This is the second part of this two-part series, taking a look back at the most unexpected upsets in cup play across Europe this past term. You can read Part 1 here!
Atletico Baleares 1-0 Espanyol - Copa del Rey second round
The Copa del Rey kicks off the second part of our 'cupsets' rundown. Spain's domestic cup competition always has an unexpected elimination in the early rounds.
This term, there were several stunning results. Real Madrid's loss to Albacete and Ourense CF topping Real Oviedo were quite big. However, if we are going by tier, Segunda Division RFEF side Atletico Baleares' 1-0 defeat of Espanyol has to be considered the best of the bunch.
For perspective, Baleares have only played four seasons in the Segunda Division (fourth tier), which came in the 1950s and 60s. Since 1963/64, they have jumped around between the third and fifth leagues in Spain. Based in Mallorca, the island club have gone as far as the last-16 thrice in their history.
As one would expect, Espanyol dominated proceedings and looked more dangerous. At the time, Periquitos were sixth in LaLiga. They were on a good run and had reason to be confident.
But, Baleares struck in the second half, with Jaume Tovar putting the lower-tier side ahead. Still, with 36 minutes to go, surely Espanyol could still salvage this. However, they ran out of luck. For all of their possession and chances, they could not find the back of the net.
For the second year in a row, Espanyol fell in the second round of the Copa del Rey. They would also drop off in the league as well, finishing 11th.
As for Baleares, they survived one more round before losing out to Atletico Madrid. In the league, they finished second in their group, only missing out on top spot on head-to-head. They reached the final round of the promotion playoffs before falling to Jaen. It still has to be seen as a special year for the club, given the performances they had in both the league and cup.
Kahta 02 Spor 3-1 Kasimpasa - Turkish Cup third round
Next, we head to Turkey, where the early rounds before the league phase caused some chaos.
Three teams from the top division did not enter the group stage, but Kasimpasa had the biggest shock of the lot. While they are not one of the top clubs in Turkish football, they have stayed in the top flight for over a decade.
As such, when they were drawn to face fifth-division club Kahta 02 Spor, few thought they would have any trouble. After all, this was a team playing at the amateur level.
Things started off on the right foot for Kasimpasa, who took the lead 10 minutes in through Bahtiyar Ozden. What then transpired was beyond unexpected for those in attendance.
Yusuf Firat responded for Kahta 10 minutes later, which was already surprising. Then, just before the half, the hosts took the lead. Ahmet Tuna Akli put them in the driver's seat as half-time neared.
The pressure was starting to show on Apaciler, who spent the whole second half trying to find an equaliser. They went all out, adding immense pressure on their opponents, who held firm. The upset was completed in stoppage time, when Berkay Ceylan added a third to initiate wild celebrations.
As has been the theme for much of this season, Kahta failed to win another match in the Turkish Cup. They did give a good account of themselves in a 2-1 reverse to second-tier Boluspor. Things did not go as smoothly domestically, as they were involved in a playoff to remain in the fifth division. Fortunately for them, they did win the game, avoiding the drop.
Dunfermline 0-0 Falkirk (4-2 on penalties) - Scottish Cup semi-finals
Scottish football had one of the fairytale stories of the 2025/26 season, as Heart of Midlothian were one game away from ending the Old Firm's four-decade-old stranglehold at the top. While they narrowly missed out to Celtic, it certainly captured the imagination of many.
Something that should not be overlooked was Dunfermline's run in the Scottish Cup, where they defeated three Premiership sides en route to the final. The last of the three they beat were Falkirk in the semi-finals.
Two-time winners of the cup, Dunfermline had last prevailed back in 1967/68, almost 60 years ago. Having been promoted from League One the previous term, The Pars could have been happy with a comfortable campaign in the second division.
Instead, they went on a cup run. First, they toppled Hibernian in the round of 32. Then, they knocked off last year's winners, Aberdeen, in a comprehensive 3-0 success in the quarter-finals. In terms of prestige, that was their biggest victory in the cup.
Yet, few could have seen them knocking off a Falkirk team who also enjoyed promotion in the offseason. They also had a decent run in the tournament, having knocked out Hearts in a penalty shootout earlier on.
The interesting thing in this match was that, despite all of Falkirk's possession, they only managed two shots on target in the 120 minutes, one more than Dunfermline.
It ultimately went to penalties, where Falkirk's first two takers failed to score. That proved costly, as The Pars scored all four of their spot kicks to advance 4-2 in the shootout and complete another scalp.
In what was their first final in 19 years, Dunfermline ended up on the wrong side of the result, with Celtic completing the domestic double with a 3-1 win.
