Who made it through the main round of the UEFA Conference League: Shakhtar's potential opponents
Arda Turan’s side will return in March and will learn their opponent after the playoff round. The draw is scheduled for January 16, 2026.
The main round of the 2025/26 football Conference League season has been completed. A total of 24 clubs will continue their European campaign, including Ukrainian Cup holders Shakhtar.
Shakhtar ended a run of three consecutive Conference League wins by drawing 0–0 with Croatia’s Rijeka in the final round. The result allowed Arda Turan’s team to stay in the top eight of the competition and secure direct qualification to the Round of 16.
The “Miners” will continue their Conference League campaign in March, awaiting an opponent determined by the playoff round. It will feature teams that finished 9th to 24th in the main-stage table, divided into seeded and unseeded groups of eight.
The top club of the main round was France’s Strasbourg, who won five matches and finished two points ahead of the tournament’s other unbeaten team, Poland’s Raków. At the start of the playoffs, Shakhtar will also avoid facing representatives of Europe’s top leagues such as Spain’s Rayo Vallecano and Germany’s Mainz, who finished fifth and seventh respectively.
Meanwhile, England’s only representative Crystal Palace drew 2–2 with Finland’s KuPS in the final round. The London club completed the top 10 in the table and will play in the playoff round.
Who Shakhtar will face in the Round of 16
Shakhtar already know the pool of teams from which their future opponent will be determined: Finland’s KuPS, North Macedonia’s Shkëndija, Poland’s Lech, and Turkey’s Samsunspor.
The highest position (11th) among these teams in the main round was taken by Lech, who finished ahead of Samsunspor in 12th only on tiebreakers. The unseeded KuPS and Shkëndija finished 21st and 22nd respectively.
The tournament draw will take place on January 16, 2026. If they win their playoff ties, the four clubs mentioned will draw either Shakhtar or Spain’s Rayo Vallecano.
Conference League 2025/26: main round results
Direct qualification to the Round of 16: Strasbourg (France), Raków (Poland), AEK Athens (Greece), Sparta (Czech Republic), Rayo Vallecano (Spain), Shakhtar (Ukraine), Mainz (Germany), AEK Larnaca (Cyprus)
Seeded in the playoff round: Lausanne-Sport (Switzerland), Crystal Palace (England), Lech (Poland), Samsunspor (Turkey), Celje (Slovenia), AZ (Netherlands), Fiorentina (Italy), Rijeka (Croatia)
Unseeded in the playoff round: Jagiellonia (Poland), Omonia (Cyprus), Noah (Armenia), Drita (Kosovo), KuPS (Finland), Shkëndija (North Macedonia), Zrinjski (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Sigma (Czech Republic)
Eliminated from the tournament: Universitatea Craiova (Romania), Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar), Dynamo (Ukraine), Legia (Poland), Slovan (Slovakia), Breiðablik (Iceland), Shamrock Rovers (Ireland), Häcken (Sweden), Hamrun Spartans (Malta), Shelbourne (Ireland), Aberdeen (Scotland), Rapid (Austria)