Napoli and Juventus wins bump Italy up in race for extra Champions League spot

Victories for Napoli and Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday night have pushed Italy up the UEFA Coefficient rankings, which are used to determine which nation receives an extra spot in next season’s competition. 

A Scott McTominay-inspired Napoli picked up a 2-0 win against Qarabag, while Juventus came from behind to record a 3-2 victory away against Bodo/Glimt in the sub-zero temperatures in Northern Norway on Tuesday night. 

As a result of the victories for the two Serie A sides, Italy have moved up UEFA’s season association coefficient ranking and now sit in third place behind Germany and England. As things stand, England lead the way on 10.166 points, Germany sit in second on 9.428 and Italy in third on 8.714. Spain are currently fourth on 8.500 points.

Only the nations that finish the season in the top two will receive an extra spot in next year’s Champions League. 

The situation could still change by the end of the week depending on the results in Wednesday’s Champions League games and Thursday’s Europa and Conference League fixtures. 

Each season, two nations will receive an additional spot in the following season’s Champions League. 

Italy and Germany were the first to benefit from this change in rule, and had five teams – Inter, Milan, Juventus, Atalanta and Bologna – involved in the 2024-25 campaign. This season, England and Spain have five teams competing in the Champions League, as opposed to their regular quota of four teams. 

The nations that finish the season in the top two of UEFA’s season association coefficient receive an additional spot in the following edition of the Champions League. 

The ranking is calculated as follows: Each nation will receive two points for every game that one of their teams wins, plus a point for a draw across the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. Half-points are also awarded for victories and draws in qualifying and play-off matches, and bonuses are also awarded depending on league table finishes and progression at each knock-out stage.

Those points tallies are then divided by the number of participating teams that each country has competing. For Italy, this season, that number is seven. Italy currently has a total of 61 points, which, divided by 7, equals their current ranking score of 8.714.