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Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have discovered their opponents for the third qualifying round of the Women's Champions League, with success in the final preliminary round enough to send teams into the league phase of the 2026-27 UWCL. With clubs such as Ajax and Inter among the possible opponents, Tuesday's draw produced several eye-catching match-ups.

Chelsea to meet Real Sociedad in Women's Champions League qualifying

Chelsea must get past Real Sociedad to secure a place in the Champions League league phase, with the Spanish side set to travel to London for the first leg of the two-legged contest later this month. Sociedad have featured in the UWCL only once before, when they were knocked out in the second qualifying round during the 2022-23 season. A third-place finish in Liga F last year has handed them another opportunity to reach the main competition for the first time, but they face a stern challenge after being drawn against Chelsea, runners-up in 2021 and semi-finalists in three of the last four seasons.

The Blues did endure a difficult campaign last term, their poorest in the Women's Super League for seven years, even so. However, injuries were a major factor in that, and the club has been busy in the summer transfer window in an effort to answer that disappointment strongly, bringing in the likes of Katie McCabe, Melvine Malard, Giulia Dragoni and Manaka Matsukubo. It would be a major surprise if they failed to reach the UWCL league phase.

Real Madrid, PSG and others discover UWCL qualifying opponents

Among the other standout ties confirmed on Tuesday is a meeting between Eintracht Frankfurt and Paris Saint-Germain. Frankfurt ended last season in third place in the Bundesliga and made it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup, where they were eliminated only by eventual winners Hacken. PSG, meanwhile, suffered a dreadful 2025-26 season, particularly in Europe, finishing second from bottom in the Champions League league phase table after taking just two points from six matches. They will need a much better showing if they are to return to that stage in 2026-27.

Real Madrid, who have reached the Champions League quarter-finals three times, will face Ajax, who made the last eight of this competition in the 2023-24 season, in another highly attractive tie in the final qualifying round. Elsewhere, two-time winners Wolfsburg will play Inter, who finished second in Serie A last term.

All of those fixtures fall under the league path of the qualifying round, as the clubs involved earned their places through their domestic league finishes rather than by winning a title. There is also the champions path, which features domestic title winners such as PSV Eindhoven, recent quarter-finalists Brann and OH Leuven, the Belgian club that reached the knockout stages of last season's Champions League.

Women's Champions League third qualifying round draw in full

League path:

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Paris Saint-Germain

St Polten vs Juventus

Wolfsburg vs Inter

Chelsea vs Real Sociedad

Ajax vs Real Madrid

Champions path:

Sparta Praha vs Servette

PSV Eindhoven vs HB Koge

Brann vs Austria Wien

OH Leuven vs Czarni Sosnowiec

What comes next?

The Women's Champions League third qualifying round ties will be played over two legs, with the first legs scheduled for August 26 and the return legs a week later on September 2. The nine winners will move into the Champions League league phase, where Barcelona, Lyon, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Hacken, Roma, Benfica, Paris FC and Manchester City have already secured their places. The draw to decide the league phase fixtures will be held on September 4.

The nine teams beaten in the UWCL third qualifying round, meanwhile, will drop into the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup, which was introduced for the first time last season. The inaugural edition was won by Hacken, who defeated fellow Swedish side Hammarby over two legs in the final. The second round of UWEC qualifying will take place in late September, with clubs such as Rangers, Hearts, Fenerbahce and Sporting involved. That stage will reduce the field to 16 teams, who will then enter a straight knockout competition. The round of 16 will begin in late October.