The victories of Sporting (Champions League) and Sporting de Braga, in addition to the draw by FC Porto (these two in the Europa League), as well as the minimum play-off guarantee of access to the round of 16 for the three clubs this week, allowed Portugal to get closer to the Netherlands in the UEFA ranking, made five years ago. This week, Portugal scored almost four times as many points as the Netherlands: 2,450 from the Portuguese clubs (1,100 from Sp. Braga, 0,800 from Sporting, 0,55 from FC Porto), to just 0,667 from the Dutch (0,333 from Ajax and the same amount from Feyenoord). And, for these purposes, the bonus points obtained for what will be the final classification in the league phase are included. Sporting de Braga made the biggest weekly contribution. In addition to the two victory over Nottingham Forestguaranteed another 3,500: this is the number of bonus points for the 11th placed team in the Europa League league stage, which is the worst place that Sp. Braga can do. These 5,500 points from Minho, divided between the five Portuguese clubs in 2025/26 in the UEFA competitions, give 1,100 for the Portuguese coefficient. The same reasoning for Sporting and FC Porto in this division. You lions, with victory against European champions PSGthey added two more points for ranking purposes and added two more bonus points, because in the worst case scenario they will be 17th in the league phase. Already the FC Porto, with the draw against Viktoria Plzenadded one point and added another 1,750 bonus points, as in the worst case scenario they will be 18th in the league phase. THE Benfica added nothing to the defeat in Turin. Now, taking into account that Sporting is currently ranked 10th in the Champions League and Sp. Braga and FC Porto are fifth and ninth in the Europa League, respectively, there are good prospects for the three clubs, regardless of the results in the last round, to increase Portugal's coefficient through bonus points. Unless the worst-case scenarios in the classification are confirmed. The Netherlands, who share the points between six clubs this season, only added the results of the victories of Ajax (Champions) and Feyenoord (Europa League) and did not guarantee any more bonus points. PSV Eindhoven (Champions), Utrecht and Go Ahead Eagles (these two in the Europa League) lost and AZ Alkmaar, who is in the Conference League, did not play. Difference of less than one point… and the relevance of 2021/22 In the five-year ranking, Portugal now has 65,716 points and is less than one point behind the Netherlands, a difference that has not been seen for a long time: they are just 0.713 less than the Dutch's 66,429. Portugal's prospects of finishing the season in sixth place are increasing... and who knows if the overtaking could happen next week. Furthermore, we must also remember the importance of 2021/22, which drops from the ranking to five years in the next season. This is because, in that campaign, the Netherlands scored 19,200 points and Portugal 12,916, which means that the Dutch will have a greater loss in the coefficient at the beginning of 2026/27. Benfica is at risk, but the Netherlands already have one eliminated and three close to that The last round, whether in the Champions League or in the Europa League, will also be relevant in terms of the teams that will continue in the competition and, if the Portuguese side Benfica is in the elimination zone in the Champions Leaguethe Netherlands are in the worst condition with their clubs. If AZ Alkmaar qualified for the play-off to reach the round of 16 of the Conference League and the Champions League, PSV Eindhoven is in a position to do so, Ajax is in the elimination zone... and the same happens in Liga Europa com Feyenoord, Go Ahead Eagles e o Utrecht (this one is already mathematically removed). By the way, the last round has a Go Ahead Eagles-Sp. Braga, a game that will also have its preponderance for UEFA ranking purposes. Season ranking for the extra place: Portugal rises from eighth to sixth With this week's performance, Portugal rose two places in the season's ranking (which gives an extra place in the 2026/27 Champions League to the two best countries in 2025/26). Portugal went from eighth to sixth, overtaking Cyprus and France: it currently has 13,050 points. To give you another idea of the good season compared to the Dutch, they are only the 12th best country so far this season, with 8,479 points. The extra places are currently occupied by England (16,847 points) and Germany (14,035). Ranking of the season – Top-10:1st: England, 16,8472nd: Germany, 14,0353rd: Poland, 13,6254th: Spain, 13,3125th: Italy, 13,0716th: PORTUGAL, 13,0507th: France, 12,0718th: Cyprus, 11,4069th: Greece, 10,65010th: Denmark, 10,500 READ ALSO: How many millions have Benfica and Sporting made in the Champions League?