Bundesliga eye six Champions League spots amid UEFA coefficient surge

Here's how the Bundesliga could land six Champions League spots next season.

Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Currently third in the UEFA coefficient Champions League qualification race, Germany are closing in on second-placed Spain after a strong set of midweek European results.

Bayern Munich and SC Freiburg both delivered crucial wins against Spanish opposition: Bayern edged past Real Madrid 6-4 on aggregate in the Champions League, while Freiburg comfortably overcame Celta Vigo 6-1 on aggregate in the Europa League.

Those results have left the Bundesliga just 0.192 points behind La Liga in the overall standings, tightening the race for second place, while the English Premier League remain comfortably in first place.

A Mainz victory would have added a further 0.500 points to Germany’s coefficient tally, but Die Nullfünfer were eliminated by Strasbourg in the UEFA Conference League.

How the Bundesliga could get six Champions League spots

In order for Germany to earn six places in next season’s UEFA Champions League, two key conditions must be met.

Firstly, SC Freiburg would need to win the Europa League, which would guarantee them a direct Champions League qualification place.

Secondly, Germany must overtake Spain to finish second in the UEFA coefficient rankings. 

The Bundesliga (FC Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League and SC Freiburg in the Europa League) and La Liga (Atlético Madrid in the Champions League and Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League) each still have two teams remaining in European competitions.

In the best-case scenario, the Bundesliga could end up with up to nine European places in total.

This would require, in addition to the conditions above, that the DFB-Pokal is won by a team already qualified for European competition through its league position. In that case, the cup’s European spot would be passed down through the Bundesliga table.

This scenario is considered realistic, as aside from SC Freiburg, the remaining three DFB-Pokal contenders – FC Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart, and Bayer Leverkusen – are currently all in the top six.

UEFA coefficient ranking 2025/26 (as of 16 April, 23:59)

1. England – 26.569
2. Spain – 21.406
3. Germany – 21.214
4. Portugal – 20.100
5. Italy – 19.000
6. France – 17.535
7. Poland – 15.750
8. Greece – 14.200
9. Denmark – 12.250
10. Cyprus – 12.156