Portugal could still have two teams with direct entry into next season’s Champions League.
Portugal could still have two teams with direct entry into next season’s Champions League (without needing to go through a qualifying round). For this to happen, however, one thing needs to occur: the winner of the Europa League must finish in a position that grants direct access to the Champions League in their national league.
Currently, only three teams with a presence in the Europa League quarter-finals are in a position to qualify directly for the Champions League through their domestic league:
- Aston Villa are fourth in England (the top five qualify, possibly even the sixth).
- Betis is in fifth place (the top five will advance, if Spain maintains second place in the annual ranking).
- FC Porto (is in first place in Portugal)
Furthermore, Celta Vigo is also in the fight, currently occupying sixth place in Spain, but moving up to fifth place would mean Betis being relegated, so it amounts to the same thing.
If the championships ended today, Sporting would qualify directly for the Champions League.
If Aston Villa, Betis or FC Porto, therefore, retain a direct qualification spot for the Champions League and win the Europa League, it opens up a place that will be filled by the highest-ranked club in the UEFA ranking among those that qualify for the Champions League preliminary rounds.
In this case, it is certain that this place will be occupied by the second-placed team from Portugal, since Benfica, Sporting, and also FC Porto are the teams with the best ranking among those that can qualify for the Champions League preliminary rounds. This is for two reasons, to better understand.
- All the clubs ahead of FC Porto, Benfica, and Sporting in the UEFA ranking belong to the Big-5 leagues, while England, Spain, Germany, and Italy do not send teams to the qualifying rounds.
- France does send one team to the preliminary rounds, yes, but only PSG is ahead of the three national clubs in the UEFA ranking, and that team will qualify directly for sure. All the others are behind in the ranking.
Therefore, Sporting and Benfica will be rooting for Aston Villa, Betis… and even FC Porto (if the Dragons win the national championship). In fact, if one of these three clubs were to win the Europa League and the leagues ended as they are now, Sporting would occupy the direct Champions League qualification spot.
FC Porto can qualify at this stage by winning the national championship or the Europa League. If they fail to achieve either of those goals, they will also have to hope for a result from Aston Villa or Betis, who would guarantee them direct entry into the Champions League if they finish second in the national championship.