France risks big in this European season which sees the Dutch clubs drawing their end of the game.
The threat is back. While the previous exercise had rather succeeded in French clubs on the European scene, with PSG in the semi-finals of the Champions League and OM in the last square of the Europa League in particular, the 2024-2025 season proves to be a little more worrying.
The eliminations of Brest and Monaco these last two days in C1 have echoed two excellent Dutch surprises: Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven having respectively eliminated AC Milan and Juventus. Results that undoubtedly put pressure on the last continental survivors of Ligue 1.
At the stage of the round of 16, France thus can hardly count on PSG and LOSC in the Champions League, and OL in the Europa League. The Netherlands, in addition to the PSV and the Feyenoord, still have Ajax, Az Alkmaar and Twente to shine in the second of European Cups.
Fifth place threatened
The stake is known: fifth place in the hierarchy of the old continent according to the famous UEFA index. Today, the League provides three direct tickets for the C1, plus a fourth sesame subject to two towers of preliminaries. A decline in the European classification and this privilege would go to the Netherlands.
In these days when TV rights resources are increasingly threatened, losing influence on the European scene – with all the profits that this induces for the clubs engaged in UEFA stamped competitions – would be a great blow for French football.
