UEFA Women's Coefficient Review: UWCL First Qualifying Round - Part 2

We are through the first qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Women's Champions League after Saturday's mini-tournament finals and third place matches. Five teams marched on to the second qualifying round, giving their countries a boost in the UEFA women's coefficient rankings.

Last week's results also makes things a lot clear in the UEFA women's coefficient battles for this season. Fourteen less countries left, though many of them were not even in contention to begin with.

After the first week of continental football, here is a look at where things stand in the coefficient rankings.

Battle for 24th/28th: Ireland Gone, Latvian Push

There is quite the shakeup in the battle for top 24/top 28 now after Saturday's first qualifying round finals. No country from 21st to 47th maintain the same ranking from the week before.

The nations that are italicised no longer have a team in Europe.

Poland are the new country in the top 24 after Czarni Sosnowiec's win. More importantly, that came against direct opposition in Athlone Town of Ireland. That leaves the Irish out at the first hurdle, and will almost certainly drop out of the top 24. they may hold onto 28th, depending on how the season pans out. In total, 10 countries would have to pass them.

UEFA Women's Coeffiicents 26/27: Qualifying Week 1

Latvia are the other country to make a significant move, with Riga FC's success pushing them into 27th. Hungary drop out of the top 28 for now, though their team have yet to take the field.

Greece, Slovakia, and Kosovo also saw their respective teams progress to the second qualifying round, keeping their campaigns going. The Greeks in particular can be quite happy, as their hopes of claiming a place in the top 28 have increased considerably. Sitting a full point ahead of Ukraine in 25th, it is an early advantage for them.

Slovakia are also eyeing 28th after Spartak Myjava won their mini-tournament. Had they been in a four-team group, they could have already been in 27th. Instead, more will still be needed from Myjava.

Other movers include Georgia, Israel, Northern Ireland and Faroe Islands, who saw their sides prevail in the third place matches. Of course, all four are eliminated, so the results mean nothing in the context of this season.

The second qualifying round will be where things truly start to get interesting. All of this season's battles will be on display, with there being no room for error. Every result - including the third place playoffs - are suddenly more meaningful.

Second Qualifying Round - What To Expect

The champions path will feature 28 teams from countries ranked as high as eighth and as low as 44th. With that in mind, we can reasonably expect to see more movements throughout the four days of play.

Looking At the UEFA Women's Coefficient Battles For the 2026/27 Season

This path will truly see the beginning of the battle for 13th/17th, as well as the race for sixth/seventh. Remember, only the fourth place finishers will be eliminated from Europe in this round, with the losing finalist and third place sides transferring to the UEFA Women's Europa Cup. Türkiye are the highest ranked nation in the round to have just one team in Europe.

The non-champions path will have 16 teams and will particularly be prevalent for places in the top 17 of the rankings. Ukraine are currently the lowest ranked nation with a team in this path, so pressure will be high on them to make a surge up the rankings.