The Netherlands has lost its crucial sixth place on Uefa’s coefficient ranking to Portugal, meaning the Eredivisie will lose a direct Champions League spot from summer 2027.

Only one Dutch club will qualify directly for the Champions League group stage instead of two, and the Netherlands will also lose one European place overall, reducing the number of clubs in continental competitions from six to five.

The change follows a season of weak results by most Dutch clubs in European tournaments, which had already made it likely that Portugal would move ahead. The decisive moment came when FC Porto beat VfB Stuttgart in the Europa League on Thursday night, giving Portugal enough points to secure sixth place.

Uefa uses the coefficient ranking to determine how many European tickets each league receives. Clubs earn points for their country with wins and draws in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, with the ranking based on results over five seasons.

The change will not affect the 2026-27 season. The top two teams in the Eredivisie still qualify directly for the Champions League, while the number three will go through the qualifying rounds.

Meanwhile, AZ of Alkmaar, the only Dutch club still in Europe, won the first leg of its two-leg tie against Sparta Prague 2-1. The two clubs are competing for a place in the knock-out rounds of the Conference League.