Champions League return for Bodø/Glimt joined by debuts for Sabah and LASK after playoffs wins

GENEVA (AP) — The Champions League's feel-good story Bodø/Glimt is back for a second season joined by two debutants, Sabah of Azerbaijan just nine years after being formed and — remarkably — LASK of Austria.

Bodø/Glimt eased through the second leg of its qualifying playoff Tuesday against NEC Nijmegen and Sabah denied Hapoel Beer-Sheva in extra time after a last-gasp goal in regulation time to level the aggregate score.

LASK seemed all-but out after a half-hour Tuesday, trailing 4-0 on aggregate to Celtic who had taken a three-goal win from the first leg last week in Glasgow.

Still, LASK had already rained scoring chances on Celtic's goal even before falling further behind and somehow only retrieved three goals of the deficit when the clock passed 90 minutes.

Then Florian Flecker's close-range header forced extra time, during which the Scottish champion continued to implode.

A fifth unanswered goal for LASK came in the 109th by Samuel Adeniran, who then had a penalty saved as the score stayed 5-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate. Celtic drops into the second-tier Europa League.

Four more playoff second-leg games Wednesday will confirm the final entries in the 36-team main phase. The draw for those games is made Thursday in Monaco.

Bodø/Glimt's storied series of wins in January and February against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan make the Norwegian fishing town team seem like a Champions League veteran compared to Sabah.

On Tuesday, Dutch newcomer NEC lost 3-0 as the latest visitor to the Arctic Circle suffering on the artificial turf inside Glimt's tiny Aspmyra Stadium. The aggregate score was 6-1.

Any hope of a comeback effectively ended after three minutes when NEC goalkeeper Gonzalo Crettaz handled the ball outside his penalty area and was sent off.

Sabah was created in 2017 and exactly nine years later will debut in the Champions League's main competition after a dramatic qualifying playoffs win.

Sabah was just seconds from elimination against the Israeli champion, which won the first leg 2-1 last week, when substitute Tellur Mutallimov scored in the last minute of stoppage time to force extra time.

Sabah's Gabon striker Orphe Mbina then scored with a header in the 101st minute and Joy-Lance Mickels added on in the 115th to make it 5-2 in the second leg and 6-4 on aggregate score.

Hapoel Beer-Sheva finished with nine players in a hard-luck loss after having led 4-2 on aggregate in the 61st when Israel national team right-back Guy Mizrahi scored with a shot from outside the penalty area.

Defender Djibril Diop and midfielder Eliel Peretz both were shown second yellow cards in extra time.

No Israeli team has played in the main Champions League since November 2022, when Maccabi Haifa finished last in a group with Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

Sabah will join Italy's Como as Champions League newcomers in the 36-team main phase draw Thursday.

UEFA will make the draw in Monaco to give each team eight opponents playing from Sept. 8 through Jan. 27.

Real Betis goes into that Champions League draw for the first time in 21 years with two straight 1-0 wins to start the La Liga season.

A slick counter attack finished by Pablo García with a smart one-time finish in the 83rd minute settled the result at Valencia.

Valencia had drawn 0-0 at home to Celta Vigo over the weekend and still seeks a goal at the Mestalla stadium in what should be a final season at the historic venue.

The 11 Premier League teams not involved in UEFA competitions this season started in the English League Cup second round that began Tuesday.

Leeds won at Nottingham Forest for the second time in four days, adding a 2-0 win Tuesday to the 1-0 victory in their opening league game Saturday.

Four years ago, Ipswich beating Leicester 3-1 would have been an upset by a third-tier team hosting one from the Premier League. Their status is now reversed after back-to-back relegations for Leicester, the historic champion of England in 2016.

Ipswich's Chile midfielder Marcelino Núñez scored twice late in the second half to seal the win.

