UEFA coefficient: Portugal caught up with France this week | OneFootball

The UEFA coefficient is a bit of a golden goose for the various leagues. Each country has clubs that must produce the best possible runs in order to stay among the top spots. France has often struggled in Europe, but managed to climb to 5th place by the end of the 2023-2024 season, earning the right to 7 European qualifiers (4 for the Champions League, including 3 direct entries, 2 for the Europa League and 1 for the Europa Conference League). The goal is at least to keep that ranking, and even strengthen it, by the end of the 2026-2027 season. Or even move closer to 4th place, currently held by Germany. This week’s result is negative.

The top 10 in the UEFA country coefficient rankings (over the last 5 seasons, including the current one).

Source: Official UEFA website.

With the start of the Europa League, French football did not particularly stand out: Olympique Lyonnais won 1-2 against Anderlecht, Rennes drew 0-0 away to Sturm Graz, while Olympique de Marseille were swept aside 4-1 by Besiktas.

Portugal managed to take advantage of those 3 away matches to close the gap thanks to two wins in as many games: Benfica secured a 0-2 victory against AC Milan, while Torreense, a second-division club qualified through their Portuguese Cup win, won 1-2 away at Lillestrom. There can be no excuses for the French clubs, who will have to do better if they are not to lose a Champions League spot.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.