Champions League: Benfica faces Nice in the 3rd qualifying round

DRAW

Benfica will face Nice in the third qualifying round for the 2025/26 Champions League group stage, according to the draw held on Monday, July 21, at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The first leg in France is scheduled for 8:00 pm (continental time) on August 6, and the second leg will be played on the 12th at Estádio da Luz, also at 8:00 pm.

Nice, coached by Frenchman Franck Haise, finished Ligue 1 2024/25 in 4th place with 60 points, just 1 point behind 3rd-placed Monaco (61) and 5 points behind 2nd-placed Marseille (65). The champion was PSG, which accumulated a total of 84 points.

Forwards Evann Guessand and Terem Moffi and left-back Melvin Bard are some of the standout players at the southern French club, alongside Dante, the experienced Brazilian international center back.

In Monday's draw, Benfica was joined by Feyenoord (Netherlands) and Club Brugge (Belgium) as seeded teams, as well as Rangers (Scotland)/Panathinaikos (Greece), who will face each other in the second qualifying round.

The French team Nice, the Turkish team Fenerbahçe, the winner of Viktoria Plzen-Servette, or the winner of Brann-Salzburg, matches relating to the second qualifying round, still to be played, were the possible opponents.

The third qualifying round for the Champions League group stage will be played on August 5/6 (first leg) and August 12 (second leg).

If they qualify, Benfica will play in the play-off on August 19/20 (first leg) and August 26/27 (second leg).