Every team qualified for UEFA Champions League 2025-26 as pots decided for League Phase

UEFA Champions League trophy.

The Champions League qualification rounds are underway with relative minnows and comparative giants battling it out for a spot in the league phase of Europe's premium club competition.

Twenty-nine teams have already booked their place in this season's edition, including six from England, due to Premier League clubs' performance against the UEFA co-efficient and Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League victory last term gaining them entry despite finishing 17th.

Seven more teams will join them in the league phase, via the qualification play-off route, which could include the likes of Scottish heavyweights Celtic and Rangers, the latter of which's Ibrox home ranked No. 1 in FourFourTwo's list of the best stadiums in Britain.

How does the new-look UEFA Champions League work?

PSG captain Marquinhos hoists the Champions League trophy aloft (Image credit: Getty Images)

In the league stage, the 36 qualified teams each contest eight fixtures, four home and four away, against a range of teams from Pot 1 to Pot 4. These pots will be decided on the basis of each team's recent performance in UEFA club competitions, except for holders Paris Saint-Germain, who are automatically placed in Pot 1.

Each team faces two opponents from each of the four pots, although they cannot play teams from the same country and cannot be drawn against more than two teams from the same nation.

Here is a breakdown of each team in the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League.

AFC Ajax

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: Eredivisie runners-up 2024-25
• Best finish: Winners (1971, 1972, 1973, 1995)
• Key Player(s): Oscar Gloukh, Mika Godts

The victorious AFC Ajax team following the 1995 UEFA Champions League Final (Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: 2nd place in Premier League
• Best finish: Runners-up (2006)
• Key Player(s): Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, William Saliba

Declan Rice scored a pair of free-kicks against Real Madrid in last season's competition (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Atalanta

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: 3rd in Serie A
• Best finish: Quarter-final (2020)
• Key Player(s): Ademola Lookman, Marten de Roon

Ademola Lookman has excelled at Atalanta - but has interest from elsewhere (Image credit: Getty Images)

Athletic Club

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: 4th in LaLiga
• Best finish: Quarter-final (1957)
• Key Player(s): Oihan Sancet, Nico Williams, Iñaki Williams

Athletic Club brothers Nico (L) and Iñaki Williams (R) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Atletico Madrid

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: 3rd in LaLiga
• Best finish: Runners-up (1974, 2014, 2016)
• Key Player(s): Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sørloth, Marcos Llorente

Diego Simeone and son Giuliano (Image credit: Getty Images)

Bodø/Glimt

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: Play-offs vs Sturm Graz
• Best finish: N/A
• Key Player(s): Patrick Berg, Kasper Høgh, Jens Petter Hauge

Bodo/Glimt fans travel far and wide from within the Arctic Circle to support their team (Image credit: Getty)

Borussia Dortmund

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: 4th in Bundesliga
• Best finish: Winners (1997)
• Key Player(s): Serhou Guirassy, Nico Schlotterbeck

The Yellow Wall (Image credit: AFP or licensors)

Barcelona

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: LaLiga champions
• Best finish: Winners (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015)
• Key Player(s): Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi

Spain prodigy Lamine Yamal (R) alongside Brazilian winger Raphinha (L) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Bayern Munich

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: Bundesliga winners
• Best finish: Winners (1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013, 2020)
• Key Player(s): Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Joshua Kimmich

England captain Harry Kane in action during Bayern Munich's 10-0 win over Auckland City at the FIFA World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

Benfica

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: Play-offs vs Fenerbahce
• Best finish: Winners (1961, 1962)
• Key Player(s): Franjo Ivanovic, Nicolas Otamendi

Nicolas Otamendi skippers Benfica these days (Image credit: Getty Images)

Chelsea

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: 4th in Premier League
• Best finish: Winners (2012, 2021)
• Key Player(s): Cole Palmer

Chelsea's Cole Palmer (Image credit: Getty Images)

Read FourFourTwo's Chelsea Season Preview HERE

Club Brugge

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: Play-offs vs Rangers
• Best finish: Finalist (1978)
• Key Player(s): Hans Vanaken, Christos Tzolis

Club Brugge players line up ahead of a Champions League game against Sporting CP in December 2024. (Image credit: Getty Images)

FC Copenhagen

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: Play-offs vs Basel
• Best finish: Round of 16 (2011, 2024)
• Key Player(s): Viktor Claesson, Thomas Delaney

FC Copenhagen ultras (Image credit: Alamy)

Eintracht Frankfurt

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: 3rd in Bundesliga
• Best finish: Runners-up (1960)
• Key Player(s): Nathaniel Brown

Eintracht Frankfurt have lost Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike (R) to the Premier League (Image credit: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Galatasaray

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: Turkish Super Lig winners
• Best finish: Semi-final (1989)
• Key Player(s): Victor Osimhen

Victor Osimhen has signed permanently for the Istanbul side (Image credit: Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)

Inter Milan

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: Serie A runners-up
• Best finish: Winners (1964, 1965, 2010)
• Key Player(s): Lautaro Martinez, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolo Barella

