6 surprise qualifiers we can’t wait to watch in next season’s Champions League | OneFootball

Next season’s Champions League will see some fresh faces shaking things up, and we can’t wait.

Chelsea aren’t the only powerhouse of European football that look set to miss out on UEFA’s premier cup competition next term, but we very much welcome the change.

There’s still a chance that Bournemouth, or Brighton could be playing Champions League football next season, but there are also some surprise contenders across Europe.

Here are six surprise packages that will be – or could be – playing Champions League next season.

Lens

Allan Saint-Maximin! Florian Thauvin! Arthur Masuaku! Odsonne Edouard! Malang Sarr! All the stars are here!

Lens’ merry band of ex-Premier League misfits were a genuine breath of fresh air that pushed PSG in a surprise title race that lasted all the way to May.

This is only the fourth time in history that the club have made it to UEFA’s premier cup competition.

Admittedly, all three of their previous attempts at it were relatively unremarkable group-stage eliminations (1998-99, 2002-03, 2023-24), but this time will be different.

A funny quirk has seen all three of their prior campaigns end with a perfectly mixed record of two wins, two draws and two defeats.

They won’t be able to continue with eight games in the expanded league phase format, but a similarly mixed record ought to see them through to the knockout phase play-offs.

We’re hoping they’ll be next season’s answer to Brest in 2024-25. Great fun.

Real Betis

The only other team in this list who has fully confirmed their place in next season’s Champions League, Los Verdiblancos are genuinely about as big a club as their Seville rivals, so it must have been extra tough watching them lift seven(!) UEFA Cup and Europa League trophies over the years.

Now, while mismanaged Sevilla keep finding themselves embroiled in relegation battles, they get to flaunt a bit of European glamour in their neighbours’ faces.

Having wrapped up fifth place, Betis are into the Champions League for only the second time in their history. The last time was just over 20 years ago, when they beat Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea at home but ultimately suffered a group-stage elimination.

Though it’s a bit of a shame that Manuel Pellegrini’s men, featuring the likes of Isco and Pablo Fornals, won’t be hosting European nights at the always-rocking Estadio Benito Villamarin.

The considerably more sterile athletics stadium La Cartuja is their temporary home until renovation work is completed in 2028.

Viking FK

Did you know that Bodo/Glimt weren’t even the Norwegian champions as they did a madness with their victories over Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter?

That incredible run to kick off 2026 came after they were left licking their wounds, having been pipped to the 2025 Eliteserien league title by Viking, with Norway running to more of a summer-oriented calendar year league schedule.

Coaching duties are shared by Bjarte Lunde Aarsheim & Morten Jensen and it seems to work for them.

We thoroughly recommend The Guardian‘s long read on their rise and hope dearly to watch them taking on the giants of European football later this year.

They do still need to get past a two-legged play-off, though, qualifying for that alongside the champions of Greece (AEK Athens), Austria (LASK) and Scotland (Celtic).

NEC Nijmegen

If you want some football hipster points, buy some early stock in Dick Schreuder.

“Who should Manchester United/Liverpool/Crisis Club X appoint as their new manager? They should go for Dick Schreuder.”

You’ll sound like a lunatic down the pub, but you will (might) be vindicated in due course.

The older brother of former Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder, Dick has worked wonders in his debut season at Nijmegen, leading them to a third-place finish in the Eredivisie, fresh from achieving promotions in charge of PEC Zwolle and Spanish club Castellon.

A club with almost no European pedigree – the odd Intertoto Cup appearance back in the day – that could be blaring out the Champions League anthem at the tiny 12,000-capacity Goffertstadion next season.

NEC still have work to do, going into the third qualifying round, but we’d love to see it.

Aarhus

Aarhus Gymnastikforening, to give them their full name, have just sealed their sixth Danish title – but their first in 40 years.

A similar story to Viking and an against-the-odds triumph, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that they can cap off a sensational season by making it through their qualifiers.

We’re all for fresh faces in the Champions League. We’ve seen enough Shakhtar Donetsk vs Manchester City matches to last us a lifetime.

Hearts

Now we’re really getting into the weeds.

Technically, the likes of Shamrock Rovers, The New Saints and Lincoln Red Imps could be playing Champions League football next season, but we aren’t including them because there’s a fat chance of any of them actually making it. That’s putting it politely.

But it’s not completely inconceivable that Hearts qualify, so they’re another pick from the second qualifying round. Apologies to Bodo/Glimt, Fenerbahce and Olympiacos. You’ve all had your day.

Hearts’ fairytale title charge ended in heartbreak at Celtic Park, but a runner-up finish does at least keep the dream alive of trips to the Bernabeu or Parc des Princes next season.

With Tony Bloom’s backing and more excellent gems like Claudio Braga unearthed, we wouldn’t put it past Derek McInnes’ Jam Tarts to bounce back from this disappointment and achieve something historic.

Not since 1961 and a visit from Bela Guttmann’s Benfica has Tynecastle hosted top-level European football.