Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday has come as a massive blow to Spurs, with Jose Mourinho’s men now having to navigate the qualifying stages of the Europa League.
If Chelsea had won the cup, Tottenham would have gone straight into the group stages of the Europa League, but the Lilywhites will now kick off their campaign in the second qualifying round.
This is the first of three matches they will have to face in order to secure a spot in the group stages (Football.London).
Spurs will play their first qualifying match on September 17, five days after the start of the new Premier League season, with their third qualifying round match coming the following week if they were to advance, and the final play-off round falling on October 1.
ESPN journalist, Dale Johnson has now revealed a list of teams that Tottenham could potentially face in the second qualifying round on September 17 and unsurprisingly, it comprises mostly of clubs from eastern Europe that Spurs fans may not be familiar with.
Spurs Web Opinion
While the three extra matches are a needless inconvenience, one thing they could help with is bringing the squad back up to sharpness and match fitness following the break. We saw after the restart that it took us three to four games to get into our stride. Hopefully, the Europa League qualifiers, against what seems to be fairly straight-forward opposition, will help Mourinho’s men build up their confidence and fitness.
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