Czarni Sosnowiec’s route to this tie began more than a month ago. They entered the Champions League on 22 July, have come through four European matches, played three league fixtures in between and are still unbeaten. The 28 goals scored along the way explain their credentials better than any underdog label.
OH Leuven arrive from the opposite direction. Their domestic season does not begin until 6 September and they have played only two competitive games this term. What they do have is first-hand knowledge of what lies beyond this round: a year ago they turned their European debut into a historic league-phase campaign and finished among the competition’s top 12.
That is why Wednesday’s first leg is not simply a meeting between a Polish outsider and last season’s Belgian revelation. It brings together a side already operating at full speed and another trying to prove that its European breakthrough belonged to the club, not only to the players who made it happen.
What is at stake: Polish history or Belgian continuity
The third qualifying round awards the final nine places in the league phase. The winners will enter the draw on 4 September; the losers transfer to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women’s Europa Cup. European competition will continue either way, but the sporting and financial divide between the two destinations is considerable. UEFA explains the format and lists all nine ties here.
Czarni would become the first Polish club to reach the group stage or league phase since the current format was introduced in 2021/22. Leuven are trying to show immediately that their first major European campaign was not a one-off.
The second leg will be played at the King Power at Den Dreef Stadion on Wednesday 2 September. Before then, Czarni have the chance to take a lead to Belgium from the ground where their European journey began.
How Czarni arrive: score, concede and score again
The Polish champions have not reached this point by protecting narrow leads. They beat WFC Nike 7-1 and Athlone Town 3-1 in the first qualifying round, then drew 3-3 with Apollon before advancing on penalties and defeated Spartak Myjava 4-2. They are the only club in the first two seasons of this qualifying system to progress all the way from the first to the third round. UEFA’s second-round review retraces their route.
The sequence reveals both their strength and their vulnerability. They fell behind three times against Apollon and answered on every occasion. Against Myjava they took the lead, conceded twice in 12 minutes and recovered again. Sebastian Stemplewski’s side have scored 17 goals and conceded seven across four European nights: their matches have produced exactly six goals on average.
Klaudia Miłek, with six, and Patrycja Sarapata, with five, account for 11 of those 17 goals. Miłek scored four in the opening 7-1 victory; Sarapata opened and completed the scoring in the 4-2 win over Myjava. They do more than finish moves. Together, they give Czarni a way back when a match stops following the expected script. Czarni’s official competition statistics are available on UEFA.com.
Domestic competition has only added to that sense of momentum. Czarni opened their Ekstraliga season by beating SMS Łódź 5-0, drew 3-3 away to GKS Katowice and arrive after a 3-0 victory over Legia Ladies. That makes seven competitive matches without defeat, 28 goals scored and, in their latest outing, a clean sheet after conceding in each of the previous three.
Nor are they one-off champions. Czarni secured their 14th Polish league title in May, more than any other women’s club in the country. The league phase is the European step they have never taken. The Silesian Football Association reported their 2025/26 title here.
How Leuven arrive: the memories remain, the structure has changed
OH Leuven became the first Belgian side to reach a Champions League group stage or league phase. They did not merely take part. They came from 2-0 down to draw at Paris FC, beat Twente and also collected points against Roma and Paris Saint-Germain. Leuven finished 12th with six points before losing 7-1 on aggregate to Arsenal in the knockout play-offs. These were their six league-phase results.
The team visiting Sosnowiec, however, is not a replica of the one that produced that run. Ster Habibzadeh, 35, replaced Arno Van den Abbeel this summer after winning back-to-back titles with Patro Ladies and working as an assistant at Club YLA. Her appointment began a rebuild that has altered the spine of the side. Leuven’s announcement sets out her background.
Sára Pusztai, Leuven’s leading scorer in last season’s league phase, joined RB Leipzig. Centre-backs Linde Veefkind and Zenia Mertens followed her there, the latter leaving after 16 years at the club. Aurélie Reynders, named both Player and Talent of the Year in Belgium, signed for Paris FC in the most expensive outgoing transfer in Belgian women’s football history. Leuven described the Reynders deal as a record transfer.
Sterre Gielen, Kimberley Smit and Agathe Ollivier have been brought in to rebuild the defence, but new relationships take time. Even so, the first test was convincing: a 4-0 win over TSC Bačka Topola. The second demanded something different. Leuven fell behind against Fenerbahçe, equalised through Jada Conijnenberg and took the game to penalties before winning the shoot-out 4-2. Conijnenberg has scored three of their five European goals and has become the focal point of the new attack. UEFA’s official squad list includes the players’ current competition totals.
Where the tie may be decided: who controls its speed
Czarni will want the game to resemble those they have already played: quick attacks, transitions, repeated runs into the penalty area and the ability to answer one blow with another. Miłek and Sarapata are in full scoring form, while Leuven’s rebuilt defence is still developing its connections. An open first leg would give the Polish champions the best chance of turning competitive rhythm into a tangible advantage.
Leuven need the opposite. Biesmans and Kuijpers must bring control, prevent the turnovers that can release the home side and ensure Conijnenberg receives the ball closer to the box than to the halfway line. Goalkeeper Lowiese Seynhaeve, who made two saves in the shoot-out against Fenerbahçe, may again become important if Czarni can reproduce their attacking volume against the strongest opponent they have faced so far.
There is also a physical tension that is difficult to measure. Czarni have played seven competitive matches in little more than a month; Leuven have played only two and have gone more than two weeks without a competitive fixture. Fatigue may catch up with the hosts. The visitors may lack match rhythm. Whichever side turns that contrast into an advantage first will shape the 180 minutes.
Czarni have already shown they know how to get this far. Leuven have already shown they know what to do once they get beyond it. The first leg will reveal which experience carries more weight.
Match details
- Fixture: Czarni Sosnowiec vs OH Leuven
- Competition: 2026/27 UEFA Women’s Champions League, third qualifying round, champions path, first leg
- Date: Wednesday 26 August 2026
- Kick-off: 19:00 CEST / 18:00 BST
- Venue: ArcelorMittal Park, Sosnowiec — listed by UEFA as Zagłębiowski Park Sportowy
- Referee: Lina Lehtovaara (Finland)
- Where to watch: Czarni have announced a pay-per-view stream on nowe.emocje.tv
- Second leg: Wednesday 2 September, 20:00 CEST / 19:00 BST, King Power at Den Dreef Stadion, Leuven
- Match centre: follow the first leg on FemGol
