What did Premiership start tell us about Scottish sides’ Euro hopes?

August 4, 2026 No Comments

What did Premiership start tell us about Scottish sides’ Euro hopes?Image source, SNSImage caption, Rangers, Hearts, Hibernian and Motherwell are all in European action this ThursdayByNick McPheatBBC Sport ScotlandPublished39 minutes agoAs the dust settles on a blockbuster opening weekend of the new Scottish Premiership season, fans of Scotland’s European representatives have food for thought after seeing their sides in domestic action for the first time this term.Supporters have been left pondering whether their teams are undercooked, oven-ready or some other cooking-related adjective you can think of.Given the stage of summer at which the Premiership returns, the answer is regularly the former, but what did the first round of fixtures tell us?While Celtic have to wait a fortnight for their Champions League play-off, Rangers, Hearts, Hibernian and Motherwell are in European qualifying action on Thursday. Celtic drawn against LASK as other Scottish sides discover opponents

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Rangers head to Poland lacking game-changers

‘Rangers don’t have enough creativity’ – Halliday

As the team with the second-highest coefficient ranking in the whole of Europa League qualifying behind Benfica, who play Hearts in their third-round qualifier, Rangers should be confident of making it through against Jagiellonia Bialystok.

Derek McInnes’ men are away in Thursday’s first leg (17:00 BST) in Poland against a side who, like Rangers, finished third in their domestic league last term.

However, Jagiellonia’s recent European history is a warning to anyone assuming Rangers will progress to the play-off round to face either Northern Irish champions Larne or Iberia Tbilisi of Georgia.

Jagiellonia, who have won their opening two domestic league games, have reached the knockout phase of the Conference League in the past two seasons.

They ran Real Betis close in the quarter-finals in 2024-25 and were eliminated in extra time by Fiorentina in the knockout play-off round last term.

Light on centre-backs following an injury to Ben Godfrey, while in-demand John Souttar is not included in their European squad, Rangers head to Poland with issues to iron out after failing to win their opening Premiership match for the fourth straight campaign.

McInnes’ side responded to going a goal behind at Dundee United with an improved second-half display to earn a point, but there are concerns, voiced by former midfielder Andy Halliday, about a lack of creativity in the team.

The Ibrox club appear to be attempting to address that with the revealed imminent arrival of Hannover’s Daisuke Yokota and by entering a transfer tussle with rivals Celtic for Frosinone winger Fares Ghedjemis.

Benfica next in savage start for Vrancken

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OK, Wouter Vrancken.

You take over at a club who were denied a historic league title in the final 10 minutes of last season. They then lose their captain and talismanic striker, plus their best midfielder, and have a huge turnover of players.

Your first competitive action is a Champions League qualifier against seasoned European campaigners Sturm Graz, losing 6-0 on aggregate, before conceding twice after the 90th minute up at Aberdeen to lose your first league match.

So, what’s next? Benfica in Europa League qualifying. A doddle.

The Portuguese giants await on Thursday (20:00 BST) amid a savage introduction for Hearts’ new Belgian head coach. Chances of progression feel slim.

There have been aspects of each of the three matches under Vrancken that have been encouraging, and a win at Pittodrie on Saturday would have been a huge morale boost.

However, the nature of the team’s late collapse has intensified fear among the support that their season could unravel before it has even properly started.

A trip to Lisbon to face Marco Silva’s Benfica presents a glamour tie but also the prospect of another chastening defeat on the continent as Vrancken tries to piece together his best XI.

The 38-time Portuguese champions beat Napoli and Real Madrid at home in the Champions League last term on their way to the knockout stage, where they were put out by Real, who have since taken head coach Jose Mourinho.

Benfica’s domestic action is yet to return after they finished third in the league last season, but they defeated Swiss side St Gallen over two legs to reach this stage of Europa League qualifying.

A 2-1 defeat in Switzerland was wiped out with a thumping 5-0 win in the second leg last Thursday, with four of the five goals coming from Greece striker Vangelis Pavlidis.

Hibs take step back as Well motor on

Motherwell score stunning late winner at Hibs

After a humiliating first-leg loss to Kosovan minnows Malisheva in Conference League qualifying, Hibs looked to have put an embarrassing night behind them when they went on to win the return leg 4-1 at Easter Road last week.

But defeat to fellow European hopefuls Motherwell on Sunday served them another reality check as they prepare to host Shkendija of North Macedonia on Thursday (20:00 BST).

Shkendija, who played in the Conference League proper last term, progressing to the first knockout round before being beaten heavily over two legs by Turkish club Samsunspor, are a step up from Malisheva.

You just do not know what you are going to get from David Gray’s men, who could not take advantage of the pressure they were piling on Motherwell before being stunned by an excellent counter-attack in the closing minutes.

Based on the small amount of evidence under Alfred Johansson, Motherwell arguably look in the best shape of all of Scotland’s European representatives.

Many were expecting a natural regression, but the transition from Jens Berthel Askou to his Swedish successor has appeared seamless, despite losing key players.

The Fir Park side made light work of Faroese outfit HB Torshavn before their victory at Easter Road on Sunday, and the only goal they have conceded in 270 minutes of football was a Martin Boyle penalty.

The first of two legs against HJK takes place in Finland on Thursday (17:00 BST). The Helsinki-based team lost 3-0 in their domestic league to SJK on Monday after resting several players, including former Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki.

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