The defeat (2-0) of PSV Eindhoven on the Dortmund lawn on Wednesday, synonymous with elimination in the round of 16 of the Champions League, will allow French clubs to breathe a big “phew” of relief.
Thanks to this disappointment for the Dutch club, combined with the good performances of Paris, Lille and Marseille on the European scene, France is now assured of finishing the season in fifth place in the UEFA rankings.
Four French clubs will see the Champions League during the 2025-2026 financial year, as is already the case for next season.
With 64,997 points in the ranking, France is ahead of the Netherlands this year, which has 61,300 points.
However, the Dutch were on top at the start of the year.
But the good performances of Lille, Rennes, Toulouse, Lens, Marseille and PSG in the various European cups allowed the country to take the lead in the UEFA index.
If Ajax is still in the race in the Europa Conference League before facing Aston Villa this Thursday, the elimination of PSV has already confirmed the future of the Netherlands for the next two editions of the Champions League .
Even a final victory for the Amsterdam team in C4 would not be enough to overtake France in the rankings.
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On the French side, three clubs are still involved in the European Cup.
Olympique de Marseille travel to Villarreal this Thursday in the round of 16 of the Europa League after laying down the law at the Stade Vélodrome (4-0).
Same story for Paulo Fonseca's Losc, who host Sturm Graz in C4, after largely winning in Austria (0-3) in the first leg.
For its part, Paris Saint-Germain is now a quarter-finalist in the Champions League and will know its opponent this Friday.
The number of French clubs qualified for the European Cup for the next two seasons is thus increased to seven, with notably three places guaranteeing access to the group stage of the Big Ears Cup, in addition to one place giving opportunity for a team to compete in the preliminary rounds.
Finally, two Ligue 1 clubs will be able to move towards the Europa League, and another towards the Europa Conference League.