With the UEFA Champions League and Europa League semi-finals beginning this week, we have looked back over the past ten years to see which nation has produced the most European semi-finalists in UEFA’s elite club competitions.
Key Data Points:
- Spain has produced 21 UCL/UEL semi-finalists (21), more than any other nation for the past ten years.
- England ranks second, with 18 semi-finalists over the same period.
- This is the first season in a decade with no English UCL/UEL semi-finalists.
- Ukraine has produced the most semi-finalists outside of the ‘big five’ European leagues.
As the Europa Conference League was only created in 2021, we have excluded it from this comparison.
This season is the first time in a decade that no English clubs have made it to the final four of either the Champions League or Europa League.
Last year, only eventual Champions League winners Manchester City reached the last four of Europe’s top two competitions, though West Ham did lift the Conference League trophy.
Many fans and pundits often claim the Premier League is the best competition in world football.
But with only one semi-finalist in the top two European competitions over the past two seasons, can England truly claim to have the best league?
UEFA Champions League and Europa League Semi-finalists (Last Ten Seasons)
| Season | UCL Semi-finalists | UEL Semi-finalists | No. Of English Teams |
| 23/24 | PSG (FRA), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Real Madrid (ESP), Bayern Munich (GER) | Atalanta (ITA), Marseille (FRA), Bayer Leverkusen (GER), AS Roma (ITA) | 0 |
| 22/23 | Manchester City (ENG), Internazionale (ITA), AC Milan (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP) | Sevilla (ESP), AS Roma (ITA), Bayer Leverkusen (GER), Juventus (ITA) | 1 |
| 21/22 | Liverpool (ENG), Real Madrid (ESP), Villareal (ESP), Manchester City (ENG) | E. Frankfurt (GER), Rangers (SCO), RB Leipzig (GER), West Ham (ENG) | 3 |
| 20/21 | Manchester City (ENG), Chelsea (ENG), PSG (FRA), Real Madrid (ESP) | Villareal (ESP), Manchester United (ENG), Arsenal (ENG), AS Roma (ITA) | 4 |
| 19/20 | PSG (FRA), Bayern Munich (GER), RB Leipzig (GER), Olympique Lyon (FRA) | Sevilla (ESP), Internazionale (ITA), Manchester United (ENG), Shakhtar (UKR) | 1 |
| 18/19 | Tottenham (ENG), Liverpool (ENG), Ajax (NED), Barcelona (ESP) | Chelsea (ENG), Arsenal (ENG), Valencia (ESP), E. Frankfurt (GER) | 4 |
| 17/18 | Real Madrid (ESP), Liverpool (ENG), Bayern Munich (GER),
AS Roma (ITA) |
Marseille (FRA), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Arsenal (ENG), RB Salzburg (AUT) | 2 |
| 16/17 | Juventus (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP), Monaco (FRA), Atletico Madrid (ESP) | Ajax (NED), Manchester United (ENG), Olympique Lyon (FRA), Celta Vigo (ESP) | 1 |
| 15/16 | Real Madrid (ESP), Atletico Madrid (ESP), Bayern Munich (GER), Manchester City (ENG) | Liverpool (ENG), Sevilla (ESP), Shakhtar (UKR), Villareal (ESP) | 2 |
| 14/15 | Juventus (ITA), Barcelona (ESP), Bayern Munich (GER), Real Madrid (ESP) | Dnipro (UKR), Sevilla (ESP), Fiorentina (ITA), Napoli (ITA) | 0 |
Which Nations Have Produced The Most European Semi-finalists Over The Past Decade?
No country has provided more Champions League and Europa League semi-finalists than Spain in recent years.
At least one of La Liga’s big three of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have made the final four of the Champions League every year but one over that period.
English teams take second place, with 2014/15 the last season not to feature a Premier League side at this stage of either the UCL or UEL.
Italy (13) and Germany (12) take third and fourth place, followed by France (8) to round out Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues.
Number of Champions League/Europa League Semi-finalists Over Past Ten Seasons
| Nation | No. of UCL/UEL Semi-finalists |
|---|---|
| Spain | 21 |
| England | 18 |
| Italy | 13 |
| Germany | 12 |
| France | 8 |
| Ukraine | 3 |
| Netherlands | 2 |
| Austria | 1 |
| Scotland | 1 |
Ukraine is the biggest surprise of them all, though. Despite the low status of their league compared to the likes of the Dutch Eredivisie, Scottish Premiership or Portuguese Primeira Liga, Ukraine has more European semi-finalists than any of those countries, with three.
Teams from the Netherlands have made the last four just twice in ten years, with Ajax in the 2018/19 UCL and 2016/17 UEL semis.
While Celtic have dominated domestic football in Scotland for the last decade, it’s their fierce rivals Rangers who represent Scotland’s only trip to the semis in Europe’s top two competitions during that period.
The blue side of Glasgow made the 2021/22 Europa League final before losing on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.
