Let the European season stop now and the photography of French clubs on the Old Continent will be historic.
After the first phase of the various competitions, the very good performance of the Ligue 1 teams every evening of the week allows France to appear… in first place in the UEFA index.
At this stage of the competition, the French, rightly mocked for their disappointing and even pathetic results so far on the European scene, are ahead of England and the Netherlands.
We can say it without betraying a great secret: French football, on the pitch, has never been so well.
18 victories in the first phase for French clubs
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Good results which require confirmation of course, with the ultimate goal of victory in the Champions League for Paris SG (Lille seems to start from further away), in the Europa League for Lyon or Monaco and in the Europa League Conference for Rennes and OM . With six more qualified, out of six teams on the starting line, even if the Marseille club has been transferred to C4, France achieves a 100% unprecedented. Hence the first place in the UEFA index. With 18 victories on the clock (Rennes can bring the total to 19 if they win against Tottenham in their postponed match) between the Champions League and the other two European Cups, PSG, Lille, AS Monaco, OL, OM and Rennes have largely done the job and allow French football to bring its total to 15.417 points. It's better than England (15,143) and the Netherlands (14,800) and Italy (14,667). Never seen.
The match with Portugal more relevant than ever
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In the fight for the famous fifth place in the UEFA index that Ligue 1 has with Portugal, our Lusitanian neighbors are for the moment behind this season with a total of 9.917 for the moment.
But the race is far from over, the places even less frozen. Let us remember that the ranking in the summer of 2023 will be used as the basis of calculation for the accession to the European competitions 2024-2025 with in particular three direct tickets for the new version of the Champions League.
Hence the XXL interest for French clubs to continue their good course this season and to go as far as possible in the European Cup.
The image, history and standing of French football are at stake. This finally seems to be understood by all.