As summer approaches, the excitement among football fans is growing with the start of European qualifiers. A specialized profile on social media platform X, Football Meets Data, known for detailed statistical analyses, has provided an overview of the seeded positions for the second qualifying round of the Europa League. The news for Hajduk Split is far from encouraging.

According to their analysis, Hajduk is the highest-ranked team that will definitely be unseeded in the second qualifying round. This practically means that Hajduk will face a significantly stronger, favored opponent, making the path to the group stage exceptionally tough right from the start. In the attached graphic, which clearly illustrates the distribution, it is evident who poses a threat to the Split team.

🟠 UEL Q2 seedings, as things stand on 20 May.

📈 🇦🇿 Qarabag is the lowest ranked team that secured a SEEDED status

📉 🇭🇷 Hajduk Split is the highest ranked team that will 100% be UNSEEDED

Q2 draw takes place before Q1 is played.

👉 Full DAILY analysis of seeding positions… pic.twitter.com/XqMLf1mrZY

— Football Meets Data (@fmeetsdata) May 20, 2026

Unseeded Teams and Potential Opponents

The pool of potential opponents includes some very serious names in European football. Among the seeded teams, the notable ones are Portuguese Braga, Hungarian Ferencváros, Czech Viktoria Plzen, Greek PAOK, and Danish Midtjylland. All these clubs have a significantly higher coefficient and regularly participate in the group stages of European competitions, confirming the difficulty of the task ahead for Hajduk.

The post also highlights a few interesting points. For instance, Azerbaijani Qarabag is the lowest-ranked team to secure a seeded status, while Hajduk is on the opposite end of the spectrum as the strongest among the unseeded. The author also points out a key procedural fact: the draw for the second qualifying round takes place before the first round matches are played, which further complicates predictions.

First Qualifying Round

In the first qualifying round, Hajduk will be a seed and face potentially easier opponents. However, a match-up with Serbian club Vojvodina is possible, as well as tougher opponents like Žilina, Cluj, Aluminij, Derry City, and Vestmannaeyjar.

*AI-assisted content

  • Europa League
  • Hajduk