The Aiglons play an important match in Basel for their European future and that of French football, Thursday, during the quarter-finals of C4.
The Côte d’Azur on orange alert for the quarter-finals of the Europa League Conference. Last French representative in European competition, OGC Nice holds part of its destiny and that of the future of French football in its hands, Thursday, April 13, on the occasion of its trip to Basel for the first leg. Threatened by the Netherlands, France could lose their 5th place in the UEFA rankings in the event of the elimination of Didier Digard’s men and a good run by the two Dutch clubs still in contention, Feyenoord (Europa League) and theAZ Alkmaar (Europa League Conference). The meeting will therefore be carefully scrutinized. Explanations.
/2023/04/11/643523cdb1c1b_capture-d-ecran-2023-04-11-a-11-09-27.png)
Because Ligue 1 clubs could lose big
If France were to be demoted to 6th place in the UEFA rankings, the consequences would be very detrimental for the 2024-2025 season, the first to be played under the new Champions League format. With this new reform, 5th place grants a third direct ticket for the C1 (in addition to a fourth ticket valid for the preliminary rounds), while the 6th only allows two clubs to be sent directly and one in the preliminary rounds.
/2023/04/11/64356239181a9_001-98b8m4-jpeg.jpg)
Moreover, if France were to lose its 5th place, no more Ligue 1 clubs would qualify directly for the group stages of the Europa League and the Europa League Conference via the championship. Only the winner of the Coupe de France would have this privilege and thus escape three often perilous preliminary rounds.
Because Nice represents the last French chance in Europe
At the start, there were six of them, in the end, there will only be one left. Marseille Olympics, ousted from the group stage of the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain against Bayern in the round of 16 of C1, Nantes, Rennes, Monaco, all three released at the same stage of the Europa League … If the Didier Digard’s OGC Nice enters their Europa League Conference quarter-final with a heavy weight on their shoulders, he can only blame his Ligue 1 colleagues.
Indeed, with a single representative, the chances of France retaining their 5th place in the UEFA rankings are diminished, while the Netherlands will be able to count on Feyenoord (Europa League) and the AZ Alkmaar (Europa League Conference). If the two Dutch formations go very far in their respective competition, the Netherlands could overtake France in the UEFA index, even in the event of a good run by the Niçois in C4.
Because the duel with the Netherlands is tight
While it was 10.781 points ahead of the Netherlands at the start of the season, France only has a small margin of 2.097 units. A success gives two points, a draw one point and passing a round at this stage of the competition in C4 gives an additional bonus point. It doesn’t stop there. Indeed, the total points won by each country is then divided by the number of teams entered on the European stage at the start of the season. France had six, the Netherlands five…
Therefore, OGC Nice in the event of a clear round (two wins + qualification), collect a maximum of 0.833 points to France. For their part, the two Dutch clubs can, in the event of a double victory in the home and away matches, pocket two points. If they go to the end of the competition and each impose themselves in the final, they will win a total of 4,400 points, against only two points for the people of Nice in the event of a perfect course to the coronation.
Even if it no longer has the cards in hand, France is forced to go all-in on a good course in Nice to hope to stay in the top five places in the UEFA rankings, which it has not left for six years.