Inter were defeated finalists last season (Image credit: Getty Images)

Juventus

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: 4th in Serie A
• Best finish: Winners (1985, 1996)
• Key Player(s): Dusan Vlahovic, Andrea Cambiaso

Dusan Vlahovic divides opinion (Image credit: Getty Images)

Kairat Almaty

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: Play-offs vs Celtic
• Best finish: N/A
• Key Player(s): Temirlan Anarbekov, Jorginho, Dastan Satpaev

Kairat players and staff celebrate their maiden qualification to the Champions League proper (Image credit: Getty Images)

Bayer Leverkusen

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: 2nd in Bundesliga
• Best finish: Runners-up (2002)
• Key Player(s): Edmond Tapsoba, Victor Boniface

Does ex-Man United boss Erik ten Hag have what it takes in the Champions League? (Image credit: Alamy)

Liverpool

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: Premier League champions
• Best finish: Winners (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019)
• Key Player(s): Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk

Florian Wirtz has joined the Reds from Bayer Leverkusen this summer (Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester City

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: 3rd in Premier League
• Best finish: Winners (2023)
• Key Player(s): Erling Haaland, Rodri

Read FourFourTwo's Manchester City Season Preview HERE

Erling Haaland won the Champions League with Manchester City in 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Olympique de Marseille

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: 2nd in Ligue 1
• Best finish: Winners (1993)
• Key Player(s): Leonardo Balerdi, Timothy Weah, Igor Paixao

Marseille are known for their enthusiastic fanbase (Image credit: Getty Images)

AS Monaco

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: 3rd in Ligue 1
• Best finish: Runners-up (2004)
• Key Player(s): Eliesse Ben Seghir, Maghnes Akliouche, Mika Biereth

Maghnes Akliouche playing for Monaco (Image credit: Getty Images)

Napoli

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: Serie A winners
• Best finish: Quarter-final (2023)
• Key Player(s): Scott McTominay, Amir Rrahmani, Kevin De Bruyne

Napoli lifted the Serie A title last season (Image credit: Getty Images)

Newcastle United

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: 5th in Premier League
• Best finish: Second group stage (2003)
• Key Player(s): Sandro Tonali, Alexander Isak

Newcastle fans unveil a tifo in honour of Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali (Image credit: Getty Images)

Olympiacos

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: Greek Super League winners
• Best finish: Quarter-final (1999)
• Key Player(s): Ayoub El Kaabi, Gelson Martins

Rivaldo celebrates after winning the 2004/05 Greek Super League title with Olympiacos (Image credit: Getty Images)

Pafos FC

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: Play-offs vs Red Star Belgrade
• Best finish: N/A
• Key Player(s): Jajá, Mislav Orsić

Pafos attacker Jajá celebrates his goal against Red Star Belgrade with the club's fans (Image credit: Getty Images)

Paris Saint-Germain

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: Champions League holders
• Best finish: Winners (2025)
• Key Player(s): Marquinhos, Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

PSG captain Marquinhos lifts the Champions League trophy aloft (Image credit: Getty Images)

PSV Eindhoven

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: Eredivisie champions
• Best finish: Winners (1988)
• Key Player(s): Ivan Perisic, Joey Veerman

PSV pip Ajax to the Dutch Eredivisie title (Image credit: Getty Images)

Qarabag FK

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: Play-offs vs Ferencvaros
• Best finish: Group stage
• Key Player(s): Abdellah Zoubir, Leandro Andrade

A close-up of the Qarabag badge (Image credit: Getty Images)

Real Madrid

• Pot: 1
• Qualified through: Runners-up in LaLiga
• Best finish: Winners (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024)
• Key Player(s): Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde

Trent Alexander-Arnold is a new arrival at Santiago Bernabeu this season (Image credit: Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid via Getty Images)

Slavia Prague

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: Czech First League champions
• Best finish: Group stage (2008, 2020)
• Key Player(s): Lukas Provod

El Hadji Malick Diouf has left Slavia Prague for West Ham United this summer (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sporting CP

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: Liga Portugal champions
• Best finish: Quarter-final (1983)
• Key Player(s): Morten Hjulmand, Ousmane Diomande, Geovany Quenda

Sporting winger Geovany Quenda is one to watch (Image credit: Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur

• Pot: 3
• Qualified through: Europa League winners
• Best finish: Runners-up (2019)
• Key Player(s): Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero

Thomas Frank will try his hand at the Champions League for the first time this season (Image credit: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise

• Pot: 4
• Qualified through: Belgian Pro League champions
• Best finish: N/A
• Key Player(s): Promise David, Mohammed Fuseini

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Villarreal

• Pot: 2
• Qualified through: 5th in LaLiga
• Best finish: Semi-final (2006)
• Key Player(s): Yeremy Pino

Yeremy Pino has been a mainstay in the Villarreal starting XI for several years now (Image credit: Raymond Smit/NESImages/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)