Soccer Football - UEFA Champions League - Play Off - Second Leg - Kairat v Celtic - Ortalyk Stadion, Almaty, Kazakhstan - August 27, 2025 Kairat's Jorginho and teammates celebrate after winning the penalty shootout and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (Reuters) -Former European champions Celtic exited the Champions League in the qualifiers after a 3-2 penalty shootout defeat at Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty on Tuesday, following two goalless legs in the playoff tie.
Kairat will compete in the competition proper for the first time, while Norway’s Bodo/Glimt and Cyprus’s Pafos also secured debut appearances after coming through the playoffs.
Celtic’s night ended in disappointment as they missed three penalties in the shootout, Daizen Maeda failing with the decisive spot-kick.
The slugfest of a match went into extra time with neither side finding the net and few overall chances, echoing the first leg in Glasgow.
Celtic's Luke McCowan went close to finding a winner in the 112th minute, but his close-range effort was brilliantly palmed away by Kairat goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov.
Last season’s Europa League semi-finalists Bodo/Glimt reached the competition's league stage despite a 2-1 loss at Austria’s Sturm Graz, as their dominant 5-0 home win last week sealed a 6-2 aggregate triumph.
Norway will have a team in the competition proper for the first time since 2007, when Rosenborg featured.
In Cyprus, Pafos celebrated reaching the league stage after edging out Red Star Belgrade 3-2 on aggregate. Home hero Jaja struck in the 89th minute to make it 1-1 on the night, before the hosts survived almost 10 minutes of stoppage time to spark jubilant scenes in the coastal Mediterranean city.
The league-phase draw will take place on Thursday in Monaco with the first matchday scheduled to be played from September 16 to 18.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in GdanskEditing by Toby Davis)
