final draw: Who Tottenham could face

Tottenham Hotspur’s final chance of qualifying for European football next season lies with Europa League success

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Tottenham Hotspur are in Europa League action against Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night as they look to earn their spot in the last four of the competition. The first leg of the quarter final will be played in North London with Spurs heading to Germany in seven days.

Ange Postecoglou’s side sit 14th in the Premier League table after losing 16 of their 31 games in the division. As things stand, Spurs are set to miss out on European football next term unless they can win the Europa League - which brings with it qualification to the Champions League.

Looking ahead to the clash with Frankfurt, Postecoglou said: "I’m not sure how many times the club has been in the quarter-finals of a European competition. Every time you get in there you don’t take it for granted. You have got to make the most of it, for sure.

“It’s going to be a tough game. Frankfurt are a good side. They are going well in the Bundesliga. They have a mixture of some really exciting young players and some experience in there. It will be a good challenge for us. When you get to the last eight of a European competition, that is what you expect to face and I’m looking forward to it."

Who Tottenham could play in Europa League semi-final

The draw for the Europa League semi-final has already been made with the path to the final mapped out when the round of 16 draw was made. It means that Tottenham already know who their potential last four opponents could be.

If Spurs make it past Frankfurt, they will face Serie A side Lazio or Norwegian club FK Bodø/Glimt. Lazio are one of the favourites to win the competition after finishing top of the league phase with six wins, one draw and one loss from their eight games. They beat Viktoria Plzen 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16. Bodø/Glimt finished outside the top eight on goal difference behind Rangers.

They defeated FC Twente 6-4 over two legs in the play-off round before dispatching Olympiacos 4-2 in the round of 16. On the other side of the draw, one of Manchester United, Lyon, Athletic Club or Rangers will reach the final.

When and where is the 2025 Europa League final

The 2025 Europa League final will be held at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain. It is the home of Athletic Club and has a capacity of 50,000. The stadium has been open since 2013. The final will be played on Wednesday, May 21 at 8pm. Frankfurt won the Europa League when the final was last staged in Spain, as they beat Rangers on penalties at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville in 2022.

Winning the Europa League remains Spurs’ only realistic chance of playing European football next season. Participating in the Champions League also brings greater revenue and will allow the club to be more active in the summer transfer market as they look to put a hugely-disappointing campaign behind them.

Postecoglou is eager to win the Europa League as he responded to whether the competition was ‘keeping him going’. The former Celtic boss said: "I came to this club with a clear purpose and vision of what the club needed and what I could offer. That is to change the way the team plays, to obviously rejuvenate the squad because it was a squad that was coming towards the end of a cycle and to bring success. As long as I’m in this position, that’s always my focus, irrespective of whatever noise there is or what there may or not been in the future. I don’t see that should diminish my burning ambition, my desire and my determination to make that happen.

“Anything you achieve in life usually comes with a struggle. Certainly, everything I have achieved in my life has come with a struggle from a professional perspective. This is just another struggle, but never through this struggle have I lost the will to fight for what I think is the right thing to do, and I’ll continue to do that."