The five most unfortunate countries in European club football

European club football revolves around the continental competitions. For bigger nations, success in these tournaments is a matter of prestige, but for smaller nations, it’s vital for financial rewards that help develop their clubs. Yet, there are still countries in Europe that can only dream of these riches.

Albania, Iceland, Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, Wales, Ireland, Malta, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Faroe Islands, Armenia, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Gibraltar are the 21 unlucky nations whose clubs have never made it to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, the most lucrative competition in club football.

Thanks to UEFA’s generosity and restructuring of European competitions, many of these nations have made it to lower-tier tournaments, Europa League and Conference League.

If taking the Baltic States as example it was FC Flora Tallinn from Estonia, who first broke through in the 2021/22 season, followed by Latvia’s RFS and Lithuania’s FK Žalgiris the following year.

Yet, despite these breakthroughs, there are still five countries whose clubs have never — let us emphasize, never — reached the group stage of any European competition.

These unfortunate ones are Andorra, Malta, Northern Ireland, San Marino, and Wales. However, this exclusive club might get even more exclusive soon if things go right in the coming weeks.

Andorra

It’s no shock that Andorra has never celebrated a group stage appearance. However, this year, Andorra’s reigning champion, UE Santa Coloma, made headlines by drawing 3-3 on aggregate with Kosovo’s FC Ballkani in the first qualifying round of the Champions League and then winning in a penalty shootout.

That fairytale ended swiftly, though, with a 0-4 loss to Denmark’s Midtjylland in the next round, followed by a 0-9 thrashing from Latvia’s RFS in the Europa League.

Their last hope lies in the Conference League, but facing Iceland’s Reykjavik Vikingur, the odds aren’t in their favor. Still, as the clichés go: the ball is round and every game starts at 0-0.

Regardless of the outcome, this season marks the closest Andorra has ever come to reaching the promised land of the group stage. In previous years, their clubs have struggled to even score a single goal, let alone winning a game.

But on some occasions, they have. UE Sant Julià’s defeated San Marino’s Tre Fiori on penalties in 2009/10 Champions League first round and Inter Club d’Escaldes’ beat Faroe Islands’ Vikingur 3:2 in 2023/24 Conference League first round.

Malta

While Andorra clings to a slim hope, Malta remains stuck in the unfortunate list for yet another year.

Their champion, Ħamrun Spartans, lost in the first qualifying round of the Champions League, falling to Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.

The Conference League wasn’t much kinder, as Ħamrun exited in the second round, losing 0-2 to Bosnia’s FK Ballkani. Other Maltese clubs, like Floriana and Sliema Wanderers, suffered heavy defeats, while Marsaxlokk stumbled at the first hurdle against Albania’s KF Partizani.

The closest Malta came to breaking the curse was in the 2022/23 season when Ħamrun Spartans won three consecutive rounds in the Conference League but ultimately fell short in the playoffs against Serbia’s FK Partizan.

Side remark: though some Maltese clubs did compete in the Intertoto Cup group stages in the 90s, this doesn’t really count as a proper European tournament as we have covered in OlyBet.TV as well.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s national team has appeared in three World Cups (1958, 1982, 1986) and the Euros (2016) but their clubs have yet to reach a European group stage.

This year, their champion Larne could finally break that streak. Despite a disastrous start —losing 0-7 to Latvia’s RFS in the first qualifying round of the Champions League — they received a bit of luck.

They advanced to the third qualifying round of the Conference League without playing a second-round opponent due to a favorable draw – bye.

In that round, they managed to scrape through on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Bosnia’s FK Ballkani. Now, they face Gibraltar’s Lincoln Red Imps in the playoff, just one step away from the group stage.

Northern Ireland has come close before, most notably in the 2019/20 season when Linfield drew 4-4 on aggregate with Armenia’s Qarabağ in Europa League play-offs but lost on the away goals rule.

Side remark: Linfield made it to European Cup quarter-final in 1966/67 but they didn’t have groups back then. Also we ignored their Intertoto experiences: Cliftonville in 1996 and Ards in 1997.

San Marino

San Marino’s clubs have also struggled. Their champion, AC Virtus, suffered an 11-1 defeat to Romania’s FCSB in the Champions League, and while they fought hard against Estonia’s FC Flora in the Conference League, they ultimately lost 5-2 after extra time.

Other San Marino’s clubs also fell on the first or second hurdle, as usual for them. Just to bring out, the first time San Marino’s club achieved some success in Europe (read: won a tie) was in 2022/23 when Tre Fiori triumphed over Luxembourg’s Fola Esch.

Wales

Rounding out this list is Wales, a country with a rich football history, including several World Cup trips and a semi-final appearance at Euro 2016. However, their clubs have never reached a European group stage.

This might change soon, as their champion, The New Saints (TNS), are just one step away from the Conference League group stage. They face Lithuania’s Panevėžys in the playoff.

TNS reached this stage by defeating Montenegro’s FK Dečić 4-1 in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. Though they subsequently lost to Hungary’s Ferencváros and Moldova’s Petrocub, they still have a chance to make history.

The closest Wales came before was in the 2010/11 season when TNS reached the playoffs of the Europa League, only to lose 5-2 on aggregate to Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia.

By the end of the next week, we’ll know, if the list of unluckiest nations in European club football will remain at five or will someone finally break through.