25-05-2025
Celtic learn Champions League seeding fate as Hoops discover who stands in way of £30m bonanza
Brendan Rodgers' side suffered a bruising Scottish Cup Final defeat but have landed a huge European boost
Celtic will be seeded for next season's Champions League playoffs after Dinamo Zagreb were dethroned as the Kings of Croatia.
The Hoops face a two-legged qualifier to reach the £30million promised land after Scotland slid down the coefficient table.
The four-in-a-row champions have benefited from automatic qualification with the big boys over the last three years.
However, as Scotland dropped down to 14th in UEFA rankings, the Scottish Premiership lost its guaranteed spot.
Celtic are one of ten teams who will compete via the Champions Path, but due to their coefficient standing, had to rely on other results to secure a seeded space.
Dinamo Zagreb (56.000), Bodo/Glimt (49.000), FC Copenhagen (44.875), Red Star Belgrade (44.000) and Ferencváros (39.000) were all above Celts (38.000) in the pecking order.
And with the Norwegian, Serbian and Hungarian title-winners all wrapped up, the Parkhead side had to rely on either Dinamo Zagreb or FC Copenhagen finishing runners-up in their respective leagues.
Fortunately for the Hoops, Rijeka pipped Zagreb to the Croatian title on Sunday night - despite finishing level on points.
A bizarre sorting rule in the Croatian Football League states that first place will be decided by head-to-head record in the final round of fixtures if they are tied on points, taking precedence over the difference in goals scored and conceded between the sides.
That meant Rijeka simply had to defeat Slaven Belupo - or better Zagreb's result - to be crowned champions for the first time in eight years.
And they did just that, as Niko Jankovic and Toni Fruk scored in each half to secure the title and, in turn, guarantee Brendan Rodgers' troops a seeded position for the Champions League play-off round draw.
It means Celtic will now face one of five unseeded teams in the winner-takes-all playoff over two weeks on August 19/20 and 26/27.
Swiss side Basel, Austrians Sturm Graz, Romanian giants FCSB, Polish champs Lech Poznan or Rijeka could lie in wait.
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