More bad news for Benfica! Champions League may be out of reach | OneFootball

Portugal is out of the race for UEFA’s second annual spot, a position that would have guaranteed an extra place in next season’s Champions League. The combination of European results has cemented Spain and Germany ahead, leaving the country with a chance of finishing, at best, in third place.

At this point, Portugal sits fourth in the annual ranking and, even with wins in all the remaining matches involving the teams still in contention, would not be able to overtake the two countries above. This scenario has a direct impact on Benfica.

Without that possibility, the side managed by José Mourinho now depends exclusively on its domestic league position to secure a place in the Champions League. If it remains in third place, the most likely destination will be the Europa League.

The UEFA annual ranking works as an additional bonus and does not change the traditional five-year ranking. In that metric, Portugal has already secured sixth place, ensuring two teams directly in the league phase and a third in the qualifiers — but only from the 2027/28 season onward.

After 28 rounds of Liga Portugal Betclic, the club from Luz is in third place with 66 points, behind Sporting, with 68 points and a game in hand, and Porto, who lead the table with 73 points. The next match is against Nacional - who will be without one player - this Sunday, the 12th.

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