The 15 Champions League first qualifying round opponents TNS could face

The 2023/24 Champions League first qualifying round draw takes place on Tuesday, and TNS will be hoping for a favourable draw.

Just a week and a half after Manchester City lifted the trophy in Istanbul, the road to next year’s final in Wembley will begin once more.

The Saints will enter the competition at the first qualifying round stage.

Last season saw TNS suffer early exits in both the Champions League and the Europa Conference League. They were defeated 2-1 on aggregate by Linfield in Europe’s elite competition, before bowing out to Icelandic side Vikingur Reykjavik in the second qualifying round of the third-tier competition.

Craig Harrison will certainly be hoping to guide his team further this season. In the first round, there are 15 potential opponents for the Welsh champions, and in this piece, we feature five of them.

Larne (Northern Ireland)

Manager: Tiernan Lynch

Captain: Jeff Hughes

Ground: Unknown

Notable Players: Max Hutchinson, Cian Bolger, Mark Randall

It was a historical season for Larne, as they won the NIFL Premiership for the first time in their history, ending Linfield’s four year run as champions.

In the past two seasons, Larne have competed in the Europa Conference League, the first time in their history that they have ever embarked on a European adventure.

In 2021-22, they defeated Bala and Aarhus to reach the third qualifying round, before being knocked out by the Portuguese side Paços de Ferreira. Last year, they were defeated in the first qualifying round by St Joseph’s of Gibraltar.

This will be the first time that Larne feature in the Champions League, but they will not be able to play in their home ground, Inver Park.

UEFA deemed the 3G pitch as unplayable, but the club have yet to announce where they will play their Champions League games.

In terms of notable players, Max Hutchinson is the son of former Scotland and Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchinson. Cian Bolger has been a football league stalwart for many years, playing for the likes of Bristol Rovers and Fleetwood Town, while Max Randall had a stint at Newport County.

BK Häcken (Sweden)

Head Coach: Per-Mathias Høgmo

Captain: Samuel Gustafson

Ground: Bravida Arena (capacity of 6,500)

Notable Players: Ola Kamara, Ibrahim Sadiq, Even Hovland

Just like Larne, BK Häcken won the Allsvenskan for the first time in their history last season to book their place in the Champions League.

While never playing in the Champions League, the Wasps have been regular features in the Europa League and Europa Conference League.

While never reaching the group stage of any European competition, they have faced off against the likes of RB Leipzig, AZ Alkmaar, and Aberdeen in recent years, and now know what it takes to go far in Europe.

Situated in Gothenburg, a trip to Sweden might be the ideal scenario for Saints fans, but in terms of standard, Häcken might be the toughest team in this draw.

Their forward line contains Ola Kamara and Ibrahim Sadiq. Kamara has been a constant goal scorer in the MLS with DC United, while Sadiq has had a sensational season from the right wing. Their back line contains Even Hovland who has been a rock in the Rosenborg defence who have dominated Norway.

Raków Częstochwa (Poland)

Manager: Dawid Szwarga

Captain: Zoran Arsenić

Ground: Miejski Stadion Piłkarski (capacity of 5,500)

Notable Players: Ivi, Jean Carlos, Vladislavs Gutkovskis

After finishing runners-up in the Ekstraklasa for the past two season, Raków went a step further this season and won the title for the first time.

They have also done well in Europe in the past two seasons, reaching the playoff round of the Conference League twice; firstly, losing to Ghent, and last season missing out against Slavia Prague.

This will be one of Dawid Szwarga’s first games in charge of Raków, and he will certainly be looking to replicate what his predecessor has done by reaching the latter phases of European competitions.

Szwarga does have fine players at his disposal. Spaniard Ivi has 38 goals from midfield since he joined the club two seasons ago, while Jean Carlos has come through the ranks at Real Madrid. Striker Vladislavs Gutkovskis his a regular for Latvia and is a big areal threat.

FC Urartu (Armenia)

Manager: Dmitri Gunko

Captain: Arsen Beglaryan

Ground: Urartu Stadium (capacity of 4,860)

Notable Players: Rafael Carioca, Marcos Júnior, Yaya Sanogo

Wales fans will be making the trip out to Yerevan in November, but TNS fans might be facing the trip next month.

Urartu did the double last season, in what was an impressive season for the club.

This decade, Urartu have appeared in the Europa League and the Conference League, but on both occasions suffered heavy defeats to Serbian side Čukarički and Slovenian giants Maribor.

However, the Armenian champions do have some very impressive players in their ranks.

Defender Rafael Carioca has very recently moved over from Brazi, while Marcos Júnior is a midfielder who has been knocking on the door of the Brazilian national team in recent times. Yaya Sanogo is a recognisable name for most fans on these shores, having come through the Arsenal academy and turning out for the likes of Toulouse and Huddersfield Town.

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While they may not have much of a European history, this could be a dangerous team in the early rounds.

Farul Constanţa (Romania)

Manager: Gheorghe Hagi

Captain: Ionuţ Larie

Ground: Viitorul (capacity of 4,554)

Notable Players: Tudor Băluţă, Kévin Boli, Denis Alibec

Of course, the first thing that jumps out at you is the manager, Romanian icon Gheorghe Hagi.

As well as being the manager, Hagi is also the majority owner of this club, who have been rising through the ranks in recent years.

They are two-time winners of Liga I, and have won the Cupa României once, all within the past six years.

Farul haven’t appeared in Europe since the 2019-20 season, where they were defeated in the Europa League by Ghent.

Their only appearance in the Champions League came in the 2017-18 season, where they were well beaten by APOEL of Cyprus.

In terms of players to look out for, midfielder Tudor Băluţă came through the ranks at Brighton, while centre back Kévin Boli has a lot of caps for the Ivory Coast. Forward Denis Alibec will be a threat in front of goal, but the prospect of seeing Hagi in the dugout at Park Hall is a tantalising one.

All possible teams TNS could be drawn against

Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar), KI (Faroe Islands), Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia), Raków Częstochwa (Poland), Patizani (Albania), BK Häcken (Sweden), Farul Constanţa (Romania), Valmiera (Latvia), Ballkani (Kosovo), Larne (Northern Ireland), Urartu (Armenia), Hamrun Spartans (Malta), Swift Hesperange (Luxembourg), Struga (North Macedonia), Winner of preliminary round

(Featured Image: John Smith/FAW)