How it works, how to watch

Seven playoff matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday will determine the final seven teams to qualify for the next phase of the Champions League, with a spot in Thursday’s draw and millions of dollars in UEFA prize money on the line.

And if you’re looking for a team to root for, maybe start with Bodø/Glimt.

The Norwegian club enters Tuesday’s second leg against NEC Nijmegen with a 3-1 aggregate lead and a chance to continue one of European soccer’s most unlikely success stories.

Just reaching the Champions League was historic for Bodø/Glimt last season. Then, it beat Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, knocked out Inter Milan and reached the Round of 16 in its first appearance.

Now it wants to get back.

While European powers such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and Man City are already safely in the field, Bodø/Glimt and 13 other clubs have one final hurdle to clear.

So why do some clubs automatically qualify while others have to play their way in? What exactly is the Champions League playoff round? And, what does Bodø/Glimt need to do Tuesday to advance?

Here’s everything you need to know about Champions League qualifying, this week’s games and the Norwegian Cinderella trying to prove last season was no fluke.

The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s premier annual club soccer competition, bringing together top teams from domestic leagues across the continent.

Unlike the World Cup, teams represent clubs rather than countries. Qualification is largely based on how those clubs performed in their domestic leagues the previous season.

UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) is the governing body of soccer in Europe and manages Europe’s top club tournaments.

• Sabah vs. Hapoel Beer-Sheva: 12:45 p.m. ET at Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan. Hapoel leads 2-1 on aggregate.
• LASK vs. Celtic: 3 p.m. ET at Raiffeisen Arena (Linz), Linz, Austria. Celtic leads 3-0 on aggregate.
• Bodø/Glimt vs. NEC: 3 p.m. ET at Aspmyra Stadion, Bodø/Glimt, Norway. Bodø/Glimt leads 3-1 on aggregate.

• AEK Athens vs. Levski Sofia: 3 p.m. ET at OPAP Arena, Athens, Greece. Tied 0-0.
• Viking vs. Dinamo Zagreb: 3 p.m. ET at Viking Stadion, Stavanger, Norway. Tied 2-2.
• Celje vs. Slovan Bratislava: 3 p.m. ET at Stadion Z’dezele, Celje, Slovenia. Tied 1-1.
• Lyon vs. Fenerbahce: 3 p.m. ET at Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France. Tied 1-1.

The first league-phase matches are scheduled for Sept. 8.

Tuesday and Wednesday will determine the final seven teams in the field when the Champions League proper begins next month.

​The Champions League doesn’t begin with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and the other giants entering the league phase. ​Before that happens, dozens of clubs from across Europe have to qualify for the final 36-team field.

​Some clubs automatically reach the league phase based primarily on where they finished in their domestic leagues. Other clubs have to earn their place through qualifying.

​That means Champions League qualifying begins in the summer, weeks before most fans start paying attention.

​After multiple rounds of qualifying, only seven league-phase spots remain. Tuesday and Wednesday’s playoff matches will decide which teams claim those spots.

A club’s domestic finish determines whether it qualifies for the Champions League. A club’s country’s UEFA league ranking helps determine where it enters.

​For example, the strongest European leagues receive multiple Champions League places and can send their top teams directly into the league phase. ​Smaller leagues generally receive fewer places and their clubs may have to survive several rounds of qualifying.

​UEFA ranks domestic leagues based on how their clubs have performed in European competitions over several seasons. Those rankings determine how many Champions League places each country receives and where its clubs enter the competition.

​Champions League places aren’t distributed equally among countries. UEFA rewards the strongest associations based on European performance.

​Real Madrid doesn’t spend July playing qualifiers because Spain receives multiple direct league-phase places. A champion from a smaller European league may have to win several two-leg playoff series to reach that stage.

​Think of Champions League qualifying as a tournament to get into the tournament.

Dozens of clubs begin playing in July. Then, the field gets smaller through four rounds until seven playoff winners join the 29 teams that qualified automatically for the 36-team league phase.

There are three qualifying rounds, followed by a final qualifying playoff round before the league phase begins. But not every club starts in Round 1.

​A club’s entry point depends on its qualification route and UEFA’s ranking system. Some teams have been competing since July. Others entered later.

​By the time the playoff round arrives, the enormous summer qualifying field has been reduced to 14 teams competing for seven remaining league-phase spots.

​Qualifying isn’t one giant bracket. There are two routes.

• ​Champions Path: Primarily for clubs that won their domestic leagues but did not receive automatic league-phase berths.
• ​League Path: For clubs that qualified through a high domestic finish without winning their league.

