Why this European Cup season is so important for Austria

European Cup: Austria lost a fixed place in the league phase

Because of the weak international results in recent years, Austria is losing one European Cup starting place. From the 2027/’28 season only four clubs left represent red-white-red football internationally – for the first time since 2017/’18. This also works for the last one Lost a fixed place in a league phase. The path to the main competitions will be significantly longer and more difficult. And the prospects of quickly reversing this regression are anything but good.

The initial situation is sobering. Austria starts the European Cup season in 22nd position. In the UEFA five-year ranking you are behind Ukraine, Romania and Hungary, among others. In 15th place, which is currently occupied by Cyprus and which guarantees fifth place on the grid, 8,118 points are already missing. For comparison: In the last European Cup season, the Austrian representatives only collected 4,100 points. The last time there were this few was in 2015/’16 (3,800).

Five-year ranking: Austria must reduce the gap

It is believed that Austria will make up for this deficit this year practically impossible. The analysis platform Football meets Data calculates the probability of reaching 15th place at the end of the season to just one 0.3 percent.

Nevertheless, the current European Cup season is coming enormous importance to. Because even if a return to the top 15 seems unrealistic this year, it’s about to shorten the backlog and to create the basis for competing for fifth place on the grid again in the coming years.

Good conditions despite recent weak performances

Thus every success counts of the Austrian clubs. Even in qualifying, every game can be decisive. A win gives Austria 0.2 points for the five-year ranking, in the league phase and the subsequent knockout rounds it is already 0.4 points. It will be all the more important to get as many Austrian clubs as possible into a league phase. The Requirements are good for that, at least on paper.

With LASK, Sturm, Salzburg, Austria and Rapid, Austria is sending the five clubs into the race that have been the most in recent years most points for the UEFA five-year ranking.

The consequences of the crash remain noticeable

Die Consequences of the crash will also be noticeable in the 2028/’29 season. If a small miracle doesn’t happen this year and Austria makes it into the top 15, only four local clubs will once again be represented internationally.

The Meister should already be in the 1. Qualifying Rounds to Champions League compete, the cup winner or runner-up in the 1. Round the Europa League qualification. The runner-up or third place in the table and the winner of the European Cup play-offs would be in the 2. Qualifying Rounds the Conference League the start.

The claim must be different

That the Claim for Austria must be different, said the chairman of the board of the Bundesliga, Christian Ebenbaueralready in December 2025 in a KURIER interview: “The Bundesliga is economically ranked 14th or 15th in Europe. We should also lie there for sport.” However, that is currently the case a good distance away.