The UEFA coefficient is a bit like a goldmine for the various leagues. Clubs in each country must perform well to maintain their top rankings. France has struggled in Europe several times, but managed to climb to 5th place at the end of the 2023-2024 season, thus securing seven European qualification spots (four for the Champions League, including three direct qualification spots, two for the Europa League, and one for the Europa Conference League). The objective was to at least maintain this ranking at the end of the 2025-2026 season, or even catch up with Germany. This week’s results are rather negative.
UEFA coefficient by country (over the last 5 seasons, including the current one).
Source: UEFA official website.
Indeed, even with Monaco’s victory against Bodø/Glimt (1-0 in the Champions League) and Strasbourg’s win against Häcken (2-1 in the Europa League Conference), which allowed them to pick up some points, the overall record is clearly negative. There wasn’t even a single draw, only defeats: PSG against Bayern Munich (2-1 in the Champions League), Marseille against Atalanta (1-0 in the Champions League), Lille against Red Star Belgrade (1-0 in the Europa League), Nice against Freiburg (3-1 in the Europa League), and finally Lyon against Real Betis (2-0 in the Europa League).
Obviously, Germany took advantage of this to pull ahead slightly thanks to better results, but there is some good news: the Netherlands had an even worse week: 2 draws and 4 defeats. It was an opportunity to extend their lead, so we’ll still focus on the positives. And don’t forget to always be wary of Portugal and Belgium, who will be making a comeback in the coming years with the behind-the-scenes action of the seasons.
