Following England, Spain has now officially secured participation with five teams in the next edition of the UEFA Champions League. This development comes after Lazio’s elimination by Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League, which ended Italy’s hopes of claiming second place in UEFA’s five-year coefficient ranking.
Spain benefited from the qualification of three of its clubs — Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, and Real Betis — to the next round, which earned them crucial points in the ranking. Meanwhile, although Inter reached the semifinals of the Champions League and Fiorentina advanced in the Conference League, their contributions weren’t enough to keep Italy in contention for the second spot.
Currently, England leads the ranking with four teams still active in European competitions out of the original seven. Spain follows in second place with three teams remaining from seven, while Italy stands in third with only two teams left from the eight it started with.
Germany is in fourth place, and France holds the fifth — but with Paris Saint-Germain still in the competition and a strong chance to progress further, the French hope to climb the rankings. Spain now joins England as the two countries that will have expanded representation in next season’s Champions League, benefiting from UEFA’s new rule that rewards nations with the best overall performance in European competitions.
