Champions League: Is the English Premier League on track to finish fifth in next year’s competition?

Here’s what it means after the end of the first phase of the Champions League.

England

England is the only country whose teams are all still active, and there are nine of them.

It will be very difficult for England to shake them off after gaining an additional 72.50 points from the Champions League final places.

But nothing should be taken for granted, as England looked destined for a place in the Premier League in 2023-24, but suffered a horrific run of results in the quarter-finals.

While it may seem positive that five English clubs have managed to qualify directly for the round of 16 of the Champions League, there is a development.

All competing leagues have teams in the knockout rounds, and these clubs can score points by winning those home and away ties.

As a picture of England’s progress, German clubs are actually behind by 17 victories, while the Italians and Spaniards are 20 victories behind.

Germany

Only Eintracht Frankfurt was eliminated, so the Bundesliga is well placed to take a place in the Premier League alongside England.

Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund can get more points in the qualifiers.

Spain

With eight teams in Europe, Spain needed to have a strong season.

Chances were severely damaged after Villarreal’s exit from the Champions League. The Athletic Club followed suit and were also eliminated from the competition on Wednesday.

While Spain has six teams still active, each win has a lower coefficient value than their rivals for second place.

Italy

The Italian League has had a slow start but is still in the competition despite Napoli’s loss from the Champions League.

Atalanta, Inter Milan and Juventus can add to their Champions League qualifying tally.

Portugal

Portugal didn’t really have a realistic chance of making the top two once Santa Clara dropped out of the conference league in the qualifying rounds.

However, they continue to play with four active teams, but they will need to put in a significant effort to have any chance.

Benfica could add some coefficient points in February.

Poland

It will come as a surprise to many to find that Poland is so high up in the rankings, that it has been in the top two for a while. But Poland won’t be here for long.

All four teams in the country played in the conference league, while more than a third of their points were taken in the qualifying rounds.

With Legia Warsaw eliminated and no extra points on the way from the Europa League, Poland will see further decline on Thursday.

France

It has been a disappointing season for Ligue 1 teams, starting with Nice’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Things didn’t get much better for Nice, as they were already eliminated from the Europa League. It is also possible that Lille will fall out of the top 24.

Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain will play in the Champions League qualifiers, but France are out of the classification for an extra place.

Cyprus

Another surprise name on the list, boosted by Paphos’ arrival in the Champions League for the first time.

But with only two teams still active, both in the conference league, Cyprus is not a contender.

Greece

Greece still has four active teams but is still far from the top two.

Denmark

Only FC Midtjylland remains, so Denmark could be discounted as well.