Champions League Qualifying 2013: Latest Results, Bracket Updates for 2nd Round

While the top clubs in Europe wait for Champions League group play to begin, there are dozens of squads looking to qualify for the prestigious event.

The winners of leagues across the continent get a chance to play their way into the same competition as Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United and more of the top contending teams this year. Even though these last few teams have a much larger fanbase and more recognizable players, it is important not to overlook the little guys.

After two squads made their way out of Round 1 of qualifying, Round 2 features 34 squads, each of which finished first in their league table this past season.

Once these aggregate matches decide 17 winners, they will be joined by Basel, Austria Wien and APOEL in the third round of qualifying as the champions try to play their way into the final playoff stage.

Here is a look at the first legs of each matchup. The second legs will take place on July 23 and 24.

July 16

Viktoria Plzen 4, Zeljeznicar Sarajevo 3

BATE Borisov 0, Shakhter Karagandy 1

Dinamo Tbilisi 6, EB Streymur 1

FK Ekranas 0, FH Hafnarfjordur 1

Sheriff Tiraspol 1, Sutjeska 1

Birkirkara 0, NK Maribor 0

CS Fola Esch 0, Dinamo Zagreb 5

Steaua Bucuresti 3, Vardar 0

July 17

Shirak 1, Partizan Belgrade 1

HJK Helsinki 0, Nomme Kalju 0

Neftchi 0, Skenderbeu 0

Elfsborg 7, FC Daugava 1

Sligo 0, Molde 1

Slovan Bratislava 2, Ludogorets Razgrad 1

T.N.S. 1, Legia Warsaw 3

Gyor 0, Maccabi Tel-Aviv 2

Cliftonville 0, Celtic 3

Notable Results

Dinamo Zagreb 5, CS Fola Esch 0

In Croatian football, there is no better club than Dinamo Zagreb. The club has won the Prva HNL league in every year since 2006, and it has reached the Champions League group stage in each of the past two years.

Unfortunately, the club has only managed one point combined in six matches.

This squad wants to return to the group stage to improve upon those performances and show that it can hang with the better teams in Europe.

Thanks to a 5-0 road win to start things off in this round, Dinamo Zagreb is well on its way toward competing once again at the sport's highest level.

Shakhter Karagandy 1, BATE Borisov 0

Not only did BATE Borisov reach the group stage last year, but it turned some heads with wins over Bayern Munich and Lille.

Although the team was unable to advance to the next stage, the six points helped the team finish in third place in the group, which qualified it to compete in Europa League as well. 

However, it is now obvious that things will not be so easy this time around. The club could not get on the scoreboard, and a Sergei Khizhnichenko goal in the 48th minute gave Shakhter Karagandy the early win.

BATE Borisov now is trailing in the aggregate score and has to win a road match in order to advance. Otherwise, this will be one of the more disappointing performances of the early going.

Viktoria Plzen 4, Zeljeznicar Sarajevo 3

According to UEFA's country rankings, the Czech Republic has the 15th-best league in Europe. This is the highest of all the nations represented in this round.

Viktoria Plzen won the Gambrinus Liga last season and will try to do the league proud by qualifying for the Champions League.

Of course, the first match was anything but easy, as Zeljeznicar Sarajevo put up three goals against the defense at home. Fortunately, two goals by Daniel Kolar helped win the first leg.

If the squad wants to advance to the next round, though, it will need to make fewer mistakes on the road.

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