Hearts Arrive in Austria Ahead of Champions League Qualifier

Heart of Midlothian traveled to Austria on Monday ahead of their Champions League second qualifying round match against Sturm Graz.

The Edinburgh side have not played Champions League football since the 2005/06 season, when they last entered at this stage. They faced Croatian side Široki Brijeg and won 3-0 on aggregate, before progressing to the third qualifying round, where they were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Greek side AEK Athens.

Since then, Hearts have made several appearances in European competition. Most recently, in the 2024/25 season, they entered the Europa League play-off round before dropping into the league phase of the Conference League, where they finished 25th in the standings and failed to progress to the knockout play-offs.

Sturm Graz, by contrast, are no strangers to Champions League football. They have played in the competition seven times since Hearts’ last appearance, with their most successful campaign coming in 2024/25, when they reached the league phase.

The Austrian side arrive at this tie in good form following a strong season in the Austrian Bundesliga. They finished top of the league before the split — similar to the SPFL — into a Championship Group, where they finished second, just two points behind winners LASK.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the match, Wouter Vrancken said: “We are as ready as possible. I think everybody worked hard to come here, to be here, and now we need to give it our best.

“I think it is very important that you show guts from the start and don’t think about the other qualifiers or next rounds.”