On the pitch at PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday, Racing Club de Lens can take a big step towards a historic qualification for the round of 16 which could have significant repercussions for all French clubs.
Manchester City, Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, the Madrid clubs Real and Atlético, or even Inter Milan… The Racing Club de Lens is in charming and prestigious company. The Artois club is among the last undefeated clubs in the group stage of the Champions League at the halfway point. On the pitch at PSV Eindhoven, Wednesday October 8, the Sang et Or can strike even harder. A victory would ensure they continue the European adventure this season, and would place them in a strong position for the round of 16 of the C1. A victory on Dutch soil would also mean a lot for all of French football for its near future on the continental scene.
We didn’t necessarily imagine the Lensois, a brilliant surprise in Ligue 1 last season, at such a celebration. Franck Haise’s players took advantage of the Champions League to find some color after a sluggish start to the championship. They are now masters of their destiny, and they can give it a big boost on the PSV pitch.
A success to prolong the pleasure
With eight points in the event of victory, they would ensure they are ahead of their evening victim whatever the results of the last two days, and therefore a place in the European Cup for the post group stage (C1 or C3). If at the same time, Arsenal win at home against Sevilla, Lens would only need a draw in their last two matches against the Andalusians and in London to qualify for the round of 16. Never before seen in the annals of the RCL.
The stakes are high, even if the task will not be easy against PSV, winner of its first eleven matches in the Dutch league and undefeated on home soil this season. The Eindhoven team came to seek a draw (1-1) in Pas-de-Calais on October 24. The feat would only be greater and more significant well beyond the North of France.
Winning in the Netherlands would largely contribute to the entire national effort to return France to 5e place in the UEFA coefficient ranking ahead of… the Netherlands. This coefficient is based on the clubs’ results in the various European Cups over a period of five years, and then determines how many tickets are allocated in the future for the Champions League, the Europa League or the Europa League conference at the different championships.
Not really convincing since the start of the decade, French clubs have made up for it since the start of the season with only four defeats in 19 matches played. PSG is second in its group in C1, Marseille and Rennes dominate in C3, just like Lille in C4. Only Toulouse in the Europa League is not in a position to be virtually qualified for the rest of the competition, but only on goal difference.
Capital for the next Champions League formula
At the same time, the Netherlands have already lost a representative in the preliminary round of the Europa Conference League (FC Twente), while PSV Eindhoven, Ajax Amsterdam, AZ Alkmaar are bottom of their groups. Feyenoord Rotterdam is third in Group E of the Champions League. Insufficient to prevent France’s return to the UEFA index, for the moment. And Lens could drive the point home in Eindhoven, while a victory in the Champions League group brings two points to this index (the results of each club are added each week, then divided by the number of representatives per nation to add points throughout the season).
On the shoulders of Racing, but also of Olympique du Marseille present in the same group as Ajax (3-3 in Amsterdam in the first leg), rests part of French football in the European Cup. Resuming fifth place in the UEFA coefficient would mean three guaranteed places for the new version of the Champions League from 2025-2026 – compared to two currently and another in the preliminary round, while retaining seven European tickets in total. A welcome promotion, while a sixth place would further validate the demotion of the French championship outside the European Top 5.