Brentford cruised to a 6-1 victory at second-tier Birmingham, backing up its impressive 3-0 win over Tottenham in its Premier League opener.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

Ipswich Town's Marcelino Nunez, right, celebrates scoring during the League Cup second round soccer match between Ipswich Town and Leicester City in Ipswich, England, Tuesday Aug. 25, 2026. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

N.E.C. Nijmegen's Freek Entius, center, is challenged by Bodø/Glimt's Andreas Helmersen and Sondre Auklend, left, during the Champions League qualifying soccer match between Bodø/Glimt and NEC Nijmegen in Bodo, norway, Tuesday Aug. 25, 2026. (Mats Torbergsen/NTB via AP)

A wildfire that exploded in size in a matter of hours ripped through wide swaths of ranchland in rural Texas, burning structures at a youth camp while forcing evacuations and closing schools Tuesday.

The fire, which began early Monday afternoon, charred more than 78 square miles (200 square kilometers) in less than a day across lightly populated areas in two counties in north central Texas. Fueled by whipping winds along with extremely hot and dry conditions, the Ross Fire jumped creeks and rivers, residents said.

“It just took off way too fast,” said Katie Rochelle, whose fifth-generation family canoe rental business lost its office and repair shop outside Graford. “The wind was going in a tornado motion.”

Her husband, a local firefighter, helped save their home overnight, but she was worried it could go up in flames anytime.

“I don't know how our house survived,” she said. “Now we're waiting and praying. Praying it doesn't get our house. That's all we can do.”

It wasn't immediately known how many structures have burned. Multiple buildings were destroyed at Worth Ranch, a youth camp on the southern edge of the fire, when flames swept through Tuesday. No campers or guests were on the property and all personnel were safely evacuated, according to Scouting America's Longhorn Council, which owns the camp.

Dangerous fire conditions allowed the blaze to shoot up faster than anyone could have imagined, officials with Palo Pinto County’s emergency services district reported. “We’ve thrown everything at this, and we’re still having minimal effect,” Fire Chief Danny Watkins said.

Wildfires have been popping up across the South and the West in recent days as extremely dry conditions persist. A dozen new large fires were reported on Sunday alone, the National Interagency Fire Center said.

Nationwide, there have been more than 50,000 wildfires so far this year, the most over the past 10 years covering the same time period, according to the center.

The National Weather Service warned of a high risk of fast-moving fires in Southern California north of Los Angeles, and a red flag warning was issued through Friday.

Firefighters in Nevada were making progress in slowing a fire that forced thousands to evacuate from Reno over the weekend after flames spread dangerously close to densely populated neighborhoods.

The Hawk Fire has destroyed at least 47 homes across about 23 square miles (60 square kilometers). Authorities in Nevada said on Tuesday that the fire was 27% contained.

The number of people in the Reno area under mandatory evacuation orders dropped significantly to about 5,000. The fire near the California state line began Saturday and rapidly grew in size on Sunday. At least seven people — three first responders and four civilians — were injured.

Fire officials in Reno have blamed human activity for the Hawk Fire, saying it was either intentionally set or accidental. Critical fire weather with hot temperatures and low humidity was expected through the weekend.

In Texas, the Ross Fire was only slightly contained as it churned through ranchland about 60 miles (about 100 kilometers) west of Fort Worth. At least five structures were destroyed, according to officials in Palo Pinto County.

Emergency officials expected the fire to keep growing as temperatures rise.

Rochelle, whose great-grandparents started the canoe rental business in 1969, said the fire also burned a family home built on the property about 100 years ago. Some of the company’s buses and trailers also were destroyed, but the canoes appeared OK for now.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do now,” said her father, Buddy Rochelle.

Authorities opened evacuation centers, some schools canceled classes and ranchers and a livestock commission offered barns to temporarily hold animals in need of evacuation.

This image taken from video shows active wildfires Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Reno, Nevada. (Tim Walton via AP)

This image taken from video shows plumes of smoke rising from active wildfires Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Reno, Nevada. (Tim Walton via AP)

This image taken from video shows active wildfires Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Reno, Nevada. (Tim Walton via AP)

This photo shows Crystal Hallock's property on Aug. 23, 2026, in northwest Reno, Nevada, after the Hawk Fire destroyed her home. (Brenda Means via AP)

This image taken from video shows a charred neighborhood following wildfires Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Reno, Nevada. (Tim Walton via AP)