Overview
- The draw confirmed on Monday pairs NEC Nijmegen with Olympiakos Piraeus, with the first leg scheduled in Athens on 4 or 5 August and the return in Nijmegen on 11 August.
- UEFA rules mean the winner moves on toward the Champions League play-offs and the loser is placed into the Europa League group stage.
- NEC officials accept underdog status but say they will target victory, and about 2,000 supporters gathered for the draw while roughly 1,600 away tickets will be available for Athens.
- Olympiakos arrives as a dominant Greek club with extensive domestic titles and a 2024 Conference League win, and it has been training in the Netherlands where it recently lost a friendly to Ajax.
- The qualifying draws also shape other Dutch paths in Europe: FC Twente plays Ferencváros on 23 July with a possible third-round tie versus the loser of Fenerbahçe–Górnik Zabrze, and Ajax will face Vojvodina in Conference League qualifying.