Polish fans have been waiting for this news! A breakthrough moment in European cups

ByValeska
Jonatan Braut Brunes

Polish champion confident of playing in the Champions League? What seemed like a dream is now within reach for PKO BP Ekstraklasa clubs. Here’s the script!

Since UEFA introduced the Conference League, the situation of Polish clubs has changed radically. PKO BP Ekstraklasa has been deeply buried for years, somewhere on the border between second and third tenth in the UEFA ranking. And this, taking into account subsequent seasons, is of key importance in the context of places in individual competitions.

Currently, things are so good that we can realistically consider a scenario in which the Polish champion would receive a ticket to play in the elite Champions League competition. We don’t need to convince anyone how important this would be for the development of club football in Poland.

UEFA ranking: PKO BP Ekstraklasa is getting closer to a place in the Champions League!

After the 1/16 finals of the Conference League, Poland is in 12th place in the ranking.

What does this mean in practice? It is important that regardless of the results that will take place by the end of the 2025/26 season, Poland is not in danger of dropping to a lower ranking position.

Moreover, in the 2027/2028 campaign, the winner of the Polish Cup will be guaranteed participation in the Conference League, starting from the last qualifying round of the Europa League. The runner-up and the third team of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa will also play in them. In addition, the Polish champion will start his cup adventure in Europe from the fourth qualifying round of the Champions League. And this is a guarantee of starting in the Europa League. We will have a fifth representative who will play in the Conference League qualifiers.

What about the Champions League and direct promotion for the Polish champion? Here, a promotion in the ranking would be necessary to 10th position, which is currently occupied by the Czech Republic. Greece, however, ranks lower. Interestingly, just like Poland, these two teams still have two representatives in the current competition.

The loss to the Czechs and Greeks is not big, so it is still worth fighting for the best possible results in European cups.

On Friday, early afternoon, Lech Poznań and Raków Częstochowa met their rivals in the 1/8 finals of the Conference League. The Poznań team had a better draw, at least in theory. Shakhtar Donetsk should be within the reach of the Polish champions. In the league phase, the Ukrainians lost to Legia Warszawa (1:2), playing the match as the host team at the Wisła Kraków stadium.

Raków? The runner-up position in the league phase gave… a rival from Serie A. Fiorentina will again stand in the way of the Polish team. The club from Florence successfully eliminated Jagiellonia Białystok in the 1/16 finals. The 4-2 win at the Italian team’s premises did not give the PKO BP Ekstraklasa leader final success. But it showed that Fiorentina is not as terrible as they paint it.

UEFA Conference League Round of 16 pairs:

  • Lech Poznań – Shakhtar Donetsk

  • Fiorentina – Raków Częstochowa

  • Crystal Palace – AEK Larnaca

  • Samsunspor – Rayo Vallecano

  • Sigma Olomouc – Mainz

  • AZ Alkmaar – Sparta Prague

  • Celje – AEK Athens

  • HNK Rijeka – Strasbourg

The first matches of the 1/8 finals of the Conference League will take place on Thursday, March 12. The rematches were scheduled a week later (i.e. March 19).

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