The 2025-2026 season is over for French clubs. A few weeks after the end of the Ligue 1 championship, Paris Saint-Germain concluded by winning the Champions League for the second consecutive year. A performance which brought France points in the UEFA rankings. On the other hand, next season promises to be more tense so that she can maintain the gap with her pursuers.
The gap is precisely what will matter from the start of the 2025-2026 financial year as far as France is concerned. For now, the latter is still relying on the good 2021-2022 season of the clubs which represented it in the various European cups. But the five regulatory years are coming to an end and this will have a strong impact on France’s lead over Portugal.
For now, it is 83,498 against 73,166 in favor of French clubs. By the time the new season begins, it will plummet to around a 5.5 point margin. Almost half as much. Suffice it to say that French clubs will have to work hard to achieve a successful European campaign in the coming year.
France-Portugal, battle announced on the UEFA index
Because for their part, their Portuguese counterparts are gaining ground on the UEFA index. In addition to PSG, France was also able to count on the Conference League final reached (but lost) by Strasbourg. Lyon, Lille and Monaco were less convincing.
What is certain is that this fifth place is important to maintain if Ligue 1 wants to continue to send four of its own to the Champions League (three direct places and one for the preliminary rounds), and seven in total in the various European cups. As a reminder, the sixth in the UEFA index ranking only obtains six tickets, including three for the C1 (with only two direct places).
