Progressing to the Europa League's playoff around assures a spot in the league phase of either UEFA's second tier club competition, or the UEFA Conference League.
Penalties were required in Poland after Panathinaikos and Shakhtar Donetsk played to a second consecutive 0-0 draw. Despite losing Oleg Ocheretko seven minutes before the end of normal time, the Ukrainian side managed to survive extra time down a man.
In the end, Bartlomiej Dragowski proved to be the hero for the visitors, as he stopped two spot kicks as his side prevailed 4-3 in the shootout. It is the first time since 2003/04 that Shakhtar will not feature in the Champions League or Europa League group phase.
Finnish side KuPS secured their maiden league phase appearance after defeating RFS 1-0 at home. That result, coupled with their 2-1 win last week, saw the club from Kuopio advance 3-1 on aggregate. Next for them are FC Midtjylland, who finished off Fredrikstad 2-0 on the night and 5-1 overall.
A Denzel De Roeve own goal a few minutes before half time gave Hacken hope against Brann. Unfortunately for them, that was the closest the Allsvenskan club got, as their 1-0 success in Norway was not enough to overturn their 2-0 home defeat the previous Thursday.
In Armenia, Noah and Lincoln Red Imps could not find the back of the net across 120 minutes of play. The Armenians had 27 attempts on the night, but could not find their way past Nauzet Santana. The Spaniard came up big in the penalty shootout, stopping Yan Brice's penalty in the seventh round to help his side advance 6-5 in via spot kicks.
Maccabi Tel Aviv won their decider 3-1 in Backa Topola against Hamrun Spartans, with Ido Shahar claiming a brace before setting up Osher Davida to round out the tie. The Israelis progressed 5-2 on aggregate.
PAOK move through in extra time
Greek side PAOK, two-time Conference League quarter-finalists, needed extra time to find the only goal of the tie versus Wolfsberger. Mady Camara played hero for the guests, placing his shot in the top corner with five minutes left in extra time. That was enough to help the Thessaloniki-based outfit edge their Austrian opponents 1-0.
PAOK will be involved in a group phase for the third year running. That has not occurred since the mid 2010s, when they were Europa League regulars.
Elsewhere, Utrecht are back in the main rounds after beating Servette 2-1 at home and 5-2 across both legs. Victor Jensen's second half brace sealed the deal for them. An Ablie Jallow penalty late on was a mere consolation for Servette, who fall at this stage of the competition for the second year in a row.
Sporting Braga also moved on, as they took out CFR Cluj 2-0. That was enough to see them progress 4-1 on aggregate. FCSB also won both legs of their tie. This time, it was a smoother ride for the Romanians. Two goals inside the opening 20 minutes set them on their way to a 3-1 win at 10-man Drita, winning the tie 6-3 overall.
Just as they did at this rond two years ago, Zrinjski find their way past Breidablik. On this occasion, they sealed the tie in the away leg, winning 2-1 in Iceland and 3-2 on aggregate. An early goal in each half did the trick for the Bosnians, who have now won multiple European games in the same season for the first time since 2010/11.
AEK Larnaca were made to sweat in Poland, but just managed to hold off Legia Warsaw. Despite a 2-1 revrese, they advanced 5-3 across the two legs.
One tie was decided on Tuesday, as Ante Orec netted a 90th minute winner for Rijeka as they came back from a 2-1 home defeat the week prior to beat Shelbourne 3-1 away and 4-3 over 180 minutes. They are back in a group phase for the first time since 2020/21.
The 12 Europa League playoff round ties will take place across the next two weeks, with the majority of the matches occurring on the Thursdays. There may be some games moved to a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Follow the final round of the UEFA Europa League qualifiers on Flashscore.