Football

AZ and NEC embark on Europa League adventure with challenging matches

UEFA has announced the fixtures for the Europa League and Conference League, with AZ and NEC kicking off in September.

29 August 2026Tagblick Newsdesk

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Archive photo: AZ and NEC embark on Europa League adventure with challenging matches — Archive photoPhoto: Nick from Bristol, UK · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

UEFA has announced the competition schedules for the Europa League and the Conference League. AZ and NEC will begin their adventure in the Europa League in September, while Ajax and FC Twente will start in the Conference League in October.

AZ, last season's cup winners, will start the group stage with an away match against Sunderland on September 16. This match will take place in England, where the Alkmaar team will kick off their campaign in the Europa League.

NEC will face Juventus in their first Europa League match. This encounter is scheduled for September 17 and will take place in Turin. Under the guidance of Dick Schreuder, the Nijmegen team is looking forward to this challenge.

The match between AZ and Sunderland takes place alongside an interesting meeting between Juventus and NEC. Both Dutch clubs aim to achieve good results in the group stage of the competition.

Additionally, there is a meeting in November between AZ and Juventus at the AFAS Stadium. This match presents the possibility for a confrontation between brothers Teun and Peer Koopmeiners, adding an extra storyline to this European campaign.

This will be the first time that AZ and NEC participate in this stage of the Europa League since their respective performances in the national competitions, and the clubs hope to make a strong start in the tournament.

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