Romania, EXCEEDED in the ranking of UEFA coefficients » What a stake the Superliga teams wasted
Article by Romeo Ene – Published Friday, February 20, 2026, 10:54 / Updated Friday, February 20, 2026 11:00
Not so good news for Romanian football after Thursday's European night. The results from Europa League and Conference League they changed the hierarchy, and Romania dropped one position.
The surprise came from France, where Red Star Belgrade, the former opponent of FCSB in the main group, prevailed on Lille's field, score 1-0. The only goal of the game was scored by Franklin Tebo Uchenna, in the 45th+1st minute.
Romania, overtaken by Serbia in the European hierarchy
The success of the Serbs means bad news for Romania in relation to the country coefficient. Following the points scored by Red Star Belgrade, Serbia managed to overtake Romania in the overall standings.
The news comes in the context in which Romania no longer has any representation in European cups. FCSB was eliminated from the main group of the Europa League. Elias Charalambous' team lost at Red Star Belgrade, score 0-1.
The red-blues finished the group in 27th place, with 7 points after 8 stages. On the other hand, Craiova University dramatically left the Conference League. The Oltenians lost at AEK Athens, 2-3, and finished in 25th place, the first below the teams going to the play-off for the “eights”.
The goal was to occupy 23rd place at the end of the season, so that in 2027 the Romanian champion would have entered directly into the 2nd preliminary round of the Champions League. Thus, after a single “double” won, the presence in the Conference League group would have been ensured
Ranking of coefficients // PHOTO: X
Even if Romania and Serbia have recorded an identical course in the current season, accumulating 5,750 points each, the difference in favor of the neighbors is made by the superior performances of the previous years.
Romania started the current season in 24th place, but managed to climb the ranking after the first European games. It's currently picking up where it left off, and the fall could continue depending on results.
25th place is threatened by Ukraine and Slovenia. Celje prevailed in the play-off round for the “best” Conference League, 3-2 on the field of Drita.
Romania will send four teams to the preliminaries of the future editions of the European cups: one in the Champions League, one in the Europa League and two in the Conference League,
