OGC Nice-Maccabi Tel-Aviv: qualify to help French football and its UEFA index

With two points in three games in Ligue 1, and a defeat at Maccabi Tel-Aviv last week (0-1), OGC Nice has been looking gray since the start of the season.

The returning Lucien Favre would need a qualification against the Israelis this Thursday evening at home, in the return play-off of the Europa League Conference (C4), to break the negative spiral.

French football will in any case watch this meeting very closely.

For the health of the Aiglons perhaps, but above all for that of its UEFA index.

The issue turns out to be major.

The defeat of AS Monaco against PSV Eindhoven in the preliminary round of the Champions League weakened the historic fifth place of France, behind England (106.641), Spain (96.141), Italy (76.902) and Germany (75,213).

Staying 5th in this ranking, based on the last five seasons and available here, guarantees from 2024-2025 direct access to the C1 for three clubs, plus another who will go through the preliminary round and the play-offs.

Problem, the Portuguese (6th) and especially the Dutch (7th), accentuate their threat.

The Oranges achieved an exceptional vintage last season, even more than that of the French.

They also benefit from the elimination of their very poor performances in 2017-2018.

The elimination of PSV in the play-off on Wednesday night against Glasgow Rangers offers some breathing space but the pressure will be high all season.

Especially since Portugal will have three clubs in the Champions League at the same time since the day before, Benfica Lisbon joined FC Porto and Sporting.

Same pattern as currently in the event of sixth place

A qualification from OGC Nice would therefore give one more chance to score points.

Winning and passing the rounds in C1 has no equivalent, but the more French clubs will achieve a nice run in the other two tables, the better the French UEFA index will be.

Victories and qualifications in C1 unlock more points than in C3 or C4.

As a reminder, PSG and OM will compete in the premier competition, Monaco, Rennes and Nantes in the Europa League.

A qualification of the Azureans would allow France to have at least one more club than its rivals on the European scene.

In the new version of UEFA competition, the sixth nation in the standings will only have two direct qualifiers for the C1, the current scheme.

The seventh will only deliver one direct access.

If things go wrong, there will still be a solution.

But not sure that it will delight many people as it promises to be perilous.

To obtain an additional ticket in C1 from 2024-2025, it will be necessary either to finish among the two best nations in the UEFA index of the previous season, or to win the C3.