Eventually, the survivors produce the seven clubs that complete the league-phase field.

​Each qualifying matchup is played over two games, called legs, with each club normally hosting one.

​The goals from both games are combined into an aggregate score.

• First leg: Bodø/Glimt 3, NEC 1
• Second leg: Tuesday
• Current aggregate: Bodø/Glimt 3, NEC 1

​For example: If NEC wins Tuesday 1-0, NEC wins that game, but Bodø/Glimt wins the overall matchup 3-2 and advances.

​Also: If the aggregate score is tied after 90 minutes of the second leg, the teams play extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout.​

Two of the seven Champions League playoff games will be televised.

Tuesday’s LASK vs. Celtic game will be broadcast on Paramount+ and will feature Americans Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty, both playing for Celtic. Wednesday’s Lyon vs. Fenerbahce game will air on Paramount+ and will feature American Tanner Tessmann for Lyon.

​Norwegian soccer club Bodø/Glimt comes from Bodø, a city of roughly 50,000 people just north of the Arctic Circle.

​Its home, Aspmyra Stadion, holds only a fraction of the crowds that fill Europe’s famous soccer cathedrals.

​Yet, over the past several years, Bodø/Glimt has transformed from a relatively obscure Norwegian club into a regular domestic champion and increasingly dangerous European opponent. 

​Last season, it finally reached the Champions League proper.

​And, then, things got wild.

​It went winless in its first six league-phase matches, then beat Manchester City and Atletico Madrid to sneak into the knockout playoff. Then it beat Inter Milan 5-2 on aggregate, becoming the first Norwegian club to win a Champions League knockout tie.

​It followed that by beating Sporting CP 3-0 in the first leg of the Round of 16 before Sporting pulled off a dramatic comeback in the second leg.

​Bodø/Glimt did not even win Norway’s league last year. It finished second, meaning it entered this year’s qualification through the league path rather than the champions path. It then beat Union Saint-Gilloise 6-5 on aggregate, including an extra-time second leg, to reach this playoff against NEC. 

​It went to the Netherlands last Wednesday and beat NEC 3-1, with goals from Sondre Brunstad Fet, Andreas Helmersen and Haitam Aleesami. NEC pulled one back late to keep the tie alive.

​Now, Bodø/Glimt gets the second leg at home.

Bodø/Glimt is very close to qualifying for the Champions League again.

​Because the club leads NEC 3-1 on aggregate, the math is simple:

• ​Bodø/Glimt wins: Bodø/Glimt qualifies.
• Draw: Bodø/Glimt qualifies.
• Bodø/Glimt loses by one goal: Bodø/Glimt qualifies.
• Bodø/Glimt loses by two goals: the game goes to extra time.
• Bodø/Glimt loses by three or more: NEC qualifies.

​Last year was unprecedented. Before Bodø/Glimt, Norway had not put a club into the Champions League group/league phase since Rosenborg in 2007-08.

​Bodø/Glimt shattered expectations last year. ​So this week’s second leg begs the question: Was last season a once-in-a-generation fairy tale, or has Bodø/Glimt actually built a club capable of belonging in the Champions League every year?

​NEC Nijmegen is trying to reach the Champions League proper for the first time. Before this season, the Dutch club hadn’t played in Europe since the 2008-09 UEFA Cup. It beat Olympiacos in the third qualifying round to reach the playoff.

​Reaching the 36-team league phase guarantees each club a baseline starting fee of approximately $20.3 million USD before a single ball is kicked. From there, teams earn an additional $2.3 million for every win and $765,000 for every draw in the league phase.

​Even teams that lose in the final playoff round receive a consolation payout of $4.7 million as they move into the Europa League league phase.

​Losing in the playoff round doesn’t eliminate a club from European competition.

​The playoff losers move into the Europa League league phase, the second-tier annual club soccer tournament in Europe. While it carries lower prize money than the Champions League, it offers a major European trophy and awards its champion an automatic berth in the following season’s Champions League.

​The seven winners join the 29 automatic qualifiers, completing the 36-team league phase. The draw is on Thursday, Aug. 27.

​All 36 clubs enter one league table and play eight opponents, four at home and four away.​

• England: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool
• Spain: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis
• Germany: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart
• Italy: Inter Milan, Napoli, Roma, Como
• France: Paris Saint-Germain, Lens, Lille
• Portugal: FC Porto, Sporting Lisbon
• Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
• Belgium: Club Brugge
• Turkiye: Galatasaray
• Czechia: Slavia Prague
• Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk

The draw will take place at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday.

UEFA will broadcast the Champions League league phase draw.