Scotland's Coefficient League Phase Review

Celtic get the job done while a disappointing campaign ends for Rangers

Scottish European Qualifying Matches results 2025/26 = 
20/20 matches played: 5 wins + 8 draws + 7 losses

Scottish European League Phase Matches counter 2025/26 = 
22/22 matches played: 4 wins + 5 draw + 13 losses

An ultimately disappointing European league phase campaign for the Scottish sides came to an end on Thursday evening - salvaged somewhat by the fact Celtic progressed to the knockout round with a routine 4-2 victory over hapless Utrecht.

The Celts finished 21st which is within the unseeded knockout spots (17th-24th); meaning their first leg against 11th placed Stuttgart will take place in Glasgow on 19th February. The Germans finished in a seeded position (9th-16th) and so receive the advantage of hosting the second leg at home the following week. The same is true for the last 16; should Celtic progress - they will be unseeded and so drawn (on 27th Feb) to face one of two seeded top eight teams; either Porto or Braga, with the 1st leg at home on 12th March & 2nd leg away on 19th March.

Celtic were just 2 points away from a seeded 16th spot and so securing an additional victory, or converting a couple of draws to wins, could have been crucial. The hoops were five points away from a top 8 spot and skipping the knockout round altogether, which would have required a stellar campaign.

Last season’s Celtic team may have fancied their chances at that, however progression in any form for this year’s side is still commendable. This is especially true given the likes of Young Boys, Sturm Graz, Feyenoord, Basel, Salzburg and Rangers were all eliminated. The quality in the Europa League is obviously higher than the Scottish Premiership and so given Celtic’s patchy domestic form this season, the fans will be pleased to see them safely into the knockout round - something which did not seem likely before Martin O’Neill returned.

For city rivals Rangers, they followed up last season’s impressive 8th place finish with a hugely disappointing 32nd, after losing 6 of 8 matches. This time last year, Rangers conceded a stoppage time goal at Old Trafford to end the longest unbeaten away run in Europe by any Scottish team ever (7 matches). This year, the defeat in Porto was their sixth consecutive away European defeat and their 12th consecutive away European match without keeping a clean sheet. Both of these are new and unwanted club records for the Gers.

Rangers’ joined Aberdeen in facing league phase elimination, after Dundee United and Hibs both fell in the qualifiers. With the introduction of the Conference League, any season in which only one Scottish team does well in Europe will see us struggle to keep pace with our rivals, as we continue to tumble down UEFA’s rankings (from 9th to 18th in just four seasons!)

The rest of this article provides a detailed breakdown of the prize money and coefficient points earned by all Scottish clubs, as well as our place in this year’s UEFA rankings. I’ll also look ahead to next season, looking at the impact of Rangers’ Europa league final run dropping off our total.

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THIS SEASON’S COEFFICIENT