Hammarby face Anderlecht as Swedish sides discover UEFA competition opponents

[p]The Stockholm club part-owned by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ibrahimovic-zlatan/AiH2zDve/"]Zlatan Ibrahimovic[/a] finished second in Allsvenskan last season, which earned them a place at this stage of Europe's second-tier competition. [/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/hammarby/SQsg3nME/"]Hammarby[/a] will host the first leg, scheduled for Thursday 23rd July, before heading to Brussels for the return leg a week later, 30th July[/b]. A place in the Third Qualifying Round awaits the winners, who will be unseeded for the draw.[/p][p]It will be an early test for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rydstrom-henrik/M7xyv2Jo/"]Henrik Rydstrom[/a], recently appointed Hammarby head coach after Bajen sacked Kalle Karlsson at the start of this month following a run of four defeats in five in all competitions.[/p][embed guid="a73b3e8c-2117-4ac6-86d6-a35df7804427" url="https://x.com/hammarbyfotboll/status/2067203222897324334" social-type="twitter" /][p]A good omen for Hammarby is that they were victorious against Belgian opposition last season, knocking [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/charleroi/WIPDJ0hb/"]Charleroi[/a] out of UEFA Conference League (UECL) at the Second Qualifying Round stage, though they then were beaten by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rosenborg/G8LlPCOi/"]Rosenborg[/a] in the next round.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mjallby/S0XtXM1E/"]Mjallby[/a] heading to Gibraltar or Andorra[/h2][p]Mjallby's Strandvallen home looks modest compared to the majority of grounds hosting UEFA Champions League football in 2026/27, but it dwarfs the potential venues the Allsvenskan champions will head to on their first European away trip.[/p][p][b]In the Second Qualifying Round, Mjallby will face the winner of the opening round tie between [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lincoln-red-imps/bHbMply6/"]Lincoln Red Imps[/a] of Gibraltar and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter-escaldes/4CambolL/"]Inter Club d'Escaldes[/a] of Andorra[/b], both of whom play at grounds holding fewer than 2,500 fans.[/p][p]But what they lack in capacity, they make up for in European experience - the Andorran side has picked up wins over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fcsb/Gv2kjDpN/"]FCSB[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/hibernian/f5Fnxcx4/"]Hibernian[/a] in recent seasons, while the Red Imps made it to the UECL League Phase last season, where they beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lech-poznan/OpNH7Ouf/"]Lech Poznan[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sigma-olomouc/drA4fSL4/"]Sigma Olomouc[/a].[/p][embed guid="4d1b0b20-ab8b-496b-819b-4f8ce56a8a65" url="https://x.com/MjallbyAIFs/status/2067190842738065664" social-type="twitter" /][p]The first leg will be in southern Sweden on Tuesday 21st or Wednesday 22nd July, before MAIF head to one of Europe's microstates on Tuesday 28th or Wednesday 29th July for the second leg. Potential Third Qualifying Round opponents will be known by the time the first leg kicks off.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/gais/bJewAOTf/"]GAIS[/a] await Danes; Wales or Estonia for Goteborg [/h2][p]Gothenburg's two representative's the the UECL are both starting their campaigns in the Second Qualifying Round, and are both due to host first legs on Thursday 23rd July. With both GAIS and IFK Goteborg sharing Gamla Ullevi, one of their fixtures will be moved to another date, likely in the same week.[/p][p]GAIS' long-awaited return to European competition sees them take on [b]Danish opposition in the form of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nordsjaelland/2wZHnGDH/"]Nordsjaelland[/a][/b], while Goteborg will face the winners of the First Qualifying Round tie between [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/caernarfon/CzgD4yW5/"]Caernarfon[/a] Town of Wales and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/levadia/zNmMkSLj/"]FCI Levadia[/a] of Estonia[/b]. The second legs are set for 30th July.[/p]