“The team has that desire to do things well, to be at the top, and there's no doubt about that first Champions League match we have there and then the return leg,” stated Linda Caicedo ahead of the European clash. The Colombian forward will be one of the captains of the new Real Madrid CF for the 2026/2027 season. The *merengue* side finished last season in 2nd position in Liga F Moeve with 72 points, qualifying to play in the UEFA Women's Champions League qualifiers. In the transfer market, the white club has promoted four academy players to the first team, and has signed six footballers to improve the squad's quality: Arianna Caruso (Bayern de Múnich), Janou Levels (Wolfsburgo), Felicia Schröder (BK Häcken), Lineth Beerensteyn (Wolfsburgo), Andreia Jacinto (Real Sociedad) and Elisa Senß (Eintracht de Frankfurt).

Meanwhile, Pau Quesada's side have finished their pre-season with a record of three wins and only one defeat in their four summer matches. In Europe's top competition, Real Madrid CF, who reached the quarter-finals last season, can boast of having progressed through the qualifying rounds in every campaign since the group stage was introduced in the 2021/2022 season. They will face Ajax, who finished last season in 2nd position in the Eredivise. The hosts come into the match having beaten Brondby (2-0) and Rangers (2-1) in the previous Champions League round, also adding two narrow victories in the domestic competition. The return leg will be played at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium on Wednesday, September 2nd, at 8:00 PM, in the decisive match that will reveal which team qualifies for the group stage.

August 24, 2026