The 5th day of the Champions League was not beneficial for France in the UEFA index. The Netherlands got back in front and they fell back to sixth place.
The weeks follow each other and are not necessarily the same for French clubs involved in the various European Cups. The fifth day of the Champions League group stage which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday was not favorable to the French teams. Between the slap received by RC Lens against Arsenal (6-0) and the draw snatched at the last minute by PSG against Newcastle (1-1), the results were not great. Conversely, and even if the results are not transcendent, the Dutch clubs have fared better. Because if Feyenoord lost at home against Atlético de Madrid (1-3), PSV Eindhoven scored a stunning victory at Sevilla FC (2-3). What to enjoy in the Netherlands in general.
This success for PSV therefore allows the Netherlands to move back ahead of France in the UEFA index ranking. The latter are now 0.769 points ahead. A tiny advantage, but oh so important since the fifth place that they stole from France allows them to have three clubs directly qualified for the next edition of the Champions League, with a fourth club having to go through the play-offs. There is of course plenty of time for everything to evolve in favor of the French clubs, but they would be well advised to go fishing for good results very quickly.
OM-Ajax, the direct shock
And this from Thursday evening, on the occasion of a new session of group matches in the Europa League and Europa Conference League. Opposed to Maccabi Haifa (6:45 p.m.), Stade Rennais can for example hope to win, or at least report a draw. For its part, Olympique de Marseille is expected at home against Ajax Amsterdam (9 p.m.). As for Toulouse, they will have to perform well at home against Union Saint-Gilloise (9 p.m.). The last club entered in the European Cup, Lille will challenge Ljubljana in the Europa Conference League (6:45 p.m.). A victory is possible and would again be good for France’s index.
But we will also have to keep an eye on the results of the Dutch teams. In C4, AZ Alkmaar will welcome Zrinjski, current second in the Bosnia-Herzegovina championship. And in the Europa League, as already mentioned, there will be this direct OM-Ajax clash. So many confrontations and highly anticipated results.
The ranking of nations according to the UEFA coefficient:
-1. England 93.178 points
-2. Spain 79,614 points
-3. Italy 75,855 points
-4. Germany 73,624 points
-5. Netherlands 57,100 points
-6. France 56,331 points
-7. Portugal 49,816 points
