Warning! Sporting’s defeat by Arsenal puts extra Champions spot at risk | OneFootball

Portugal’s fight for an extra spot in the 2026/27 Champions League suffered a major setback after Sporting’s defeat to Arsenal (1-0) at Alvalade, a result that further cemented the Premier League’s position at the top of UEFA’s annual ranking.

Sporting’s ‘slip-up’ allowed England to guarantee that it will have at least five teams in the next edition of Europe’s richest competition, by reaching 25.013 points and securing a place among the top two countries of the season. Spain remain in second place, but Germany are closing in dangerously, at a time when Bayern Munich’s win at the Santiago Bernabéu has reignited the battle.

Portugal, meanwhile, remain on 18.900 points and are still in the race, but with increasingly slim chances of claiming one of the two places that grant an extra spot. The gap to Italy is narrow and worrying, with the Italians on 18.714 points and still with two teams in European competition, a factor that could prove decisive in the final reckoning.

In the same vein, the outlook is becoming more complicated for Portuguese football, which, for now, keeps its usual qualification format: the champions go straight into the league phase and the runners-up are forced to play in the third qualifying round. With fewer representatives still in the running and direct rivals still active, the hope of a third team in the Champions League is looking increasingly distant.

Portugal’s hopes now rest on what Braga and Porto can do in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals. Carlos Vicens’ side will face Real Betis this Wednesday at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, while the Dragons will take on Nottingham Forest on Thursday at the Estádio do Dragão.

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