2023-04-21 09:26:17
The pathetic elimination of OGC Nice (2-2, 1-2 after extra time) on Thursday evening against FC Basel, 6th in the Swiss championship, would be anecdotal if it did not risk penalizing the elite of French clubs in their entirety, with a view to next season.
In the UEFA index, which determines the number of representatives of each country in the various European competitions, the poor performance of Didier Digard’s team could have consequences far beyond the Promenade des Anglais.
According to said index, France remains in 5th place, with 61.164 points, but of course without hope of improving its score, for lack of a still qualified representative. In 6th place, the Netherlands, 59.900 points, are only 1.264 points behind France, thanks to the qualification of AZ Alkmaar in the C4 semi-finals, after their success over Anderlecht (0-2 , 2-0, 4-1 on penalties), Thursday evening.
The situation is now as follows: for France to remain in 5th place, oh so precious, it is essential that Alkmaar does not win the competition, but above all that he does not win the three matches separating him from the trophy. A success worth two points (divided by the number of qualified clubs in the country), a single draw, and a qualification earning a bonus point, the Netherlands will blow 5th place to France, if Alkmaar goes to the end, everything by winning their last three matches – the home and away semi-final, then the final. The good news lies in the elimination of the other Dutch representative still in contention Thursday evening, Feyenoord Rotterdam, eliminated by AS Roma in the quarter-finals of C3.
All behind West Ham
If this 5th place is so important, it is because the country ranked 5th will place four clubs in the Champions League (C1) new formula 2024-2025: three directly in the initial phase, plus an additional one in the preliminary round. Incidentally, the 5th rank would also offer the 5th in L1 and the winner of the Coupe de France direct access to the group stage of the Europa League (C3) and the 6th in the classification to play in a play-off in the Europa League Conference ( C4), making a total of seven European clubs.
If France ends up in 6th place, our championship will place only three qualified in C1, two plus one, as at present, and only the winner of the Coupe de France will be qualified for C3. The 4th and 5th in L1 will have to go through three preliminary rounds to climb into the group stages of C3 and C4. That is only six European clubs.
In the semi-finals, on May 11 and 18, Alkmaar, currently 4th in the Dutch championship, will face English club West Ham, 15th in the Premier League, but with the advantage for the Dutch of hosting the return match. This is why, after the elimination of Nice, the French clubs are reduced to wishing for a walk of the English.
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