers | 0–1 | IF Elfsborg | 0–0 | 0–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Mladá Boleslav | 2–2 (a) | Strømsgodset | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Cherno More | 1–5 | Dinamo Minsk | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Rijeka | 2–5 | Aberdeen | 0–3 | 2–2 |
| West Ham United | 1–1 (5–3 p) | Birkirkara | 1–0 | 0–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Apollon Limassol | 4–0 | Trakai | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Koper | 4–6 | Hajduk Split | 3–2 | 1–4 |
| FH | 3–4 | Inter Baku | 1–2 | 2–2 (a.e.t.) |
| Inverness CT | 0–1 | Astra Giurgiu | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Spartak Trnava | 5–2 | Linfield | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| Copenhagen | 5–1 | Newtown | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Śląsk Wrocław | 0–2 | IFK Göteborg | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Skonto | 4–11 | Debrecen | 2–2 | 2–9 |
Matches
Third qualifying round
Seeding
A total of 58 teams played in the third qualifying round: 25 teams which entered in this round, and the 33 winners of the second qualifying round.[4] The draw was held on 17 July 2015.[11][12] Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for the group with 10 teams and another run for all groups with 12 teams.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
|
AZ (2) |
Dinamo Minsk[†] (6) |
Copenhagen[†] (1) |
Jablonec (8) |
Rubin Kazan (1) |
Vitesse (7) |
| Group 4 | Group 5 | ||||
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded | ||
|
Borussia Dortmund (6) |
Astra Giurgiu[†] (7) |
Athletic Bilbao (3) |
Slovan Bratislava[†] (7) | ||
- Notes
- † Winners of the second qualifying round whose identity was not known at the time of the draw. Teams in italics defeated a team with a higher coefficient in the second qualifying round, thus effectively taking the coefficient of their defeated opponent in the draw for the third qualifying round.
Summary
The first legs were played on 29 and 30 July, and the second legs were played on 6 August 2015.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zürich | 1–2 | Dinamo Minsk | 0–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Kairat | 3–2 | Aberdeen | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Žilina | 3–3 (a) | Vorskla Poltava | 2–0 | 1–3 (a.e.t.) |
| AZ | 4–1 | İstanbul Başakşehir | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Bordeaux | 4–0 | AEK Larnaca | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| PAOK | 2–1 | Spartak Trnava | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Târgu Mureș | 2–4 | Saint-Étienne | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Debrecen | 3–6 | Rosenborg | 2–3 | 1–3 |
| Jablonec | 3–3 (a) | Copenhagen | 0–1 | 3–2 |
| Thun | 2–2 (a) | Vaduz | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Belenenses | 2–1 | IFK Göteborg | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Sampdoria | 2–4 | Vojvodina | 0–4 | 2–0 |
| Kukësi | 0–4 | Legia Warsaw | 0–3[a] | 0–1 |
| Charleroi | 0–5 | Zorya Luhansk | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| Sturm Graz | 3–4 | Rubin Kazan | 2–3 | 1–1 |
| IF Elfsborg | 2–3 | Odd | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Southampton | 5–0 | Vitesse | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Slovan Liberec | 5–1 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Apollon Limassol | 1–2[b] | Gabala | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Wolfsberger AC | 0–6 | Borussia Dortmund | 0–1 | 0–5 |
| AIK | 1–4 | Atromitos | 1–3 | 0–1 |
| Standard Liège | 3–1 | Željezničar | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| West Ham United | 3–4 | Astra Giurgiu | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 2–0 | Inter Baku | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Rabotnicki | 2–1 | Trabzonspor | 1–0 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Brøndby | 2–2 (a) | Omonia | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Rheindorf Altach | 6–2 | Vitória de Guimarães | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Hajduk Split | 4–0 | Strømsgodset | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| Krasnodar | 5–3 | Slovan Bratislava | 2–0 | 3–3 |
Matches
Play-off round
Seeding
A total of 44 teams played in the play-off round: the 29 winners of the third qualifying round, and the 15 losers of the Champions League third qualifying round.[5] The draw was held on 7 August 2015.[14][15] Teams were pre-assigned numbers by UEFA so that the draw could be held in one run for all groups with 10 teams and another run for all groups with 12 teams.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
|
Athletic Bilbao[†] (1) |
Rosenborg[†] (6) |
Ajax[CL] (1) |
Qarabağ[CL] (6) |
| Group 3 | Group 4 | ||
| Seeded | Unseeded | Seeded | Unseeded |
|
Rubin Kazan[†] (1) |
Hajduk Split[†] (7) |
Borussia Dortmund[†] (1) |
HJK[CL] (7) |
- Notes
- † Winners of the third qualifying round.
