Hearts beat Rangers to win the Scottish title for the first time, and both clubs now face difficult Women’s Champions League qualifying tests this week. Since Glasgow City reached the quarter-finals in 2020, Scottish teams have repeatedly struggled at this level, but Hearts and Rangers will try to reverse that trend in second qualifying round mini-tournaments.
In the old format, only the group winner progressed, but the current system gives more chances: the team finishing top of each group reaches the third qualifying round, the runners-up move into the Europa League third qualifying round, and third place still offers a second qualifying round spot.
So how are the Scottish duo placed for the challenge?
Crichton on European opportunity, home advantage & squad strength
Hearts sign Locke on loan from Birmingham
Rangers sign Chelsea winger Hendle on loan
Will Hearts repeat Celtic win over Gintra?
Hearts surprised many, including possibly themselves, by winning the Scottish Women’s Premier League for the first time. Unlike the men’s team, they clinched the title on the final day, but like their Premiership counterparts they then lost the head coach who had led them to success.
Eva Olid had already decided to stand down, believing the Spanish coach was not receiving the financial support she felt she deserved. Her replacement, Andy Thomson, who had been assistant to title rivals Rangers, begins the new season without any major additions to his squad.
Defender Ebonie Locke has joined on a short-term loan from Birmingham City, but Northern Ireland midfielder Joely Andrews has departed for city rivals Hibernian.
Hearts’ first European campaign takes them to Denmark, where they begin against Gintra on Wednesday. Gintra are experienced campaigners in these mini-tournaments and have previously faced Scottish opposition.
Gintra have won their domestic title every year since 2005, and two seasons ago they lost 2-0 to Celtic in the final of the mini-tournament they hosted in Lithuania.
While Hearts have yet to begin their domestic season, Gintra are 12 games into theirs and currently lead the 2026 Moteru A Lyga, having won their last three matches.
The Lithuanians have not yet qualified from one of these mini-tournaments and, after beating Romanian side Farul Constanța in last year’s semi-final, they lost the final to Ukraine’s Vorskla Poltava.
If Hearts can overcome a squad made up mainly of Lithuanians and supplemented by three Brazilians, two Ukrainians, an American, a Canadian, a Finn and a Zambian, they will face either hosts HB Koge or Riga of Latvia in Saturday’s final.
Riga are also midway through their season and have already beaten two British sides in Champions League qualifying this season. They eased past Glentoran 4-1 in the first qualifying round mini-tournament semi-final before repeating that scoreline in the final against Wrexham.
That is one stage better than last season, when they beat Flora of Estonia, again 4-1, but then lost to Racing Union of Luxembourg.
Domestically, they are on course for a third consecutive title, sitting three points behind RFS but with three games in hand, and they recorded an extraordinary 22-0 win over bottom side Rezekne in June.
Among a squad made up largely of home-grown players, they also include Japanese defender Miyu Takahira, who was with Danish side Fortuna Hjorring when they beat Hibs at this same stage last season.
Fortuna would go on to finish third in their domestic league as Hearts’ hosts Koge claimed the Danish title for a fourth time, adding the domestic cup as well.
Having reached the group stage proper in 2021-22, Koge will probably be favourites to progress, with a squad strengthened by American investment and players.
Forward Rikke Madsen, midfielder Mille Gejl and defender Simone Boye are all seasoned Denmark internationals. Nadia Nadim also had a spell with Manchester City, while fellow striker Kyra Carusa plays for the Republic of Ireland.
Will Rangers face Scotland’s Rodgers in final?
Leanne Crichton and Andy Thomson are now leading opposing sides
Rangers have had all summer to reflect on their double setback of missing out on the league title and then losing to city rivals Celtic in the Scottish Cup final.
They were also hit by several departures, including emerging Scotland midfielder Mia McAulay, who left for Aston Villa. However, international team-mate Kirsty Smith is one of seven replacements after the veteran full-back left Nottingham Forest.
Head coach Leanne Crichton also officially appointed brother Colin on Tuesday as Thomson’s replacement, and they face a major test of their new partnership because the “league path” to the Champions League is usually more difficult, as it is filled with clubs from higher-ranked countries.
Rangers discovered that two years ago when they were beaten 6-0 by Arsenal in their opening semi-final before being defeated 3-0 by Atletico Madrid in the third-place play-off.
However, they have home advantage this time and can draw encouragement from four years ago, when they beat Ferencvaros 3-1 and then PAOK 4-0 before losing 5-3 on aggregate to Benfica in the second round.
Rangers open this time at Broadwood Stadium against Slavia Prague, who finished a distant second to neighbours Sparta despite targeting a fifth consecutive Czech title.
The three-time Champions League quarter-finalists have reached the group stage twice in the last four years but missed out in the last two campaigns, beating Fomget of Turkey in last season’s semi-final before losing 4-0 to Norway’s Valerenga.
If they beat a side containing six Czech internationals, four Slovak caps, one Slovenian and one Macedonian, Rangers will then meet the winners of Ajax versus Brondby.
Netherlands striker Katja Snoeijs has just joined from Everton, while Nadine Noordam previously played for Brighton & Hove Albion. However, midfielder Sherida Spitse is the most famous name, with the 36-year-old’s 248 appearances making her the most-capped European player of all time.
Ajax reached the quarter-finals in 2024, but in their last appearance two years ago they lost 1-0 to Fiorentina in their qualifying final.
They will still begin as slight favourites against 2015 semi-finalists Brondby, who also lost 1-0 to the Italians in that year’s semi-final and by the same scoreline to Celtic a year earlier.
However, the Danish side’s mix of domestic and overseas internationals has been strengthened by the arrivals of Scotland midfielder Amy Rodgers from Nottingham Forest and Denmark striker Amalie Thestrup from Charlton Athletic.
Crichton, meanwhile, believes she has signed excitement, pace, energy, goals, robustness and quality, but will her Rangers side be playing in the final at Petershill Park or in the third-place play-off at Broadwood come Saturday?
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