In a dramatic night of European football, Kairat Almaty made history by edging past Scottish giants Celtic FC in a penalty shootout to book their place in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the very first time.

Following a tense 0-0 draw in the second leg of the playoff round — mirroring the result of the first leg in Glasgow — the tie was settled from the spot. The Kazakh club held their nerve, clinching a narrow 3-2 victory in the shootout.

The hero of the night was undoubtedly goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov, who delivered a moment of magic by saving the decisive penalty from Daizen Maeda, silencing the travelling Celtic support and sending the home fans into ecstasy.

This monumental result marks a watershed moment for Kairat. The Almaty-based club becomes only the second team from Kazakhstan to ever qualify for the Champions League group stage, following in the footsteps of Astana, who achieved the feat back in 2015.

2025-26 UEFA Champions League

Kairat - Celtic 0:0, shoot-out 3:2

Kairat: Anarbekov; Luis Mata (Baybek, 119); Martynovich; Arad; Glazer D. (Kasabulat, 64); Tapalov (Stanojev J., 117); Mrynskiy; Sorokin; Gromyko; Jorginho; Ricardinho V.
Bench: Kurgin; Shirobokov; Gadrani; Sadybekov

Celtic: Schmeichel; Scales; Carter-Vickers; Hatate (McCowan, 106); Ralston; Tierney (Murray D., 75); McGregor C.; Hyun-jun Yang (Idah, 70); Nygren; Maeda; Forrest (Engels, 70)
Bench: Sinisalo; Doohan; Simpson-Pusey; Bernardo P.; Yamada Shin; Kenny J.
Yellow Cards: Hatate 101