Portuguese trio Benfica, Braga and Santa Clara learn opponents in UEFA competitions | OneFootball

The draw took place today for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League competitions.

To make it through to the league phase of their respective competition, Benfica, Braga and Santa Clara must win their third-round qualifying tie and the subsequent playoff. Braga and Santa Clara also have to negotiate the second qualifying round of the preliminary phase, which begins this week.

Benfica land Nice

Benfica have been drawn against Ligue 1 team Nice. It will be the first time the two clubs have met.

The first leg will take place on the 5th or 6th August (less than a week after the Super Cup curtain raiser to the Portuguese season in the Algarve against Sporting). The decisive match is scheduled for 12 August.

Should Benfica overcome Nice, they will play one of the following opponents in the playoff to reach the lucrative league phase of the Champions League: Rangers, Panathinaikos, Viktoria Plzen, Servette, Feyenoord or Fenerbahce.

Braga’s Europa League path

Braga play their first competitive match of the 2025/26 season on Thursday as they travel to Bulgaria to lock horns with Levski Sofia in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. The second leg is at the Quarry on 31 July.

If Braga get past the Bulgarians, they will face the winner of the tie between FC Lugano (Switzerland) and CFR Cluj (Romania) for a place in the playoffs.

Santa Clara back in Europe

European football is back for Azorean outfit Santa Clara following their sensational 5th-place finish last season in the Liga Portugal, in their first year back after promotion from Liga II.

Like Braga, the season officially starts on Thursday for Santa Clara as Vasco Matos takes his team to Croatia to play NK Varaždin in the first leg of their second-round qualifying tie in the UEFA Conference League.

Should the islanders make it through to the next round, they will take on the winner of the tie between Larne FC (Northern Ireland) and Prishtina (Kosovo) for a place in the playoffs and a chance to enter the competition proper.