UEFA Index: Strasbourg and Paris unite, but Portugal is not KO yet

France will have two representatives in the European semi-finals, compared to Portugal’s one. This is good news for the UEFA ranking.

A scenario that almost seemed unimaginable. France still has two representatives in the semi-finals of European competitions, out of the twelve clubs remaining, two are French, compared to just one for Portugal. Strasbourg achieved a remarkable feat against Mainz to advance to the Conference League semi-finals, while the Portuguese neighbors can only rely on Braga, who made it to the Europa League’s last four.

Strasbourg made a historic mark in its European journey on Thursday night, giving French football a memorable evening. After losing 2-0 in the first leg against Mainz, Alsace overturned the situation by winning 4-0 in the return leg.

For the first time in its history, the Alsatian club reaches a European semi-final. As a subsidiary of Chelsea, Strasbourg has embarked on an exceptional trajectory and is now just three games away from a continental title. If successful, they will become the third French club to win a European Cup after Marseille (Champions League 1993) and PSG (Cup Winners’ Cup 1996 and Champions League 2025).

The favorited PSG also responded impressively after the first leg victory, defeating Liverpool in England to confirm their rise in power. For the first time, a French club reaches the Champions League semi-finals three consecutive seasons, marking a significant presence on the continental stage.

As Portugal showed strength in recent weeks, France regains the advantage in the race for the UEFA ranking. Although the gap has not yet reached 10 points, it has widened again (82.712 points against 72.766 points).

Apart from the numbers, there is a clear shift in momentum. While Portugal had three representatives in the quarter-finals, France managed to keep its two clubs in contention. Sporting Braga is now the only Portuguese team left in the race, following their 4-2 victory over Real Betis in the Europa League.

It is also noted that in the early next season, Portugal will lose 12.916 points related to the 2021-2022 season, compared to 18.416 points for France. This factor could further influence the battle for the UEFA ranking.

Just a reminder on how the points are calculated:

– 2 points for a win – 1 point for a draw – 1 point for making it to the next round – 0 points for a loss

Qualification to the Champions League or Europa League round of 16 earns 4 points, and each subsequent qualification adds 1 more point. In the Europa League, the group winner gets 4 points and the runner-up gets 2 points. In the Conference League, it’s 2 points for the winner and 1 point for the runner-up. Additional points are earned from the semi-finals onwards.

The UEFA coefficient is calculated by dividing this total by the number of clubs participating at the start of the season.