The 2026 UEFA Conference League final was the final match of the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League, the fifth season of Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the second season since it was renamed from the UEFA Europa Conference League to the UEFA Conference League. It was played at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany, on 27 May 2026 between English club Crystal Palace and Spanish club Rayo Vallecano.
Crystal Palace won the match 1–0 for their first UEFA Conference League title. As winners, they qualified for the league phase of the 2026–27 UEFA Europa League.
Background Crystal Palace, having played in a major European competition for the first time, reached their first ever European final. They were aiming for their second major trophy, having won the FA Cup in 2025, beating Manchester City in the final. As winners of the FA Cup, they were initially given a Europa League league phase berth but due to multi-club ownership restrictions regarding club stakeholder John Textor also having ownership of French team Olympique Lyonnais via Eagle Football Holdings, Crystal Palace's European qualification berth was switched with Nottingham Forest's, who initially took England's Conference League berth, by UEFA to prevent clubs with the same owners competing in the same tournament, as Lyon finished in a higher league position in France than Palace did in England.
Rayo Vallecano also reached their first ever European final, and were aiming for a first major title. Rayo Vallecano had previously qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2000–01 UEFA Cup, losing 4–2 on aggregate to fellow Spanish side Alavés.
Venue
Host selection On 17 May 2023, UEFA opened the bidding process for the final, which was held in parallel with that of the 2027 final. Interested bidders could bid for either one or both of the finals. Additionally, bidding associations could only be appointed one UEFA final in a given year. The proposed venues had to include natural grass and be ranked as a UEFA category four stadium, with a gross capacity of 30,000 to 60,000 preferred. The bidding timeline was as follows:
17 May 2023: Applications formally invited 17 July 2023: Closing date for registering intention to bid 26 July 2023: Bid requirements made available to bidders 15 November 2023: Submission of preliminary bid dossier 21 February 2024: Submission of final bid dossier 22 May 2024: Appointment of host
UEFA announced on 18 July 2023 that six associations had expressed interest in hosting the 2026 and 2027 finals during the first bidding process.
+ Association Stadium City Capacity Notes Red Bull Arena Leipzig 45,228 Association also bid for 2026 or 2027 Europa League and 2026 or 2027 Women's Champions League finals (with different venues) Teddy Stadium Jerusalem 31,733 Ullevaal Stadion Oslo 27,182 Stadium also bid for 2026 or 2027 Women's Champions League finalsStadium appointed as host of 2026 Women's Champions League final Hampden Park Glasgow 51,866 Stadium also bid for 2026 or 2027 Europa League and 2026 or 2027 Women's Champions League finals Stade de Genève Geneva 30,084 Beşiktaş Stadium Istanbul 42,684 Stadium also bid for 2026 or 2027 Europa League finalsRams Park or Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium (both also in Istanbul) were also included as possible venues prior to official bid submissionStadium appointed as host of 2026 Europa League final and 2027 Conference League final
The Red Bull Arena was selected as the venue by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 22 May 2024.
