2023-08-30 00:35:40
This Tuesday night, SC Braga beat the Greeks Panathinaikos by 0-1 and stamped their presence in the regular phase of the Champions League, where they will be company with compatriots from FC Porto and Benfica, a great achievement for Portuguese football , who has made it a habit, although it will end.
This will be the eighth time in history that Portugal will have three teams representing the country in the Champions League according to the current format, the first having already been in 2006/07. Since then, another seven occasions have followed and it has been an increasingly recurring record.
Moreover, this will already be the 3rd consecutive season that Portugal will have three teams in the regular phase of the Champions League, after Benfica, FC Porto and Sporting have achieved this feat in 2021/22 and 2022/23. This «hat-trick» had never been achieved by our country, until now.
However, the only bad thing is that Portugal will certainly not be able to continue this record, since, as is known, it lost a place in the next edition of the Champions League, after being overtaken in the ranking by the Netherlands . Next season, where the Champions League will have a new format, only the national champion will have a guaranteed place in the competition, while the 2nd place will have to go through qualification, starting in the 3rd qualifying round.
It only remains to mention that in the last 31 editions of the Champions League, only once did Portugal not have an absolute presence in the stage and groups of the competition. It was in 2002/03, when the national runner-up Boavista and national champion Sporting were eliminated in the 3rd qualifying round.
The draw for the group stage of the 23/24 Champions League will take place next Thursday, August 31, at 5 pm in Mainland Portugal, in Monaco. The three Portuguese teams in the competition already know your pots.
3 teams ???????? in Champions:
2006/07
2007/08
2012/13
2014/15
2016/17
2017/18
2021/22
2022/23
2023/24 pic.twitter.com/3twCW0XjDv— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) August 29, 2023
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