The threat had been hanging in the air for a long time and it came true this Thursday: Portugal will field only one team with direct entry into the Champions League in 2024-25, with the second representative being sent to the 3rd qualifying round of the competition. All because of this week’s double defeat, by Benfica and Sporting, which opened the door to overtaking the Netherlands in the UEFA ranking.
The defeats of the two “greats” in Lisbon against Italian opponents, combined with Feyenoord’s victory over Roma, meant that Portugal was 3,148 points behind the Dutch, now 6th in the ranking. A difference that, even in the best of scenarios, will not be possible to cancel until the end of the current season.
With two teams nominated for the Champions in 2024-25 (one of them still with two qualifiers to reach the group stage), Portugal will complete its presence in European competitions with two more representatives in the Europa League – the winner of the Portuguese Cup enters in form direct in the group stage and the third placed team in the League disputes the qualification.
The last available spot refers to the Conference League and can be occupied by the fourth place in the championship – if the winner of the Portuguese Cup goes to the Europa League – or by the fifth, if the Cup trophy is lifted by one of the top two in the League.
Of course, there is a remote chance that Portugal will occupy three places in the Champions League within two seasons, which involves winning the Champions League itself or the Europa League in the immediately previous season.