Route to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). Crystal PalaceRound Rayo VallecanoOpponent1st leg2nd legQualifying phaseOpponent1st leg2nd leg Fredrikstad1–01–0 (H)0–0 (A)Play-off round Neman Grodno5–01–0 (A)4–0 (H)OpponentResultLeague phaseOpponentResult Dynamo Kyiv2–0 (A)Matchday 1 Shkëndija2–0 (H) AEK Larnaca0–1 (H)Matchday 2 BK Häcken2–2 (A) AZ3–1 (H)Matchday 3 Lech Poznań3–2 (H) Strasbourg1–2 (A)Matchday 4 Slovan Bratislava1–2 (A) Shelbourne3–0 (A)Matchday 5 Jagiellonia Białystok2–1 (A) KuPS2–2 (H)Matchday 6 Drita3–0 (H)10th placeAdvanced to knockout phase play-offsFinal position5th placeAdvanced to round of 16Opponent1st leg2nd legKnockout phaseOpponent1st leg2nd leg Zrinjski Mostar3–11–1 (A)2–0 (H)Play-offsBye AEK Larnaca2–10–0 (H)2–1 (A)Round of 16 Samsunspor3–23–1 (A)0–1 (H) Fiorentina4–23–0 (H)1–2 (A)Quarter-finals AEK Athens4–33–0 (H)1–3 (A) Shakhtar Donetsk5–23–1 (A)2–1 (H)Semi-finals Strasbourg2–01–0 (H)1–0 (A)
Match Summary Just before half-time, Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell missed the target with a diving header from close range after a pass from Adam Wharton. Crystal Palace went in front in the 51st minute, an Adam Wharton shot from outside the penalty area on the left was saved by Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Augusto Batalla but the rebound went straight to Jean-Philippe Mateta who diverted the ball with his left leg to the net from six yards out. Yeremy Pino almost made it 2–0 when his free-kick hit both posts and stayed out. Jean-Philippe Mateta also had a low shot saved by Augusto Batalla soon after. Crystal Palace held on to win the game 1–0 and claim a first European trophy.
Details The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was predetermined as the winners of semi-final 1 (Crystal Palace).
GK 1 Dean Henderson (c)CB 34 Chadi Riad CB 5 Maxence LacroixCB 23 Jaydee CanvotRM 2 Daniel MuñozCM 20 Adam Wharton CM 18 Daichi KamadaLM 3 Tyrick MitchellRF 7 Ismaïla SarrCF 14 Jean-Philippe Mateta LF 10 Yéremy Pino Substitutes:GK 31 Remi MatthewsGK 44 Walter BenítezDF 17 Nathaniel ClyneDF 24 Borna SosaDF 26 Chris RichardsDF 59 Rio CardinesMF 8 Jefferson LermaMF 19 Will HughesMF 55 Justin DevennyFW 11 Brennan JohnsonFW 22 Jørgen Strand Larsen FW 29 Evann Guessand Manager: Oliver Glasner GK 13 Augusto BatallaCB 2 Andrei RațiuCB 24 Florian LejeuneCB 3 Pep ChavarríaRM 19 Jorge de Frutos CM 23 Óscar Valentín (c) CM 6 Pathé Ciss CM 17 Unai López LM 18 Álvaro García SS 7 Isi Palazón CF 9 AlemãoSubstitutes:GK 1 Daniel CárdenasGK 30 Adrián MolinaDF 20 Iván BalliuDF 22 Alfonso Espino DF 32 Nobel Mendy MF 4 Pedro Díaz MF 8 Óscar TrejoMF 15 Gerard GumbauFW 10 Sergio Camello FW 12 Ilias Akhomach Manager: Iñigo Pérez
Man of the Match: Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Assistant referees: Daniele Bindoni (Italy) Alberto Tegoni (Italy) Fourth official: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden) Reserve assistant referee: Mahbod Beigi (Sweden) Video assistant referee: Marco Di Bello (Italy) Assistant video assistant referee: Daniele Chiffi (Italy) Support video assistant referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
Statistics
+First halfStatisticCrystal PalaceRayo VallecanoGoals scored00Total shots42Shots on target00Saves00Ball possession42%58%Corner kicks21Fouls committed65Offsides01Yellow cards12Red cards00
+Second halfStatisticCrystal PalaceRayo VallecanoGoals scored10Total shots78Shots on target31Saves12Ball possession43%57%Corner kicks20Fouls committed1010Offsides10Yellow cards24Red cards00
+OverallStatisticCrystal PalaceRayo VallecanoGoals scored10Total shots1110Shots on target31Saves12Ball possession42%58%Corner kicks41Fouls committed1615Offsides11Yellow cards36Red cards00
See also 2026 UEFA Champions League final 2026 UEFA Europa League final 2026 UEFA Women's Champions League final 2026 UEFA Women's Europa Cup final 2026 UEFA Super Cup
References
External links