It was written.

France fell by one rank in the UEFA coefficient rankings updated Thursday, to the benefit of Portugal.

Here it is now in sixth place, which could penalize Ligue 1 clubs on the European scene from the 2022-2023 season.

The update of the ranking came the day after the incredible elimination of Monaco in the Champions League play-offs by the Ukrainians of Shakhtar Donetsk.

Tuesday evening, the Portuguese club Benfica had managed to qualify for the group stage of C1, at the expense of the Dutch PSV Eindhoven.

Champions League: Heavy or easy, Losc supporters are divided before the draw https://t.co/rewfYMFlWV via @ 20minutesLille pic.twitter.com/5EQxgwF8Is

- 20 Minutes Lille (@ 20minuteslille) August 26, 2021

More generally, since the start of the 2021/2022 edition of the three European competitions - Champions League, Europa League and the brand new Europa League Conference - Portugal has shown itself to be very successful on the continental scene.

Only Sweden collected more points (4.375 against 3.750).

One less direct ticket for the Europa League

In the UEFA coefficient ranking, calculated on the basis of the European results of national clubs over the last five years, Portugal now has 44,216 points, against 43,581 for France.

France's slide to sixth place, if confirmed at the end of the various European competitions, will result in its clubs losing a direct ticket to the group stage of the Europa League.

The club which will finish fifth in Ligue 1 in spring 2022 will win a sesame for the less prestigious Europa League Conference, like the sixth in the championship.

The fourth will continue to be directly qualified for the groups of the Europa League, and the first three for the Champions League (with preliminary rounds for the third).

Three direct qualifiers in C1 for fifth in the UEFA index

In the new 36-team Champions League format, which will come into effect from 2024, the fifth country in the UEFA index will benefit from three direct qualifiers for the C1 group stage.

The fourth in the national championship will have to compete in the preliminary rounds.

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