OGC Nice to face Benfica in Champions League qualifying

OGC Nice will be making their return to European football as Les Aiglons face SL Benfica in the Champions League 3rd round of qualification. Franck Haise's men will host Benfica on the week of the 5th August before heading to Lisbon on the 12th to decide progression to the play-off round before qualification to the League Phase.

Will Nice join PSG, Marseille and Monaco as the UEFA Champions League representatives for the 2025-2026 season? Les Aiglons will have to face Benfica home and away before another play-off fixture to decide their future. LOSC Lille fared well in qualification last season, beating José Mourinho's Fernabaçhe (2-3) and Slavia Prague (2-3) to qualify for the revamped League Phase last season.

Nice finished fourth last season in the Ligue 1 McDonald's table, missing out on direct qualification to the League Phase by one point to Riviera rivals AS Monaco. They will face a Benfica side that finished two points behind Sporting Portugal in the Liga Portugal last season. 

Benfica’s history against French clubs in European competition has been defined by narrow margins throughout the years. 

Across 25 encounters, the Lisbon giants have claimed 13 wins, including high-stakes knockout triumphs over the likes of Marseille, Bordeaux, and PSG. The most iconic clash came in the 1990 European Cup semi-final, when a controversial Vata goal eliminated Marseille on away goals. In more recent years, Benfica edged past Bordeaux in 2013 and went unbeaten against PSG in the 2022-23 Champions League, progressing from the group at their expense. 

WATCH: Monaco and Benfica stalemate in last season's UCL

The latest match between a Ligue 1 McDonald's side and Benfica took place in the UEFA Champions League last season, seeing Monaco knocked out of the competition to progress to the last 16 following a dramatic 3-3 thriller and a 1-0 away win at Stade Louis II. Nice will be hoping to have more luck than their Côte d'Azur counterparts at the start of August.

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