Spain could have seven teams in Europe next season for the third year in a row

Europe has undergone significant transformations in its continental competitions and national during the last years. Others, meanwhile, have seen for the first time the light in the world of football as a result of the constant changes that it lives.

The Nations League wave Copa del Rey they serve as the indicated champion for those who are to come. Thus, UEFA will organize a new continental tournament for the next triennium 2021-2024 with the aim of promoting the presence of all the countries that make up the institution.

The UEFA Conference League is born

The highest level of European football announced the creation of a new competition. A) Yes, UEFA announced the birth of the Conference League on 24 September 2019.

The objective of this tournament is increase the representation of the different associations that make up UEFA. In addition, the Conference League champion will get a spot for the following season in the UEFA Europa League group stage if you have not qualified for the UEFA Champions League through your national competition.

The Conference League kicks off this summer, from June to August. This will be followed by the group stage and play-off qualifiers. The latter will end with prepare the final phase of the competition, which will be played from March 10 and will conclude on May 25 in Tirana (Albania).

Impact in Europe

UEFA's new invention will have repercussions in the Europa League. Thus, the teams participating in the group stage will be reduced from 48 to 32 teams.

In addition, starting next year the third classified in the group stage of Champions League, as well as the eight seconds of the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, will play in the knockout play-offs of the Conference League. Therefore, the final table of the tournament will be known after said confrontations.

In view of this, those qualified to play the group stage of the Europa League next season will come from:

  • UEFA Europa Conference League champion.
  • 11 teams classified directly through their national federations.
  • 10 teams from the UEFA Europa League qualifying round.
  • 10 clubs in the UEFA Champions League qualification.

Athletic Club says goodbye to the European dream

Therefore, taking into account the above and knowing that Spain leads the UEFA national team ranking, the country would contribute a total of six teams to European competitions. However, the number of participants could have increased if Athletic Club had won the Copa del Rey against Barcelona and had finished the league among the top six finishers, since UEFA has awarded national cup champions since 2014 with the direct qualification for the Europa League group stage. This would have pushed LaLiga's seventh-ranked player to European competition next season.

For example: last season Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Atlético and Seville they qualified for the Champions League because of their position in the table. For its part, Villarreal as fifth and Real Sociedad as sixth obtained the right to compete in the group stage of the Europa League. Conversely, Since the title of the 2019/2020 cup final could not be decided, but the league did end, Granada, as seventh classified, managed to enter the second highest European competition (Yes, he had to play the rounds prior to the group stage).

Leaving behind speculation and probabilities, the teams that will play the European commitments next season, As minimum, will be:

  • Champions League: 4 first classified in the league.
  • Europa League: 5th classified in the league.
  • Conference league: 6th classified in the league.

Who would qualify now for European competitions next year?

Five days remain to know the final classification of the domestic championship. However, the ensembles and technicians are beginning to account for their future projects. Right now, the teams that would compete next season in Europe as the table stands would be:

  1. Atlético de Madrid (Champions League)
  2. Madrid (Champions League)
  3. Barcelona (Champions League)
  4. Seville (Champions League)
  5. Real society (Europa League)
  6. Betis (Conference League)

Spain could have seven teams in Europe for the third consecutive year

Spain could contribute seven teams to European competitions for next season for the third consecutive year. The essential requirement would be that Villarreal win the Europa League and not finish in the top six of LaLiga.

According to this assumption and taking into account the current classification of the domestic competition, they would play in Europe in the 2021/2022 season the following equipment: Champions League (Atlético, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Seville and Villarreal), Europa League (Real Sociedad) and Conference league (Betis).

The Conference League regulations are still unknown, but the UEFA Champions League rules governing the participation of clubs in European competitions confirm this framework. More specifically, it is found in the article 3.07:

“If the association is entitled to four places in the UEFA Champions League and none of the champions qualify for the UEFA Europa League through their national championship, the lowest ranked UEFA Champions League representative is automatically transferred to the UEFA Europa League. In this case, lThe champions' association is entitled to an additional place (five in total) in the UEFA Champions League and an additional place (four in total) in the UEFA Europa League.