Croatian Clubs Dominate Europe: Nine Wins
After an excellent week in qualifiers, Croatia has matched Austria and Azerbaijan in wins and jumped to 21st place on UEFA's ranking.
After an excellent week in qualifiers, Croatia has matched Austria and Azerbaijan in wins and jumped to 21st place on UEFA's ranking.
Croatian football clubs are shining at the start of the 2026/2027 European season. In the qualifying matches played so far for the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League, representatives of the SHNL have recorded a total of nine wins. This impressive performance has placed Croatia in a shared second place among all European nations, just behind Latvia, whose clubs have secured as many as 12 victories.
The nine victories by Croatian clubs have tied our country with Austria and Azerbaijan. Just behind this trio are Finland and Estonia with eight wins each, while Denmark, Switzerland, and Israel have seven. These figures, although they do not directly determine UEFA's ranking, vividly illustrate the excellent form of Croatian representatives at the start of continental competitions.
The last European week was particularly fruitful. Hajduk demolished Lithuanian side Žalgiris away with a resounding 6:2. Rijeka was solid at home at Rujevica against Finnish side Ilves, winning 1:0. Earlier, Dinamo also got the job done, beating Kauno Žalgiris a convincing 5:0. Croatia started the season with four clubs in Europe, and such results inspire optimism ahead of the continuation of the qualifiers.
The consistency of good performances has already had a positive impact on the national coefficient. Following the latest wins, Croatia has overtaken Romania on the five-year UEFA ranking and now occupies 21st place. Croatia's current coefficient stands at 24.531, while Romania has dropped to 22nd with a coefficient of 24.500.
Although this is significant progress, the key goal remains to secure passage to the next rounds, especially to the league phase of the competitions. It is precisely continued autumn appearances that would bring an even more noticeable jump in the rankings and further solidify Croatia's position in European football.
