Starting from the next season, 36 teams will participate in the top European competition. Here’s what Serie A needs to win the 5th spot?
The Champions League is ready for a significant change. Starting from the next season, 2024-25, it will move from the current format of eight groups with a total of 32 teams to a single group comprising 36 teams. This opens up the real possibility of having five Italian teams in the next edition of the top European club competition.
Here’s how to have five Italian teams in the Champions League:
This possibility will no longer depend solely on winning the Champions League or Europa League but will be based on the performance of Italian teams in the three UEFA tournaments, which will determine the country-by-country ranking. In this regard, the successes of Inter and Napoli, against Salzburg (2-1) and Union Berlin (1-0), respectively, are crucial.
Everything depends on the European journeys of Inter, Milan, Lazio, and Napoli in the Champions League, Atalanta and Roma in the Europa League, and Fiorentina in the Conference League. If Italy manages to secure a place in the top two positions in the 2023-24 ranking, it will enable five Serie A teams to participate in the next Champions League.
According to the 2023-24 ranking, currently, Turkey and Belgium hold the top two positions due to the consideration of qualification matches. Therefore, they are expected to shift down during the season. Italy right now is ranked just behind them, followed by Spain.
- Turkey, 8.250
- Belgium, 6.000
- ITALY, 5.857
- Spain, 5.562
- Netherlands, 5.400
- England, 5.250
- Greece, 5.200
- Czech Republic, 5.000
- Germany, 4.928
- Denmark, 4.750
To determine the overall UEFA ranking, the performances of the previous four seasons, including the current one, are considered. This is why the excellent results of Italian teams last year and at the start of this season are encouraging. Currently, Italy ranks third, behind England and Spain, and has the right to four teams in the Champions League, two in the Europa League, and one in the Conference League playoffs. If Italy can secure one of the top two spots in the 2023-24 ranking, it will unlock the fifth spot in the top competition.
- England, 92.178
- Spain, 78.989
- ITALY, 75.141
- Germany, 72.195
- Netherlands, 56.700
- France, 54.997
- Portugal, 49.316
- Belgium, 40.400
- Turkey, 34.850
- Scotland, 32.250
