The European season continues on Tuesday evening with the knockout phase in the Champions League. The Europa League and Conference League will follow on Thursday. The moment of truth has arrived for the Netherlands in the fight for sixth place on the UEFA coefficient list. What is the chance of success?
Om met de deur in huis te vallen: het coëfficiëntenwalhalla is in zicht. In 2018 was Nederland nog de fletse nummer veertien, ingeklemd tussen Tsjechië en Griekenland. Nu maakt het zich klaar om Portugal de knock-out te geven in de strijd om de zo felbegeerde zesde plaats. Het aftellen naar een mogelijk historisch moment begint woensdag, wanneer Benfica op bezoek gaat bij Club Brugge in de achtste finales van de Champions League.
2,984 punten is de voorsprong die de Eredivisie dit voorjaar verdedigt in de strijd om de zesde plaats op de coëfficiëntenlijst. In de vorige zin zou de toevoeging ‘geruststellend’ voor ‘voorsprong’ niet misstaan, want er moet wel heel veel misgaan mocht de Eredivisie naast het zeer aantrekkelijke pakket Europese tickets grijpen. Dan moet je denken aan een Portugese Champions League-finale in combinatie met een Nederlandse bijltjesdag in de tussenronde.
Waarom is die zesde plaats ook alweer zo belangrijk? Het land dat zesde staat, mag twee clubs direct afvaardigen aan de Champions League, terwijl de nummer drie deel mag nemen aan de voorronden van het miljardenbal.
Het maakt de Eredivisie een stuk interessanter, ook doordat het prijzengeld in de Champions League flink wordt verhoogd. Mis je als topclub twee keer de Champions League 2.0, dan loop je een moeilijk te overbruggen financiële achterstand ten opzichte van je concurrenten op.
The Netherlands and Portugal both still have four clubs
With Ajax, PSV (both intermediate round Europa League), Feyenoord (eighth finals Europa League) and AZ (eighth finals Conference League), the Netherlands still has four irons in the fire. This also applies to Portugal, which is still in the race with FC Porto, Benfica (both eighth finals of the Champions League), Sporting CP (intermediate round of the Europa League) and Sporting Braga (intermediate round of the Conference League).
The Southern Europeans started this year with six teams and therefore have to divide every score by six. The Netherlands started the season with five teams, so that each result carries more weight.
Making up for a deficit of 2,984 points – the task facing Portugal – is extremely difficult. Each club win earns the southern European country just 0.33 points, so you could say that Portugal is nine wins behind. The phase of group stage little things is also behind us. There are also various bonuses to be earned, but they only really pay off if several clubs get very far.
Disadvantage for Portugal
Portugal is at a disadvantage, because two clubs are still active at the highest level. With Club Brugge and Internazionale as opponents of Benfica and FC Porto respectively, the draw for the eighth finals is far from impossible, but it is not expected that the Portuguese delegation will take a huge mountain of points in the Champions League.
In the intermediate round of the Europa League, Sporting CP will cross swords with FC Midtjylland, which is certainly not an unattainable card. Sporting Braga will meet Fiorentina in the intermediate round of the Conference League, FC Twente’s executioner in the play-offs earlier this season.
As you know, UEFA assigns results in all European tournaments the same value: two points for a win and one point for a draw. A victory in the Champions League final is worth as much as a victory in the Conference League group stage.
Ajax and PSV will play an intermediate round on Thursday
The Netherlands will only come into action with Ajax and PSV in the coming weeks. As group winners in the Europa League and Conference League respectively, Feyenoord and AZ still have a round off. Ajax awaits a diptych with Bundesliga sensation 1. FC Union Berlin, while PSV enters the battle arena with Europa League specialist Sevilla, which is performing dramatically this season. The first episodes in these diptychs are already on Thursday.
The Netherlands must above all look at itself. If Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord and AZ do not make a muddy figure in the knockout phase, the flag can normally be thrown out sometime this spring.
In the best scenario, the Eredivisie is already certain of sixth place next Thursday. That is the case if Ajax and PSV win both their matches in the intermediate round and the Portuguese clubs only suffer defeats from now on. It won’t go that fast, but all signals are green for a Dutch coefficient party.
Nederlandse clubs in dit Europese seizoen:
AZ: 12 duels, 10 zeges, 0 gelijke spelen, 2 nederlagen
PSV: 10 duels, 5 zeges, 3 gelijke spelen, 2 nederlagen
Feyenoord: 6 duels, 2 zeges, 2 gelijke spelen, 2 nederlagen
Ajax: 6 duels, 2 zeges, 0 gelijke spelen, 4 nederlagen
FC Twente: 4 duels, 2 zeges, 1 gelijkspel, 1 nederlaag
