Tottenham secured their place in the Europa League round of 16 following a 3-0 win over Elfsborg on Thursday evening. Going into their final league phase fixture knowing that a win would see them secure a top-eight berth, Spurs substitutes Dane Scarlett and Oyindamola Ajayi struck in the second half before Mikey Moore added one of his own in stoppage time to help the north London club pick up a much-needed win.
Tottenham’s victory over the Swedish side sealed a fourth-place finish in the 36-team league table, thus avoiding a two-legged knockout phase play-off tie in the process. Ange Postecoglou’s side will return to European action at the beginning of March and they will play one of Real Sociedad, Galatasaray, AZ Alkmaar or FC Midtjylland in the round of 16.
That is because the teams who finish third [Manchester United] and fourth [Tottenham] in the standings will face a team that ranked 13th, 14th, 19th or 20th.
Due to the new format of the Europa League from the 2024/25 season onwards, the knockout stages of the competition will operate via a bracket system like in major international tournaments. This means every team’s route to the final in Bilbao later this year is mapped out, which can be seen on the image below.
(Image: UEFA.com)
Spurs now know that they will face one of four opponents but the exact knockout phase play-off fixtures will become clear when the draw is made at midday on Friday at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland. The round of 16 draw will then take place on Friday, February 21.
A full explanation of how the draws for the Europa League knockout phase play-off and the round of 16 can be found here.
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