Brighton were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw against Tromso in the first leg of their Conference League play-off, despite controlling much of the contest in northern Norway.
Playing almost 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the Seagulls created the better openings but could not find a way past Tromso goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard.
Georginio Rutter tested Haugaard with a low first-half effort, while Ibrahim Osman was also denied when the goalkeeper produced another strong diving save to keep out his volley.
Brighton spent long periods in possession and pushed Tromso back, but the hosts remained dangerous when given space to counter.
Their clearest opportunity came after the break when Heine Larsen broke through Brighton’s defensive line and found himself one-on-one with Bart Verbruggen. The Brighton goalkeeper reacted well, using his body to block the attempt.
Tromso threatened again late on. Isak Vadebu escaped the visitors’ high defensive line in the 85th minute but failed to take advantage, dragging his effort wide with only Verbruggen to beat.
Fabian Hurzeler handed Luka Vuskovic his first competitive start for Brighton following the defender’s club-record £46m summer move from Tottenham. The centre-back had relatively little defensive work for much of the evening, although he was booked in the second half after stopping a Tromso attack with a shirt pull near the halfway line.
Another summer arrival, Zadok Yohanna, was introduced from the bench during the closing stages.
Brighton travelled without Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh, with both players unavailable because of injury. Baleba has attracted interest from Manchester United this season, while Minteh has been linked with Liverpool.
The Seagulls are competing in Europe for only the second time in their history. Their previous continental campaign came in 2023-24, when they reached the Europa League last 16.
Brighton will now return to domestic action, hosting Aston Villa in their Premier League opener on Sunday at 14:00 BST.
Tromso, meanwhile, have no fixture before travelling to England for the second leg next Thursday, which is scheduled to begin at 19:30 GMT. With nothing separating the teams after the opening meeting, qualification will be decided on the south coast.