- CL Losers of the Champions League third qualifying round.
Summary
The first legs were played on 20 August, and the second legs were played on 27 August 2015.
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rheindorf Altach | 0–1 | Belenenses | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Žilina | 3–3 (a) | Athletic Bilbao | 3–2 | 0–1 |
| Steaua București | 1–3 | Rosenborg | 0–3 | 1–0 |
| Zorya Luhansk | 2–4 | Legia Warsaw | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| Viktoria Plzeň | 5–0 | Vojvodina | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Milsami Orhei | 1–2 | Saint-Étienne | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Ajax | 1–0[a] | Jablonec | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Young Boys | 0–4 | Qarabağ | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| Molde | 3–3 (a) | Standard Liège | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| PAOK | 6–1 | Brøndby | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Bordeaux | 2–2 (a) | Kairat | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Lech Poznań | 4–0 | Videoton | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Dinamo Minsk | 2–2 (3–2 p) | Red Bull Salzburg | 2–0 | 0–2 (a.e.t.) |
| Rabotnicki | 1–2 | Rubin Kazan | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Slovan Liberec | 2–0 | Hajduk Split | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Atromitos | 0–4 | Fenerbahçe | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| Gabala | 2–2 (a)[a] | Panathinaikos | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Southampton | 1–2 | Midtjylland | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Astra Giurgiu | 3–4 | AZ | 3–2 | 0–2 |
| Odd | 5–11 | Borussia Dortmund | 3–4 | 2–7 |
| Krasnodar | 5–1 | HJK | 5–1 | 0–0 |
| Sparta Prague | 6–4[a] | Thun | 3–1 | 3–3 |
Matches
Statistics
There were 693 goals in 270 matches in the qualifying phase and play-off round, for an average of 2.57 goals per match.[16]
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals | Minutes played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Róbert Vittek | Slovan Bratislava | 7 | 391 |
| Matej Jelić | Žilina | 715 | ||
| 3 | Róbert Mak | PAOK | 6 | 464 |
| Henok Goitom | AIK | 470 | ||
| 5 | Henrikh Mkhitaryan | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 334 |
| 6 | 15 players | 4 | — | |
Source: UEFA.com[17]
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Team | Assists | Minutes played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Lang | Vaduz | 4 | 264 |
| Henrikh Mkhitaryan | Borussia Dortmund | 334 | ||
| Edgars Jermolajevs | Skonto | 360 | ||
| Niall McGinn | Aberdeen | 512 | ||
| Viktor Claesson | IF Elfsborg | 567 | ||
| Isael | Kairat | 703 | ||
| Nikola Vlašić | Hajduk Split | 717 | ||
| 8 | 12 players | 3 | — | |
Source: UEFA.com[18]
References
- ^ a b c "Regulations of the UEFA Europa League 2015/16 Season" (PDF). UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Match and draw calendar 2015/16". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ a b c "Europa League qualifying draws live". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Third qualifying round draw preview". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 10 July 2015. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ^ a b "UEFA Europa League play-off draw lineup". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "Club coefficients 2014/15". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "2015/16 UEFA Europa League participants". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on June 25, 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Draws – First qualifying round". UEFA. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ a b "Largest draw starts new UEFA Europa League season". UEFA. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ "Draws – Second qualifying round". UEFA. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
- ^ "Draws – Third qualifying round". UEFA. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "UEFA Europa League third qualifying round draw". UEFA. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Kukës v Legia decision". UEFA. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ "Draws – Play-off round". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "UEFA Europa League play-off draw results". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "Statistics – Qualifying phase – Team statistics – Goals". UEFA. Archived from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Statistics – Qualifying phase – Player statistics – Goals". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Statistics – Qualifying phase – Player statistics – Assists". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 27 August 2015.