Almaty's Kairat, playing with a man advantage for most of the home match as is tradition against Cypriot sides, defeated Omonia 6-5 on penalties to advance to the third qualifying round of the 2026/27 Champions League. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Second qualifying round. Second leg. July 29

⚽ KAIRAT (Almaty, Kazakhstan) – OMONIA (Nicosia, Cyprus) a.e.t. 1:0 (1:0). Penalties 6:5. First leg 0:1. Goal: Edmilson 37

Sent off: Kakoullis 26, Coulibaly 111 (both – O)

Penalty shootout: Edmilson 1:0, Hadjiyovannis 1:1, Oksanen 2:1, Balkovec (saved), Martynovich 3:1, Andreou 3:2, Baibek (saved), Neofytou 3:3, Gual 4:3, Kousoulos 4:4, Tuyakbaev 5:4, Christou 5:5, Birkurmanov 6:5, Panayiotou (saved)

Both coaching staffs were forced to make changes to their lineups. Norwegian specialist Henning Berg needed to compensate for the absence of Hungarian Loic Nego, who was sent off in the first leg and suspended for at least the second. Rafael Urazbakhtin faced a more difficult task. In the game against Ordabasy, Portuguese Jorge, the team's top scorer (9 goals in all competitions), was injured and sidelined for a long time. The loss was significant enough to require both strategic and tactical adjustments. The events of the match forced adjustments to the adjustments.

After a brief reconnaissance, Kairat almost scored the much-needed goal. In the 18th minute, Oiva Jukkola, meeting a cross from the left flank, headed the ball onto the crossbar. Unfortunately, the ball bounced back into the field, not over the goal line. Norwegian referee Rohit Saggi was informed of this by the video assistants.

The visitors responded in the 22nd minute. South African Mihlali Mayambela, finishing a quick Omonia attack, shot just over the crossbar.

And in the 26th minute, following the tradition of Kairat's Champions League matches against Cypriot sides, a sending-off occurred. For a rough foul on Lev Kurgin, forward Andronikos Kakoullis received a straight red card.

In last year's match against Paphos, Kairat played with a man advantage for 86 minutes. A week ago, the Almaty side unsuccessfully tried to capitalize on the extra man for almost an hour in Nicosia. Today it took nine minutes. After 152 minutes, our footballers finally scored a goal in the 11v10 format.

Without waiting for halftime, the home coaching staff responded to the sending-off with a double substitution. Ismail Bekbolat and Edmilson were called upon to strengthen the attack. A minute after coming on, the Brazilian converted a sharp cross from Portuguese Luis Mata into a goal – 1:0. Half the job was done, the aggregate score was level.

In the 50th minute, Bekbolat almost finished a three-man move involving Mata and Jukkola with a goal. Five minutes later, he seemed to tap the ball into an empty net, but the score remained unchanged. In the 76th minute, Jaakko Oksanen beat Fabiano from close range. Unfortunately, it was offside. Nine minutes later, Spanish Kairat player Marc Gual shook the Cypriot goalpost with a long-range curler.

Time passed. The regular 90 minutes gave way to an additional half hour. The hosts continued to attack, the visitors held their defense. In the 111th minute, the Cypriots were reduced to nine men. Malawian Senou Coulibaly, receiving a second yellow card, reluctantly left the field. In the 11v9 format, the Almaty side almost scored. Mansur Birkurmanov missed a great scoring chance in the 115th minute.

Then came the post-match lottery, where the number of field players is completely irrelevant. Luck finally smiled on Kairat in the penalty shootout. Specialist in saving penalties Temirlan Anarbekov once again shone, saving two Cypriot kicks.

To qualify again for the Champions League group stage, Kairat, as in the 2025/26 season, needs to go through four qualifying rounds.

In the first, the Kazakhstan champion twice defeated Montenegrin Sutjeska 2:1 and 2:0. In the second, Omonia. In the third, they will play either against Bulgarian Levski from Sofia or Romanian Universitatea from Craiova.

Twenty-nine teams will automatically qualify for the Champions League league phase. Another seven participants of the league phase will be determined through qualifying, which will end with the play-off round in August. Some teams eliminated at different stages of qualifying will continue their fight in the Europa League and Conference League qualifying.

The matches of the Champions League league phase will take place from September 8 to January 27 of next year. The 2026/27 Champions League final will be held on June 5, 2027, at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid.

The current trophy holder, French Paris Saint-Germain, defeated English Arsenal on penalties in the final match on May 30 in Budapest.

Tomorrow, the Kazakhstan Cup holder Tobol will continue their European campaign with a home Conference League qualifying match against Lithuanian Panevezys.