UEFA Rankings: Greece sink to 15th
Greece dropped down to 15th in the UEFA Associations' Coefficient rankings after the final round of matches in the UEFA Champions & Europa League group stages.
AEK earned an important draw in their final UEFA Europa League fixture away to Austria Wien and will continue in the knockout stage of the competition. However, AEK's draw along with Olympiacos' loss to Juventus saw Greece fall to 15th in the UEFA Associations' Coefficient rankings as other nations racked up more points on the final matchday of group play.
Austria, who are well out of Greece's reach, remained in 11th spot and will continue with one team, Red Bull Salzburg, after the new year.
Switzerland leaped from 15th to 12th place this week after seeing all three of their teams (Basel, Lugano, Young Boys) celebrate victory in the Champions & Europa League. In addition, Basel booked their ticket to Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League giving Switzerland a 1.000 bonus and sending them up to 12th.
The Netherlands, who will not continue with a team after the new year, also had a good week as Feyenoord and Vitesse both were victorious, giving valuable points to the Netherlands coefficient total. The Dutch are now in 13th spot and cannot receive anymore points this season.
The Czech Republic recorded one win with Viktoria Plzen and will continue with only one team in the knockout stages of the Europa League. Slavia Prague saw their Europa League campaign come to an end after a shock loss to Astana at home on Thursday, something that could benefit Greece in the long run. The Czech's, who are in 14th, look to be Greece's only realistic opponents for 14th spot and it will come down to AEK and Viktoria Plzen's run in the Europa League knockout stages.
If Greece remain in 15th place, the 2019 SuperLeague champion will need to go through THREE qualifying rounds (like the runner-up) to reach the 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League group stage. Greece's fight for 12th spot now seems miles away and the realistic fight is for 14th, which will mean the 2019 Superleague Champion will need to go through only TWO qualifying rounds to reach the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League group stages.
For the Full Coefficient rankings and breakdown, visit here.
Greece’ goal for the 2017/18 UEFA Association’s Ranking
A reminder, Greece’s goal is to finish 12th in the UEFA Association's rankings by the end of the season, however this looks to be highly unlikely. This translates into five European representatives for the 2019/20 UEFA season and at least two automatic berths in the 2019/20 Europa League group stages. Greece will fight with the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland for 12th place.
If Greece finish 12th, the 2018/19 Superleague champion will begin in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League playoff qualifying round (secures at minimum Europa League group stage place), while the 2019 Cup champion will be granted an automatic place in the Europa League group stages, avoiding qualifying all together. The Superleague runner up will begin in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round while the Superleague's 3rd placed and 4th placed teams will begin in the UEFA Europa League 3rd qualifying round and 2nd qualifying rounds, respectively.
Greece could also finish in 11th place which could see the 2018/19 Superleague champion gain an automatic birth to the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League group stages IF the 2019 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League champions have both already secured a place in the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League group stages via their domestic league finish. The remaining places of the Superleague's runner-up, 3rd placed team, 4th placed team, and Greek Cup champion will be the same as above.
The realistic goal is for Greece to finish 13th-14th, meaning the 2019 Superleague champion will begin in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round while the 2019 Cup champion will begin in the Europa League third qualifying round. Thus, this scenario does not yield an automatic group stage birth in the 2019/20 Europa League. The Superleague runner up will begin in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round while the Superleague's 3rd placed and 4th placed teams will begin in the UEFA Europa League 2nd qualifying rounds.
If Greece finish 15th, then all of the above mentioned for 13th-14th place applies, however the Greek Suprerleague champion will begin in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round rather than the third qualifying round.
The full breakdown of Greece’s goal finish in this year’s UEFA Associations’ rankings is explained in depth here.
Summary of Results for Those Fighting for 11th-14th
11. Austria: 29.850
- Red Bull Salzburg drew Marseille 0:0; Austria Wien drew AEK 0:0
- Austria received 0.500 points this week
- Austria gained 0.300 points on Greece
- Austria will continue with one team: Red Bull Salzburg
12. Switzerland: 29.800
- Basel defeated Benfica 0:2; Young Boys defeated Skenderbeu 2:1; Lugano defeated Steau Bucuresti 1:2
- Switzerland received 2.20 points this week
- Greece gained 2.0000 points on Switzerland
- Switzerland will continue with one team: Basel
13. Netherlands: 29.749
- Feyenoord defeated Napoli 1:1; Vitesse defeated Nice 1:0
- The Netherlands received 0.800 points this week
- Netherlands gained 0.600 points on Greece
- Netherlands will continue with zero team
14. Czech Republic: 29.175
- Viktoria Plzen defeated Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0:2; Slavia Prague lost to Astana 0:1: Zlin lost to Lokomotiv Moskva 0:2
- Czech Republic received 0.400 points this week
- Czech Republic gained 0.200 points on Greece
- Czech Republic will continue with one team: Viktoria Plzen
15. Greece: 28.200
- Olympiacos lost to Juventus 0:2; AEK drew Austrai Wien 0:0
- Greece received a total of 0.200 points this week
- Greece will continue with one team: AEK
