Official: Spain beat Germany for extra Champions League spot | OneFootball

SC Freiburg will be Bundesliga’s sole representative in the three European finals after beating Braga 4-3 on aggregate in the Europa League semi-final tie. However, Rayo Vallecano’s triumph over Strasbourg in the Conference League tie ended the race for an extra Champions League berth.

Since changing the formats of its competitions last season, UEFA allow two extra Champions League spots for the top two associations based on accumulated results. England have already taken the top spot, and Spain have now joined them after Rayo Vallecano winning both semi-final legs 1-0 against Strasbourg.

The Ligue 1 side missed an injury-time penalty-kick, which would have taken the race to the two finals. As a result, Germany will now have four Champions League spots (unless SC Freiburg win the Europa League) as four teams are in contention for two places to join champions FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen are leading the race, while Stuttgart and Hoffenheim are both level on points with the latter. All four teams are already secured to at least qualify for the Europa League.

There is a possibility of a fifth Bundesliga team participating in next season’s Champions League if Freiburg beat Aston Villa in the Istanbul final of the Europa League. Based on their league position, Julian Schuster’s men are currently in the Conference League spot with a single point advantage over the 2022 Europa League winners, Eintracht Frankfurt.

All the three European finals will have English clubs this season. The Europa League showdown will take place first on May 20th. Leipzig will host the Conference League final between Rayo Vallecano and Crystal Palace before holders PSG face Arsenal for the Champions League crown on May 30th.