It’s an image that risks haunting Canebière and French football accountants for a long time. Eliminated from the Champions League at the last minute on a fatal goal from the Benfica goalkeeper, Olympique de Marseille symbolizes better than anyone the difficulties of French clubs this season. This rout is a double punishment: a financial disaster for the Marseille club and a hard blow for the UEFA index, depriving France of precious bonus points. Fortunately, the picture is not completely black in C1, even if it is far from being flamboyant. PSG, without shining, validated its ticket for the play-offs thanks to a draw (1-1) against Newcastle at the Parc. Same observation for AS Monaco, which saved the essential with a draw (0-0) against Juventus. The two clubs will see February, but will have to go through the play-off box, without the serenity of direct qualifiers.
In this slump, there is an exception, a locomotive which allows France to stay alive: Olympique Lyonnais. Best French student this season, the Rhone club finished at the top of the league phase of the Europa League. With an ultra-rejuvenated team, Les Gones dominated PAOK Salonika (4-2), offering themselves the luxury of avoiding the play-offs and the assurance of receiving the return in the round of 16. LOSC, for its part, went through a mouse hole. Manhandled, the Mastiffs snatched their place in the play-offs against Friborg thanks to a victory (1-0) and a penalty transformed by the stainless Olivier Giroud in the final seconds. A miracle that OGC Nice did not experience. Already eliminated, the Aiglons concluded their pitiful European journey with a new defeat in Bulgaria against Ludogorets (1-0), with a reshuffled team which had nothing more to hope for.
Portugal, the new threat that frightens
As is often the case at this time of year, you have to take out the calculator and look in the rearview mirror. If the Netherlands, authors of a catastrophic campaign, with only one surviving club, are no longer an immediate threat, the danger now comes from the south. Portugal is having an exceptional 2025-26 season (2nd European nation this year!), driven by the qualifications of Sporting CP, Braga and Benfica – the executioner of OM. And the numbers are clearly alarming. Portugal, which is currently 9.661 points behind France, is coming back strong. If we project ourselves by removing the 2021-22 season (which will soon be erased from the calculation over five years), the virtual gap is drastically reduced to 4,161 points.
If this Lusitanian rise does not change anything for the places allocated in 2026-27 (already acquired), it could call into question the status of France for the 2027-28 season. With an untouchable England crushing the competition (nearly 21 points this season!), France can no longer dream of the Top 4. It must now fight not to see its 7 European qualifiers (including 4 in the Champions League) called into question in the medium term.
Ranking of nations according to the UEFA coefficient for the 2025/26 season (in parentheses, the number of clubs remaining in competition and the number of clubs qualified this season for European competitions) as of 01/30/2026:
-1. England 20,958 points (9/9)
-2. Portugal 16,600 points (4/5)
-3. Germany 16,214 points (6/7)
-4. Spain 15,531 points (6/8)
-5. Italy 15,500 points (6/7)
-6. France 13,750 points (5/7)
-7. Poland 13.625 points (3/4)
-8. Greece 12,100 points (4/5)
-9. Cyprus 11,906 points (2/4)
-10. Denmark 11,750 points (1/4)
…
-13. Netherlands 8.645 points (1/6)
Ranking of nations by UEFA coefficient over the last five seasons (between 2021 and 2026):
-1. England 111,797 points
-2. Italy 96,446 points
-3. Spain 90,484 points
-4. Germany 87.331 points
-5. France 78,927 points
-6. Portugal 69,266 points
-7. Netherlands 66,595 points
-8. Belgium 60,850 points
-9. Türkiye 49.075 points
-10. Czech Rep. 47,225 points
