Austria Faces Loss of European Cup Starting Place

After the defeats of Sturm Graz, Red Bull Salzburg, and Rapid Vienna on Thursday, the Austrian league fell behind Switzerland to 16th place. If it is not possible to improve the ranking this season, Austria would have only four European Cup starting places instead of the previous five in the 2027/28 season.

European Cup: Champion would have to start in 2nd qualifying round for Champions League if slipping

The gap to Switzerland is only 0.25 points, but 14th place Denmark is already 4.731 points away. However, 17th place Cyprus is only 1.463 points behind, and the current form trend does not bode well. The domestic clubs have so far only collected 2.5 points - only 18th place Scotland (2.4) and 24th place Serbia (2.375) have been less successful among the current top 25. More points were collected by, among others, 35th place Armenia (2.75) and 38th place Kosovo (2.625), while 52nd place Gibraltar is close on Austria's heels this season with 2.333.

Next summer, Austria's champion will compete in the play-off and the runner-up in the second qualifying round for the Champions League, while the cup winner will start in the third qualifying round for the Europa League. There are two more places for the second qualifying round for the Conference League. If the domestic Bundesliga does not appear in the top 15 of the five-year ranking by May 2026, the champion would start in the second CL qualifying round, the cup winner in the second EL qualifying round, and the second and third in the second CoL qualifying round.

(APA/Red)

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