The UEFA coefficient is, in a sense, the “golden goose” for the various national leagues. Clubs from each country must perform as well as possible in European competitions to ensure their league maintains a high ranking. France has faced difficulties in Europe on several occasions, but managed to climb to 5th place by the end of the 2023-2024 season—securing seven spots in European competitions (four for the Champions League, including three direct entries; two for the Europa League; and one for the Europa Conference League). The goal is to at least maintain this position—or even strengthen it—by the end of the 2026-2027 season, and perhaps even close the gap on Germany, who currently hold 4th place. This week’s results have been quite positive.
The top 10 in the UEFA national coefficient rankings (based on the last five seasons, including the current one).
Source: Official UEFA website.
Indeed, French football can look back on this week with a sense of satisfaction. Things got off to a poor start on Tuesday, with defeats for Lens (0–2 against Sporting CP) and Lille (3–0 against Arsenal) in the Champions League. However—while the latter result was perhaps to be expected—the situation was effectively salvaged. PSG secured a 4–2 victory away to Manchester City, while Lyon (3–2 against Crystal Palace in the Europa League), Rennes (2–1 against OFI Crete in the Europa League), and AS Monaco (2–1 against CSKA Sofia in the Europa Conference League) all claimed wins. The only other disappointment was Olympique de Marseille, who suffered a 0–1 defeat to Olympiakos in the Europa League.
Overall, there were more victories than defeats—a stark contrast to Portugal, whose performance this week was significantly worse. There was only one victory—Benfica’s 4–1 win over Celtic in the Europa League—against three defeats: Porto’s loss to Real Betis (3–2, Champions League), Torreense’s defeat to Sunderland (1–2, Europa League), and Braga’s loss in Copenhagen (3–0, Europa Conference League). One might argue that French clubs could have extended the gap, but it is better to focus on the positives. As for catching up with Germany, that remains a very distant goal.
