The group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League, the third-tier of European club competitions, is practically done and dusted. Only one game remains after Tottenham’s match with Rennes was postponed due to a COVID outbreak at Spurs. If and when that match is made up, Spurs will have to win to secure a spot in the knockout play-offs or else that final spot will go to Vitesse, who beat NS Mura on Thursday.
The make-up date or the outcome of that postponed match won’t stop us from Monday’s 8 a.m. ET draw on Paramount+ and CBS Sports HQ as the eight pairings will be announced for the knockout play-offs. We’ll break down how the knockout stage format works for this inaugural competition below.
The top-two finishers from eight groups (16 teams) will join the third-place finishers from the UEFA Europa League (eight teams) to make up the field for the knockout stage ahead of Monday’s draw from Nyon, Switzerland.
The eight group winners receive a bye into the next round and won’t start their knockout stage journey until the round of 16, which leaves us with 16 teams battling for the eight remaining spot in the knockout play-offs. The UECL group runners-up and the UEL third-place finishers will be paired in the knockout play-offs, which will narrow the field down from 24 to 16 by the end of February.
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Europa League knockout stage participants
UECL group winners (through to round of 16):
- Group A: LASK (AUT)
- Group B: Gent (BEL)
- Group C: Roma (ITA)
- Group D: AZ Alkmaar (NED)
- Group E: Feyenoord (NED)
- Group F: Copenhagen (DEN)
- Group G: Rennes (FRA)
- Group H: Basel (SUI)
UECL group runners-up (seeded in knockout play-offs):
- Group A: Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR)
- Group…
Source : cbssports
