Croatia 19th in UEFA Rankings After Dinamo Win, Hajduk Loss
Croatia remains 19th in the UEFA coefficient ranking after Dinamo's Europa League win and Hajduk's Conference League defeat. The country's coefficient rose to 27.906 points.
Illustration: AI-generated image
Croatia has held on to 19th place in the UEFA national coefficient ranking after a mixed week for its two remaining European representatives. Dinamo earned a valuable away win in the Europa League, while Hajduk suffered a surprise defeat in the Conference League.
The country's coefficient rose from 27.406 to 27.906 points, an increase of 0.500. Sweden, the nearest rival in 20th place, also added 0.500 and now sit on 27.000, so Croatia's cushion remains 0.906 points. Hungary in 18th have 29.312, a gap of 1.406, while Austria in 17th collected only 0.400 points, allowing Croatia to close the gap from 1.844 to 1.744 points. The gap over Scotland, who are below, increased from 0.956 to 1.056 points.
Dinamo's 2:0 away win over English side Sunderland in the Europa League was the headline result. Luka Stojković opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, and Dion Drena Beljo made it 2:0 in the 39th after an assist from Stojković. It was the first match under interim coach Jerko Leko, who took over after the club parted ways with previous manager Mario Kovačević. With seven points from four matches, Dinamo have taken a significant step towards the knockout phase.
Hajduk, however, lost 0:1 away to Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps in the Conference League. The decisive goal came in the 89th minute when a header by Christian Rutjens hit the post and rebounded in off Dennis Hadžikadunić for an own goal. Hajduk had entered the match with six points from two wins, while Lincoln had lost their previous two, making the result a genuine upset. British newspaper The Guardian noted the moment, writing: "How the mighty have fallen."
The Croatian coefficient is calculated over the last five seasons, with points earned by clubs divided by the number of representatives at the start of the season. Croatia began with four clubs and now have two left. Each win in the league phase brings 0.500 coefficient points, and a draw adds 0.250. Reaching 15th place would earn two spots in Champions League qualifying, but that remains a distant target: Cyprus currently hold 15th with 35.443 points, leaving Croatia 7.537 behind.
