Let’s take a look at how the French teams did in European competitions and what’s to come for them in the next months.
UEFA Champions League:
Paris Saint-Germain finished as runners-up in their Champions League group F with Dortmund taking top spot. PSG now advanced to the round of 16 as an unseeded team ahead of the draw, set for 12:00CET on Monday 18 December Nyon, Switzerland. PSG could face any of group winners Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City and Barcelona in the round of 16. The first leg of their tie will be in February and the second will be held in March of 2024.
RC Lens finished third in their group behind Arsenal and PSV but ahead of Sevilla. This was enough to help them qualify to the Europa League knockout phase. In the knockout round play-offs, the eight Champions League third placed finishers will be unseeded and will face the eight Europa League group runners-up (who are seeded). The draw for this next round of the competition also takes place on December 18th. The competition will resume in February as well, with the first leg being played february 15th and second leg february 22nd.
A not so fun fact from the UCL: No French team gained more than eight points in the UEFA Champions League group stage this season (both Lens and Paris), the first time this has happened in a single edition under the current competition format (since 2003-04).
UEFA Europa League:
Olympique de Marseille unfortunately lost in their last group stage match against Brighton which meant they finished second in their group and subsequently will have to face a third-placed Champions League team in the Europa League knockout phase. Their potential opponents are Galatasaray, Braga, Benfica, Feyenoord, Milan, Young Boys or Shakhtar Donetsk.
Toulouse FC qualified as well, finishing second in Group E just behind Liverpool. They are now in the Europa League knockout play-offs and will face a third-placed Champions League team. Their probable rivals are: Galatasaray, Braga, Benfica, Feyenoord, Milan, Young Boys or Shakhtar Donetsk. This marks the first time Toulouse have advanced to the knockout rounds in the Europa League.
Stade Rennais F.C. finished second in Group F, just behind Villarreal. This means Rennes will have to face a third-placed Champions League team. Like Marseille and Toulouse, their list of potential opponents includes Galatasaray, Braga, Benfica, Feyenoord, Milan, Young Boys and Shakhtar Donetsk.
UEFA Europa Conference League:
LOSC Lille topped their group in the UEFA Conference League with a commanding 14 points. They suffered no losses and now are into the round of 16 of the Conference League, their strong play making them one of the competition’s favorites.
