The draw of both Feyenoord and Ajax on Thursday evening means bad news for the Netherlands when it comes to the coefficient battle. Because number five France, which is one place higher in the rankings, collected more points this week, the Netherlands seems to be able to forget that fifth place for this season.

On behalf of the Netherlands, two teams came into action in Europe this week, after AZ was eliminated from the Conference League before the winter break. Feyenoord drew 1-1 against AS Roma in the interim round of the Europa League on Thursday evening, while Ajax managed to avoid a defeat against FK Bodø/Glimt at the last minute: 2-2.

This season, the ranking will be based on the points that all countries have scored in the period from 2019 to 2024. The Netherlands is sixth in the ranking and is chasing fifth place. There is France, and that country continued to advance this week.

Paris Saint-Germain managed to beat Real Sociedad (2-0) in the eighth finals of the Champions League. On Thursday, Olympique Marseille and RC Lens then played a draw in the Europa League, against Shakhtar Donetsk and SC Freiburg respectively. Stade Rennes lost to AC Milan (3-0) in the same tournament, while Toulouse lost 2-1 to Benfica.

All in all, this means that France gained 0.2 points more than the Netherlands this week. Next week, four of the five French teams will be in action again in the returns, something that also applies to Feyenoord and Ajax. In addition, PSV will face Borussia Dortmund in the eighth finals of the Champions League on Tuesday.

For the Netherlands, it is hoped that Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV will be able to qualify for the next round, and that the French teams will be eliminated in the short term. Currently the gap on the rankings is 2,531 points (62,831 for France, 60,300 for the Netherlands).

The Netherlands does not have to fear for number seven Portugal, which has three other clubs active in Europe with FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting Braga. The gap with that country is about 6,500 points.

The Netherlands is committed to regaining fifth place in the five-year UEFA ranking at some point. If this still works this season, the Eredivisie would secure three guaranteed places for the Champions League (plus a preliminary round ticket) for the 2025/26 season. However, that seems to be a difficult task.

The coefficient ranking as of February 15, 2024
1. England 100,803
2. Spain 86,364
3. Italy 83,998
4. Germany 81,195
5. France 62,831
6. Netherlands 60,300
7. Portugal 53,816
8. Belgium 46,200
9. Turkey 37,600
10. Scotland 35,850

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