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Torreense, who won the Portuguese Cup, will be able to play as a second-tier club in European football, even though they lost in the play-off final. Torreense secured a place in the league stage of the 2026-27 UEFA Europa League with a 2-1 Portuguese Cup final win over Sporting CP on Sunday. After winning their first major trophy in their 109-year history and finishing third in the Portuguese second division, Torreense had a chance to reach the top flight via the playoffs. They face Casa Pia in two legs, who finished 16th in the top flight. However, after a goalless draw in the first leg, they were beaten 2-0 on Thursday. It means Torreense, who hail from Torres Vedras, 25 miles north of Lisbon and whose stadium has a capacity of around 2,500, will play European football as a second division club next season. As their 2,500-seat home stadium does not meet UFA requirements, they play their matches at Estadio Algarve in Faro, 193 miles away. Other clubs that have already confirmed their place at the league stage of the Europa League include Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Juventus, AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen. There are many examples of second tier clubs playing in the UFA Champions League, UFA Cup/Europa League and Conference League. Torreense will not be competing in Europe next season as the only second division club - Vestri, based in a village with a population of less than 3,000 people, beat Valur in the 2025 Icelandic Cup final. They will enter the Europa League in the first qualifying round. FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein has played in the Swiss second division for most of the 21st century, but they are regular participants in the Europa League qualification round, having won 21 of the last 22 editions of the Liechtenstein Cup. However, they will be playing top level football next season after being crowned champions of the Swiss Challenge League. USV Eschen/Mauren followed Vaduz's path to European entry in 2012 when they defeated the traditional cup winners while playing in the Swiss third division, but lost in the first qualifying round of the Europa League. Millwall qualified for the UFA Cup despite losing to Manchester United in the 2004 FA Cup Final as their opponents had already secured a place in the Champions League. The London club advanced to the first round, where they lost 4–2 to Ferencvaros. Birmingham City's 2011 League Cup Final victory over Arsenal saw them reach the play-off round of the 2011–12 Europa League, but were relegated from the Premier League a few months later. After a 3–0 win over Nacional of Portugal, Birmingham finished third in their group with 10 points and missed out on a place in the knockout rounds. Wigan Athletic went on a similar journey two years later - after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final and qualifying for Europe for the first time in their club history, Roberto Martinez's side were relegated from the Premier League. Their group stage campaign in the 2013–14 Europa League did not go to plan, as they finished last between Rubin Kazan, Maribor and Zulte Waregem with one win in six matches. Ipswich Town were relegated from the Premier League in 2001–02, but earned a place in the following season's UFA Cup through the UFA Respect Fair Play rankings - they reached the second round. FC Zurich of Switzerland finished bottom of the Swiss Super League in 2015–16 but won the Swiss Cup and qualified for the group stage of the Europa League, where they failed to reach the knockout rounds. Alemannia Aachen lost to Werder Bremen in the 2004 German Cup final, but qualified for the Champions League and earned a place in the UEFA Cup. They progressed past the first round and group stage to the last 32, where they were defeated by eventual semi-finalists AZ Alkmaar. FC Gueugnon stunned Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the 1999–2000 French League Cup, but were defeated in the first round of the UFA Cup the following season. Poland's Wisla Krakow and Romania's Corvinu Hunedoara qualified for Europe while remaining outside their countries' top tier.
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