FC Porto’s victory over the German side Stuttgart (2-1) in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 confirmed the impossibility of the Portuguese returning to seventh place in the hierarchy of clubs by country in five seasons of the organisation.
Portugal has 69,666 points and has three of its five teams in action in the round of 16 of continental competitions, while the Netherlands is seventh, with 67,345, and has only AZ Alkmaar in the same round of the Conference League after the elimination of the other five representatives.
Not even winning the third UEFA club competition with only victories by AZ would allow the Dutch to surpass the Portuguese, who have accumulated an insurmountable 2,321-point lead over their pursuers and 7,816 against Belgium, eighth and already with only Genk in the Europa League.
With 9,395 points in 2025/26, the Netherlands currently ranks 14th on the list of federations with the best performance in European competitions this season, compared to Portugal’s 17,000, which closes out the top 5.
Two years ahead of schedule, the Portuguese fulfilled the design set at the beginning of the season by the Portuguese Professional Football League (LPFP), in the so-called “Meta 2028” plan, running parallel to the process of centralising the audiovisual rights of the games of the First and Second Leagues.
Despite starting the league stages at a disadvantage compared to the Netherlands, in terms of coefficient (minus 4,400 points) and number of teams (four against six), Portugal recovered in the UEFA ranking with the help of Sporting and Benfica in the Champions League and FC Porto and Sporting Braga in the Europa League, after Santa Clara’s elimination against the Irish team Shamrock Rovers in the preliminary play-off of the Conference League.
Eliminated in the play-off, Benfica lost to Real Madrid, the record holder for titles (15), against whom they had secured 24th place in the eighth and final round of the league stage, the last position before entering the knockout rounds.
FC Porto and Sporting Braga automatically advanced to the Europa League Round of 16, which began today, and will face Stuttgart and the Hungarian side Ferencváros, after finishing fifth and sixth in the league phase, respectively.
Combining league and knockout stages, the Portuguese teams have already accumulated 19 wins, five draws and 12 losses in 36 games (54-42 in goal difference), while their Dutch counterparts have only managed 13 wins in 49 matches, also recording five draws and 31 losses (59-90).