This is Rapid’s way to the Conference League! » offside.at

With a 2-0 home win over WSG Tirol, Rapid was finally able to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League. In order to get into the group stage, however, Rapid must survive three qualifying rounds. We are already looking at which opponents could be waiting for Hütteldorfer.

Rapid enters in the 2nd qualifying round. Before that, 60 almost exclusively small clubs play the first round. Teams like Flora Tallinn from Estonia, Shkendija Tetovo from North Macedonia and Riga FC from Latvia are top seeded here. Teams from Andorra, Gibraltar or Wales have the worst placements.

If Rapid enters in the second round, you are clearly seeded and therefore face an unseeded opponent. The list of currently possible opponents may still vary due to the possible elimination of seeded clubs in the 1st qualifying round, but as of today these are the possible first opponents Rapids.

Here it is to be assumed that some of the top seeded unseeds will still “switch the list” and slip to the seeded teams. This applies above all to the first teams on the list above. This may save Rapid traveling to Norway, Denmark, Turkey or Cyprus.

But even among the remaining teams that won’t make the seed list, there are some awkward opponents one would like to avoid. Above all, this affects the trio from Poland. Vice-champion Rakow Czestochowa in particular played a top season and fought a bitter title fight with the later champion Lech Poznan. In addition, duels with the Swedish teams Elfsborg, Djurgardens or AIK Stockholm could become unpleasant, especially since they are full of juice because of the calendar year championship.

If Rapid survives the 2nd qualifying round, it is already clear that they would also be seeded in the next round. At the current level, other possible opponents would then be added – or unseeded opponents who prevailed in the previous rounds. Incidentally, Wolfsberger AC will also enter this round as a seeded team. The current list of unseeded players – and thus the possible opponents in the 3rd qualifying round – is as follows.

As in the 2nd qualifying round, it is to be expected that some of the clubs (again the first named) may slip into the list of seeded teams and are therefore not potential Rapid opponents. In the case of Brondby in particular, this is of course gratifying. With a bit of luck, Croatian clubs Osijek and Hajduk Split could also slip over the line.

However, some difficult opponents will certainly remain in the pot of possible opponents. For example Panathinaikos Athens, which would be a very piquant “friendly duel” for Europe in view of the fan friendship between Ultras Rapid and the “PAO” fan scene. Aris Saloniki would also be a possible opponent. In addition, one should not underestimate teams like Universitatea Craiova (with ex-Rapidler Andrei Ivan as top scorer) or FC Vaduz.

Things get a little more complicated in the subsequent play-off for group stage participation, as the losers of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League are also added. Some of the teams that are seeded in the 3rd qualifying round for the Conference League would again be unseeded here – such as Wolfsberger AC, which Rapid cannot meet because UEFA is still preventing direct duels within an association at this level .

Rapid itself is right on the brink of setting. Due to the regular participation in the European Cup, the Hütteldorfer would be even better placed here than, for example, the Fiorentina, which enters this round. Only a few seeded clubs have to be eliminated in the first three rounds for Rapid to be seeded. Exactly how many will only be decided in the course of the qualifying streams. Finally, some teams from the UEFA Europa League will also “switch” and here it is necessary to wait and see the coefficients. But one can be cautiously optimistic that Rapid will also face an unseeded opponent in the playoffs.

These have potential, however. The current unseeded list includes these teams:

So there are already some calibers here, but they still have the chance to slip into the seeding list.

User “Tribal” in the Austrian Soccer Board also analyzed the “simplest” conditions with which Rapid would be set in the playoff.

“If Fenerbahce AND Larnaca fail in CL-Q2 at Kyiv and Midtjylland, Rapid is set in the ECL playoff. If only one of the two fails, the seeding can still work out, namely if Slovacko is drawn against Fenerbahce or Larnaca in EL-Q3. Otherwise, Rapid must hope for a failure from one of the 12 higher seeded clubs in EL-Q2.

However, if Rapid is not set in the playoff, real hammer opponents await. Examples of this would be FC Basel, Young Boys Bern, Slavia Prague and Alkmaar, but reunions with West Ham United, Molde FK, PAOK Saloniki or Villarreal CF would also be possible here. The supposedly most feasible set opponents would be BATE Borisov, Zorya Luhansk, Astana or FCSB.

However, we don’t have to think that far and for the time being only the lot constellation for the 2nd qualifying round is halfway ready for a decision. In any case, Rapid has to observe numerous events in the qualifications for the three European competitions in order to be up to date with regard to placement. We will of course keep you informed over the next few weeks about how the situation is developing. The lists shown here are intended to provide a rough overview of which teams will take part in the qualification relevant to Rapid next season.

By the way, the first game for the Green-Whites is on Thursday, July 21st. Immediately after the first round of the cup – and shortly before the start of the championship. Since Rapid will probably start the new season with a heavily changed team and the level of familiarity can still be improved, a simple opponent would be desirable, especially in this second qualifying round…