Now only Lausanne will play in Europe

The Swiss Football League set a clear target last summer: Switzerland, which had fallen to 17th place, should return to the top 15 of the UEFA rankings as quickly as possible. The aim was to take advantage of the fact that, for the time being, five Swiss teams were represented in Europe for the last time. However, following the defeats of Basel and YB on Thursday, this goal has receded into the distance.

Although Switzerland has moved up one place in the rankings and is just one point behind 15th place, a look ahead puts hopes into perspective: Cyprus, which is ranked directly ahead of Switzerland, still has two teams in the competition in AEK Larnaka and Omonia Nicosia, while only Lausanne-Sport remain in the Conference League for Switzerland.

In any case, the Vaud side are the only Swiss team to have impressed in this European Cup season: with 14.5 of Switzerland's 30 points so far this season, almost half of their haul has come from Lausanne. YB contributed 8 points, Basel 4.5, Lugano and Servette - who both failed to qualify - 1.5 each. The comparison is clear: Cyprus has collected over 47 points with four teams so far and has an average almost twice as high.

Switzerland is hardly in danger from behind. Austria, Sweden and Israel no longer have any teams in the European Cup. Scotland is still hoping for Celtic Glasgow, who - unlike YB and Basel - have made it into the top 24 in the Europa League.

If Switzerland remains outside the top 15, there would be tangible consequences. As in the coming season, it would only have four teams in the European Cup in 2027/28 instead of five. All of them would have to start in the 2nd qualifying round of the respective competition - and participation in a league phase would no longer be guaranteed.