NEC Nijmegen Clinch Historic Champions League Spot on Final Day

NEC Nijmegen reach Europe after PSV result opens the door

Noe Lebreton scored twice as NEC held on to clinch their highest league finish in club history.

NEC beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1 to secure third place and UCL qualifier berth...

NEC Nijmegen secured a place in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers with a 2-1 win over Go Ahead Eagles in a match they controlled from start to finish.

NEC needed FC Twente to lose at PSV to have any chance of qualifying. Twente held a one-point advantage going into the final day, and both sides had identical goal differences. That meant a Twente defeat would send NEC through even with a draw.

After creating a few early chances, Noé Lebreton put NEC ahead in the 11th minute with a header that put them on course for Europe.

NEC continued to dominate against Go Ahead Eagles, who nearly scored an own goal. The hosts then made it 2-0 when Lebreton scored again. His first shot hit the post, but he reacted quickly to tap in the rebound. The goal put NEC in a comfortable position with an hour still to play.

The stadium erupted when news came through that PSV had taken the lead against FC Twente. Moments later, Tjaronn Chery nearly made it 3-0 for NEC, but his powerful shot just missed Jari De Busser’s goal.

Noé Lebreton met zijn tweede van de middag: N.E.C. op rozen! 👏#necgae pic.twitter.com/um8RiEI25A

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) May 17, 2026

Go Ahead Eagles pulled one back through Soren Tengstedt, who scored from close range to set up a nervy finish with more than 30 minutes left.

Brayann Pereira almost killed the game off for NEC, but his header crashed against the crossbar.

NEC controlled the second half and created chance after chance, yet couldn’t find a third goal against De Busser in a half that was almost entirely one-sided.

IS DIT EEN 𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌? 🤯#NECGAE 2-1 pic.twitter.com/IYqdUfHMID

— N.E.C. Nijmegen (@necnijmegen) May 17, 2026

De Goffert exploded with celebration at full time as NEC confirmed a third-place finish. It’s the best result in the club’s history and seals their place in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.