Celtic one of 26 Champions League group stage entrants, 8 to qualify including Rangers, big names, draw details

The 26 teams which automatically qualify for the Champions League group stages have all been confirmed – including Celtic.

Wednesday night's Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma decided the final spot which was taken by the Spaniards after a gruelling encounter that went all the way to penalties. It was the first time Jose Mourinho had been beaten in a European final and Gianluca Mancini’s own goal which saw Sevilla equalise was the first conceded by a Mourinho team in a European final since Henrik Larsson for Celtic in the 203 UEFA Cup final against Porto in Seville.

The Andalusians took the 26th spot and, as Europa League winners, a place in Pot 1. The 26 clubs come from 11 different countries with the Netherlands, Scotland, Serbia, Austria and Ukraine all represented by one team.

As things stand Celtic in either Pot 3 or Pot 4. To get to the former they require a number of teams with a better coefficient to lose in the qualifiers, as detailed in this article. There are just eight spots up for grabs through the qualifying rounds, four from the champions path and two from the league path. It is the latter Rangers will be hoping to emerge from as they did this season. They face two two-legged ties to reach the group stage and will be seeded for both. Some of the other clubs trying to earn their place via the qualifiers include Braga, PSV and Galatasaray.

Next Saturday’s Champions League final will determine which pots finalists Inter Milan as well as Feyenoord and Shakhtar Donetsk go into. There are already some huge clubs in Pot 2 and 3, such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and AC Milan. The draw is on August 31.

The 26 confirmed group stage entrants are:

Sevilla (Pot 1)

Manchester City (1)

Celtic are one of the 26 confirmed group stage entrants for the Champions League. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

Barcelona (1)

Napoli (1)

Bayern Muich (1)

Paris Saint-Germain (1)

Benfica (1)

Inter Milan (1 or 2)

Feyenoord (1 or 3)

Real Madrid (2)

Manchester United (2)

Borussia Dortmund (2)

Atletico Madrid (2)

RB Leipzig (2)

Porto (2)

Arsenal (2)

Shakhtar Donetsk (2 or 3)

Red Bull Salzburg (3)

AC Milan (3)

Lazio (3)

Red Star Belgrade (2)

Real Sociedad (3 or 4)

CELTIC (3 or 4)

Newcastle United (3 or 4)

Union Berlin (4)

Lens (4)