NYON, Switzerland (AP) — After Disastrous defeat in the final match Heart of Midlothian’s long road to the lucrative Champions League in the Scottish Premiership begins in Austria in July.
Hearts will be drawn against Sturm Graz in Wednesday’s second qualifying round draw and will need to advance through three rounds to qualify for the 36-team league which begins in September.
Scottish champions Celtic, who defeated long-time leaders Hearts in the final game last month, will start in the play-off qualifying round in late August.
Fenerbahce The other team that won runner-up in the mid-sized league will play against Gornik Zabrze.
The first leg matches will begin two days after the World Cup final and will be played on July 21st and 22nd. The return game is in a week.
Since losing the title race, Hearts have seen star forward Lawrence Shankland, currently on World Cup duty with Scotland, join Rangers. The storied Glasgow club are also set to hire coach Derek McInnes from Hearts just five weeks before the start of their Champions League qualifying program.
Opponents in the third qualifying round could be Bodeau/Glimt, Lyon or Union Saint Giroise.
Surprise champion steps up
On Wednesday, the two first-time national champions took part in another second qualifying round draw for national title holders, with very different results.
swiss champion thun First, they faced Champions League regulars Dinamo Zagreb at home, resulting in a tough draw.
Mjärby in Sweden They will also face Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps or Andorra’s Inter Club Descaldes at home. The two sides will meet in the first qualifying round over two legs in early July.
Thun and Mjarby are unseeded in this draw and are certain to face a seeded team, which could be Dynamo, former European champions Red Star Belgrade or Lincoln, who played in the third tier of the Conference last season and have a higher UEFA ranking.
Red Star, the 1991 European Cup winners, will now face San Marino’s Tre Fiori or Northern Ireland’s Larne in an away game.
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