Rangers on for automatic Champions League spot as Dortmund surge to final clears backdoor route

The Bundesliga side reaching the Wembley showpiece has handed the Scots a major boost despite our falling coefficient.

Borussia Dortmund have opened the door for Rangers to secure a spot in the Champions League group stage in 2025/26 despite Scotland’s coefficient plummeting.

Next season’s Scottish Premiership winners know they won’t automatically qualify for the group stage of Europe’s elite competition from the 2025/26 campaign after Scotland dropped out of the UEFA coefficient rankings top 10, with the Czech Republic moving up the rankings. Our nation has tumbled to 11th – but that could be enough for Rangers to make the most of a loophole and grab a group stage spot.

The Light Blues’ club coefficient ranking means they would secure a place thanks to the expanded Champions League format that comes into effect next season thanks to being the highest ranked champion in qualifying – if Scotland hold 11th spot and Philippe Clement leads his side to the title next term. However, that had all hinged on the 2024 Champions League winners already qualifying for the following season’s competition through their league position.

Going into the semi-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain, Dortmund had put major doubts on Rangers being able to navigate the backdoor route to the 2025/26 campaign. The club sit in fifth spot in the Bundesliga – outside of the Champions League spots in Germany – and skipper Emre Can lifting the trophy at Wembley would have been a nightmare scenario for the Ibrox side.

But Dortmund’s victory over the French champions took Germany into the top two of the coefficient rankings and saw the Bundesliga secure a fifth spot in the competition. That means if Edin Terzic’s side lift the trophy it will have no impact on Rangers’ ability to grasp the spot going spare.

Individually Rangers hold a 10 point lead over the next closest side – Dinamo Zagreb – which puts them in pole position. As a country Scotland have a 3.075 advantage over Switzerland in 12 and it would take a massive swing next season for our nation to fall any further. Therefore, if Rangers win the league next season they would be on course to nab a spot in the group stage.

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