In the event of a victory for La Gantoise in Northern Ireland, Belgium would have been second in the UEFA rankings by country. The Buffalos missed the jackpot.
This is more than likely the disappointment of this start to the European campaign for Belgian clubs. This Thursday evening, La Gantoise was beaten on the lawn of Larne, who had not yet pocketed a single point in the Conference League.
A setback with serious consequences for the Buffalos, who ultimately only finished the league phase in 17th place and will have to go through the play-offs. A round which will be difficult for Wouter Vrancken’s players to pass, facing an opponent who will be tough (read here).
Ghent missed out on the gold watch
In the event of a victory in Northern Ireland, La Gantoise would have counted twelve points at the end of this league phase and would have directly joined the top 8. A top 8 in which the two Belgian teams could not have found themselves simultaneously, since the Ghent would have taken the place of Cercle de Bruges, 8th, in the event of victory.
However, for the UEFA coefficient as well as for the bonuses collected, that changes everything, because as we explained to you here, each place was important for the final count. A victory for La Gantoise would therefore have placed our representatives in 8th and 9th position.
Greater financial rewards, a greater coefficient bonus, and above all, a better draw for the people of Ghent, who have certainly inherited the most complicated part of the table. The Buffalos would also have allowed Belgium to move to second in the annual ranking of the coefficient by country. The importance of this placement is not minimal, since the first two countries at the end of the season will receive an additional place for the next edition of the Champions League.
While the bonuses for the Champions League and the Europa League have yet to be distributed and Belgium, compared to its competitors, will not be very advantaged on this point, even if its three teams finish, at least, in the top 24, this is the real jackpot that was missed this Thursday evening. However, should we blame our representatives, who are still preparing to crush the record set last season? Certainly not, obviously.
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