Women's Champions League: Hearts and Rangers Face Tough Tests

Hearts defied expectations, perhaps even their own, by claiming the Scottish Women’s Premier League title for the first time.

In contrast to the men’s side, they emerged victorious from a dramatic final day. However, they also lost the head coach who had guided them to success.

Spanish coach Eva Olid had already chosen to leave after feeling she had not received sufficient financial backing, and she is now expected to take charge of Manchester United.

Her successor, Andy Thomson, previously served as an assistant at title challengers Rangers and begins the new campaign without making any significant additions to the squad.

Defender Ebonie Locke has arrived from Birmingham City on a short-term loan, while Northern Ireland midfielder Joely Andrews has moved to Edinburgh rivals Hibernian.

Hearts will make their European debut in Denmark on Wednesday, opening their campaign against Gintra, a team with extensive experience in these qualifying competitions.

Gintra have secured their domestic championship every year since 2005 and have previously met Scottish opponents. Two seasons ago, they suffered a 2-0 defeat by Celtic in the final of the mini-tournament they staged in Lithuania.

Hearts have not yet begun their domestic campaign, whereas Gintra have already played 12 matches and currently top the 2026 Moteru A Lyga after winning their three most recent fixtures.

Despite their domestic dominance, the Lithuanian club have never advanced from one of these mini-tournaments. Last year, they defeated Romania’s Farul Constanța in the semi-final before losing the final to Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava.

A victory would send Hearts into Saturday’s final against either tournament hosts HB Koge or Latvia’s Riga.

Riga are also halfway through their domestic season and have already overcome two British clubs in this season’s Champions League qualifiers, defeating Glentoran 4-1 in the first-round mini-tournament semi-final before recording the same result against Wrexham in the final.

On the domestic front, Riga remain well placed to secure a third successive championship. They trail RFS by three points but have three matches in hand.

Koge, who reached the main group stage in 2021-22, are likely to be considered favourites to advance after strengthening their squad with financial support and players from the United States.

The squad also includes experienced Denmark internationals Rikke Madsen, Mille Gejl and Simone Boye. Nadia Nadim previously represented Manchester City, while fellow forward Kyra Carusa plays internationally for the Republic of Ireland.