UEFA Index: the paradoxical week of French clubs

6 months ago 28

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A real Black Thursday. Yesterday during the round of 16 of the Europa League, France lost 3 of its 4 representatives. After the first legs, the worst was unfortunately to be feared. The Talent League has made us too accustomed to this in recent years. The defeats of Rennes in Milan (3-0) and Toulouse in Lisbon against Benfica (2-1), in addition to Lens’ draw at home against Friborg (0-0) did not bode well. The first two sold their skin dearly, without preventing elimination. As for the Sang et Or, they held their qualification before collapsing.

Only OM managed to obtain their ticket for the next round, despite the complicated context surrounding the club at the moment. This victory is good for the Marseille leaders, and for the UEFA index of French clubs. This is even the great paradox of this new terrible week in terms of results. The gap with the Netherlands has widened. This is the main thing since to have 4 teams in C1 (3+1) and 7 Europeans in total during the 2025/2026 season, Ligue 1 must be ahead of the Eredivisie at the end of this exercise.

The gap widens with the Netherlands

That’s probably the way. The gap was 2,264 points after the group stage in mid-December. After these C3 and C4 play-offs, in addition to the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League, 2,731 units separate our two countries. On the other hand, as required by the regulations, the points acquired by the end of the season on the European scene will be divided by 6, i.e. the number of our representatives at the start of the season, against 5 for the Dutch.

On the positive side, we still have three teams in the running (PSG in C1, OM in C3 and LOSC in C4) against two (PSV in C1 and Ajax in C4). We can legitimately think that PSG will succeed in continuing their journey towards the quarter-finals. For the others, it will also depend on the draw scheduled for this afternoon at UEFA headquarters. Finally, last bit of information after yesterday’s confrontations, France can give up on the possibility of having 5 teams in the Champions League in 2025. Being among the two best championships at the end of the season is just a matter of time. a sweet dream.