During the first week of the Champions League competition, the Dutch teams, the PSV and the Ajax, failed to earn points for the European classification coefficient. These losses directly benefited their competitors, Belgium and Portugal, who thus advanced in the qualifying race. The particularly devastating defeat of the PSV at home against Union Saint-Gilloise puts the Netherlands in difficulty in their goal of obtaining European seats. This current situation suggests important problems for the Dutch European ranking in the coming year. The Champions League started this week, while the Europa League and the Conference League will follow next week.

The performance of the European teams this week was marked by contrasting results. Belgium and Portugal scored 0.800 and 0.400 points respectively, thanks in particular to the victories of Club Brugge against AS Monaco (4-1) and Sporting Portugal against Kairat Almaty (4-1). Benfica lost points when he bowed to Qarabağ (2-3). Although the Netherlands remains a comfortable lead over Belgium in the current ranking, the success of the 2021/22 season will not be repeated next season. Belgium took a significant lead, increasing pressure on the Netherlands to achieve results this season.

The VSP initially had a relatively easy course in the hens phase, mainly due to a difficult lottery. However, this defeat makes access to the direct elimination phases more complicated, thus reducing the chances of obtaining additional points. Conversely, the victory of the Union Saint-Gilloise offers him better prospects to qualify for a European competition. This dynamic underlines the importance of individual results in the race for European qualification and the impact on the overall ranking of nations.