NEC Nijmegen's third-place finish in the 2025/26 Eredivisie was the best in club history and earned them their first-ever spot in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
The success is all self-made, engineered by manager Dick Schreuder, who rocked the Eredivisie with his aggressive attacking brand of football.
Without star winger Basar Onal but with former wunderkind Emre Mor and former Ajax star Dusan Tadic, as well as defenders Perr Schuurs and Tobias Storm and midfielders Jamiro Monteiro and Clement Bischoff, NEC entered their first Champions League campaign with a fresh look.
NEC's road to the UEFA Europa League
UEFA Champions League third qualifying round
NEC opened their maiden UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign against Greek giants Olympiacos.
The 2023/24 UEFA Conference League winners finished second in the 2025/26 Greek Super League, six points behind champions AEK Athens. Olympiacos struggled in the Championship Group, only managing two wins in six games.
Olympiacos reached the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League last season after beating Ajax 2-1 on the final matchday of the League Phase, but were eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen after a 2-0 aggregate loss.
In NEC's first-ever UEFA Champions League match, the Nijmegen side fought valiantly and showed Europe what they're made of by taking home a strong 0-0 draw from Piraeus. In Nijmegen, NEC came from behind to beat Olympiacos through Bryan Linssen and Emre Mor, earning the club its first play-off ticket.
Tuesday, August 4th: Olympiacos (GRE) - NEC Nijmegen (0-0)
Tuesday, August 11th: NEC Nijmegen - Olympiacos (GRE) (2-1, A.E.T.)
UEFA Champions League Play-offs
If NEC qualify for the play-offs of the UEFA Champoins League, they will face either Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.
Bodo/Glimt was the sensation of last season's UEFA Champions League, reaching the round-of-16 and beating Sporting Portugal 3-0 in the first leg. The Norwegian champions were eliminated after losing 5-0 to Sporting in the second leg.
Bodo/Glimt stormed to the lead in Nijmegen, with Sondre Fet and Andreas Helmersen helping the Norwegians to a 2-0 lead in the first half. Clement Bischoff sparked some hope for NEC after Haitam Aleesami put Bodo/Glimt up 3-0, but all hope came to a quick end in Norway, where NEC goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz was sent off within three minutes for handball. The hosts made it an easy win, beating NEC 3-0 to put the Eredivisie side in the UEFA Europa League.
Wednesday, August 19th: NEC Nijmegen - Bodo/Glimt (NOR) (1-3)
Tuesday, August 25th: Bodo/Glimt (NOR) - NEC Nijmegen (3-0)
Paul Winters is Flashscore's Netherlands country manager, having previously worked for Flashscore's Netherlands desk. Paul is an expert on the Eredivisie and also specialises in the NFL, as well as a plethora of other sports. Residing in 'sunny' Katwijk, you can follow all of the news from the Netherlands here.
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