Armenian clubs in European competitions 2025/26, third qualifying round

On Monday, August 4, the draw for the fourth and final qualifying round of the 2025/26 European competitions will take place. The very next day, on August 5, the third-round matches will begin: first in the Champions League, then in the Europa League and the Conference League.

This is an important stage for Armenian fans: two representatives of Armenia continue their campaigns — Noah in the Europa League and Ararat-Armenia in the Conference League.

Results of Armenian clubs in European competitions so far

Noah

• 1st round UCL: Noah — Budućnost (Montenegro) — 3:2 (1:0, 2:2)

• 2nd round UCL: Noah — Ferencváros (Hungary) — 4:6 (1:2, 3:4)

Despite the loss to the Hungarian champions, Noah continues its European campaign in the Europa League third round.

Urartu

• 1st round UECL: Urartu — Neman (Belarus) — 1:6 (1:2, 0:4)

The team ended its Conference League campaign after two defeats.

Pyunik

• 1st round UECL: Pyunik — Tre Fiori (San Marino) — 5:1 (0:1, 5:0)

• 2nd round UECL: Pyunik — Győr (Hungary) — 3:4 (2:1, 1:3)

Pyunik ended its campaign after showing respectable football: two wins and two losses.

Ararat-Armenia

• 2nd round UECL: Ararat-Armenia — Universitatea Cluj (Romania) — 2:1 (0:0, 2:1 ET)

Ararat-Armenia continues its campaign in the third round of the Conference League.

Coefficients table and comparison with last season

After two qualifying rounds, Armenian clubs have collected 1.250 points for the UEFA coefficients table, and Armenia is in 35th place. Pyunik is the leader in terms of points (0.500 — two wins), Noah and Ararat-Armenia each added 0.375 (one win and one draw each), while Urartu earned no points.

This result is slightly worse than last season, when all three Armenian clubs in the Conference League advanced to the second round, and Pyunik joined them after being eliminated from the Champions League. As a result, three teams — Pyunik, Noah, and Ararat-Armenia — played in the third round, while Urartu also scored a first-round victory over Estonia’s Kalev. Pyunik reached the play-off round, where they lost to Slovenia’s Celje, Ararat-Armenia lost in the third round to Hungary’s Puskás Akadémia, and Noah made history by passing all four qualifying rounds and reaching the group stage of the Conference League.

Current UEFA coefficients table before the third qualifying round

For Armenia, it is important not to lose its current position and to approach 33rd place, which allows one of the country’s teams to start directly from the Europa League. In Armenia, this right belongs to the cup winner, who currently starts from the second qualifying round of the Conference League (if the cup winner and the champion are the same team, this right is passed to the runner-up, i.e. Ararat-Armenia).

Prospects for the current season

Noah once again has a chance to reach the main stage of a European competition. To do this, they must defeat Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps in the Europa League third round. Even if the team loses in the Europa League play-off round, they are guaranteed a place in the Conference League group stage. But the main goal is to reach the Europa League group stage for the first time in Armenian football history.

Lincoln is a beatable opponent, but should not be underestimated. The Gibraltar champions won both matches against Faroe Islands’ Vikingur in the first round of the Champions League and put up a decent fight against Crvena Zvezda in the second round: they lost just 0:1 at home, although they were heavily defeated away. The team defends well, and its squad is full of experienced Spanish players, including 40-year-old Nano, a former La Liga defender.

Ararat-Armenia has a much tougher opponent — Prague’s Sparta. The Czech club is a regular participant in group stages and is known for its aggressive attacking football. However, under their new Portuguese coach, the Armenian team has already shown character against Universitatea Cluj. Even a draw over two legs against Sparta would be a respectable result, but in football, upsets are always possible. It is worth noting that Sparta unexpectedly lost to Aktobe in the first leg of the second round and only won convincingly afterwards, which may indicate some vulnerabilities.

Armenian clubs’ matches in the third round

Europa League

• August 7: Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar) — Noah | 20:00 (Yerevan). Venue: Gibraltar, referees from Slovakia.

• August 14: Noah — Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar) | 21:00. Venue: Abovyan, referees from Austria.

Conference League

• August 7: Sparta (Czech Republic) — Ararat-Armenia | 22:00. Venue: Prague, referees from Scotland.

• August 14: Ararat-Armenia — Sparta (Czech Republic) | 20:00. Venue: Republican Stadium, Yerevan, referees from North Macedonia.