The seventh-placed Bundesliga team could also qualify for the European Cup this season. The draw for the DFB Cup quarter-finals provides additional excitement.
Europe still in view in tabular form: Werder Bremen (here filling mug, left) and Mainz (here Hack).
IMAGO/Team 2
Neither Werder Bremen nor Borussia Mönchengladbach publicly dream of a European Cup, and yet the chances are not too unfavorable for the duo in purely tabular terms: in tenth and eleventh respectively, the gap to seventh 1. FSV Mainz 05 is for Gladbach and Werder after 23 Matchdays only five points – and that seventh place could be enough for a participation in the European Cup in 2023/24.
That has to do with the possible DFB Cup winner. As in previous years, this will receive a place in the Europa League group stage in the following season. However, if the DFB Cup winners have already qualified for a European competition via the league at the end of the season, i.e. are among the top six teams in the table, the seventh-placed team will benefit.
A lot depends on VfB and FCN
Last year, 1. FC Köln benefited from Leipzig’s DFB Cup triumph and were allowed to get involved in the Europa Conference League in seventh place in 2022/23. This time Mainz, Wolfsburg, Leverkusen & Co. should hope that one of the many top clubs that made it to the DFB Cup quarter-finals will win the title. With league leaders FC Bayern, Borussia Dortmund (2nd), Union Berlin (3rd), RB Leipzig (4th), SC Freiburg (5th) and Eintracht Frankfurt (6th), it has closed the current top six Quarterfinals done.
Only Bundesliga relegation candidate VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Nürnberg as the only remaining second division team could currently thwart the seventh-placed team with a cup triumph in Berlin. One of the two will definitely reach the semi-finals and thus delay a decision about the fate of the seventh a little: The draw gave FCN a home game against VfB on April 5th.
The possible scenarios at a glance:
If the DFB Cup winner ends up in the top four, the fifth and sixth place will play in the Europa League group stage, the seventh in the Europa Conference League. The cup winner is then qualified for the Champions League via the league.
If the cup winner is fifth or sixth, the cup winner and sixth or cup winner and fifth play in the Europa League group stage, the seventh in the Europa Conference League.
If the cup winner finishes seventh or worse, everything stays the same: then the fifth player plays with the cup winner in the Europa League group phase, the sixth in the Europa Conference League.
The rule according to which the defeated cup finalists have a chance at Europe if the winner has already qualified for Europe via the league was abolished years ago.
Special case: What happens when a Bundesliga club wins the Champions or Europa League
And what happens when a German team wins the Champions or Europa League? Then this will certainly get a place in the coming Champions League season. If it had already received this through the league, nothing would change for the other clubs. However, if the team finishes fifth or sixth, the associated Europa League or Europa Conference League ticket is effectively lost. It would remain with a total of seven German European Cup starters in 2023/24, five of them in the Champions League.
If a European Cup winner wins the DFB Cup at the same time, the Europa League place that the DFB Cup winner is entitled to goes to the Bundesliga and those who are seventh in the table would benefit: they would get the Europa Conference League place, the fifth and the Sixth are likely to start in the Europa League group stage.