Both Dunfermline and Falkirk can be satisfied with how this season went. The former nearly saw a return to the top flight, only losing in the promotion/relegation playoffs. Regarding the latter, they made the championship playoffs in the Premiership, though their last-place finish meant they are the only one of the six not to play in Europe next term.
Avranches 1-1 Brest (4-2 on penalties) - Coupe de France round of 64
Next is the Coupe de France, where Stade Brestois were on the wrong side of an early elimination.
Les Pirates, who recently played in the UEFA Champions League, made the trip to National 2 club Avranches with the expectation of comfortably advancing. How wrong they ended up being.
US Avranches, plying their trade in the fourth division, had never won a major trophy in the club's history. Despite being founded some 127 years ago, they have spent much of their existence in the lower tiers of French football.
Things looked to be going the home side's way when Brest went down a man after 21 minutes, as centre-back Julien Le Cardinal saw a straight red card.
This certainly levelled the playing field in the semi-pro teams' favour. It only took a matter of moments for them to capitalise when Nassim Sabihi netted the opener. Now down a goal and a man, Brest had their backs firmly against the wall.
They did not panic, though, and found their goal 10 minutes later through Remy Labeau Lascary. While the task was still difficult, many could fathom them turning things around.
While Brest created more chances in the second half, they could not find their way past Avranches, forcing a shootout. It was there that Romain Del Castillo's attempt did not go in. That was the only failure across the five rounds of penalties, as Sabihi converted the last kick to send his team through.
It was quite the moment for Avranches, who had gone as far as the quarter-finals back in 2016/17. They did not repeat that feat on this occasion, suffering a heavy 6-0 reverse to Strasbourg in the next round. With a mid-table finish in National 2, they can say it was overall a good season. Of course, fans will not forget the stunner they pulled off at Brest's expense in December.
Tromsdalen 6-1 Sandefjord - NM Cup third round
Of all the cupsets mentioned this season, this one has to be considered as one of the most bizarre ones. While all of the other results were closely contested, that was not the case in the Norwegian Cup, where third-tier club Tromsdalen handed Sandefjord a 6-1 beating.
Perhaps the other thing that makes this so interesting is that Tromsdalen have never played in the top flight in their 88-year history. They have spent much of the 21st century bouncing between the second and third divisions, having played in the latter since 2018.
Sandefjord, meanwhile, have been in the top flight since 2020, finishing in fifth spot in 2025. Last September's clash should have seen them get through fairly easily. Instead, due to their frustrations with their scheduling - they had requested to remove their next match days later, which was rejected - Guttane chose to field a weakened side. That proved to backfire.
Despite still being considered the underdogs, Tromsdalen made the most of their chance. Adrian Petersen and Elias Aarflot scored in the first half to put them up 2-0.
Sandefjord changed nothing at half-time, despite the score. Andreas Tegstrom's men got themselves on the board through Bendik Berntsen, but it all went downhill from there.
Pedersen and Aarflot doubled their goalscoring tallies for the day, before Lasse Nilsen and Adrian Sandbukt also scored to complete the impressive result, despite the circumstances.
Tromsdalen played only one more game in the NM Cup, losing 3-2 to Brann in the next round. Overall, they did quite well in the third tier, finishing in fourth place in their group. It was not enough for promotion, but they could still be satisfied with how the year went.
Honourable mentions
We end with two honourable mentions. The first comes from the Polish Cup, where Ekstraklasa club Korona Kielce were stunned by Chojniczanka Chojnice on penalties.
Plying their trade in the third tier, Chojniczanka enjoyed a memorable cup run. They only faced one top-tier club in Korona, who led via Tamar Svetlin midway through the second half. At the death, the hosts equalised thanks to Dmytro Yukhymovych, forcing extra time, and eventually penalties.
They kept their composure against 10 men, eventually winning the shootout 4-3 to advance. Their run ended in the quarter-finals as they lost to a fourth division team on penalties, but their shock success over Korona was easily the highlight of their campaign.
The other shoutout goes to Sanatatea Cluj in Romania. Playing in the third division, the club from Cluj-Napoca stunned Unirea Slobozia on penalties to reach the league phase.
Having taken the lead less than 10 minutes in, Sanatatea - who have reached the round of 16 twice in their existence - managed to keep Slobozia out for almost an hour before the Liga I team eventually found their goal.
The match ultimately went the distance, with Virusii Verzi prevailing 6-5 in the shootout. They qualified for the league phase, where they lost all three games in their group. One of their losses came to the eventual winners, CS Universitatea Craiova.
This was the second part of this two-part series, taking a look back at the most unexpected upsets in cup play across Europe this past term. You can read Part 1 here!