The New Saints handed home Europa League tie

The one-legged tie will take place behind closed doors in Oswestry on August 27. Extra time and a penalty shootout will be used if required.

Should the Saints progress, the draw for the second qualifying round will take place on August 31 with a tie on September 17. There is a third qualifying round and play-off stage before the group stages, which boss Scott Ruscoe has said is the target.

Zilina finished as runners-up in the Slovak Super Liga last season.

They won one leg of a Champions League qualifying tie against FC Copenhagen in the 2017/18 campaign but lost on aggregate.

Zilina made it all the way to the Champions League group stages in 2010/11, where they faced Chelsea, Marseille and Spartak Moscow.

Pavol Stano's men have some pedigree in the Europa League, having progressed through three rounds to lose a play-off tie narrowly on aggregate 4-2 to Spanish side Athletic Bilbao in 2015/16. They last made the group stages in the 2008/09 season.

It is the first season since 2011/12 that the Saints have entered European competition in the Europa League.

They have entered the eight seasons since in Champions League qualification after winning the Cymru Premier.

But Ruscoe's men had to make do with runners-up spot last season, which was concluded early due to the coronavirus pandemic, with a points average placing TNS in second, behind new champions Connah's Quay.

That second place means it is Europa League action, and a date with Zilina, for the Park Hall outfit.

TNS have been back in training for more than a month and featured in some behind-closed-doors friendlies, most recently against Barry Town at the Cardiff International Sports Campus on Saturday.