This will be the last opportunity for Belgian football to collect points to heal its coefficient and thus retain its direct place for the group stage of the Champions League. The rest of the European season for Belgian clubs is very uncertain. If La Gantoise is guaranteed to play the round of 16 of the Conference League, and Antwerp are already eliminated, Club Brugge and Genk must hope for favorable circumstances. For Club Brugge, third place in Group A, synonymous with qualifying for the knockout stages of the Europa League, is the most achievable goal after the disappointment against RB Leipzig two weeks ago. A difficult task, because to achieve it, the national champions will have to do better in Paris than Leipzig at home against Manchester City. European elimination is on the horizon.
Racing Genk can also secure a place in the round of 32 of the Europa League. A few days after the dismissal of John van den Brom, the Genkois must win at home against Rapid Vienna and at the same time hope for a defeat of Dinamo Zagreb at West Ham. A third place in the group would mean a dismissal in the Conference League (round of 16).
For Antwerp (against Olympiakos) and Ghent (against Flora Tallinn), the last day is no longer of sporting interest, but the victories bring points for the European ranking.
A victory in the group stage is worth two points, a draw one point (divided by five, the number of participants). In the Europa League and the Conference League, there are bonus points for the top two in each group, and qualifying for the knockout stages of the Europa League again gives one bonus point. In the Conference League, bonus points can only be obtained in the elimination phase from the semi-finals.
After a few particularly lean years on the European scene, Belgian clubs need to get five out of twelve points this week so that Belgium does not lose its direct participant in the group stage of the Champions League. For next season, there is no problem. At the 2021 coefficient, which will be used, Belgium has moved from 8th to 9th place with 6,000 points. This will therefore not have any unfortunate consequences.
On the other hand, in view of the 2022 coefficient, Belgium is now thirteenth behind Scotland, Austria, Ukraine and Serbia. A top-ten place at the end of the season is of utmost importance, as it can lead to direct participation in the group stage of the Champions League. An eleventh place is sufficient if the winner of the Champions League is also qualified via his championship.
The biggest problem will arise at the start of the 2023-2024 season, for which the 2022 coefficient is used. In this five-year coefficient, the exceptional 2016-2017 season will then fall by the wayside. There were then five Belgian clubs in the group stages, three (Anderlecht, La Gantoise and Racing Genk) in the knockout stages of the Europa League, and after a match between Genk and Ghent, two other teams (Genk and Anderlecht) in quarter-finals.
This season, the coefficient of our country is 5,800 points, to 1,600 units of Ukraine, eleventh in the standings. The advantage is that Belgium still have four teams in the running, while Serbia (2), Ukraine (3), Scotland (2) and Russia (3), the countries just above in the standings. , must be satisfied with fewer representatives.
For the 2024-2025 season, the disastrous 2017-2018 season will fall, which means that our country will automatically move up a few places in the ranking. From 2024, however, drastic reforms will be implemented in European club football, notably following a redesigned Champions League.
