Tracking the demise of Scottish teams in European football

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Things were looking up for Scottish football when Rangers reached the final of the Europa League back in 2022, narrowly losing out to Oliver Glasner’s Eintracht Frankfurt side on penalties.

The Ibrox outfit had hardly benefitted from the luck of the draw to get that far either, finishing as runners-up to Lyon in the group phase and then seeing off Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig in the knockout stages.

On the face of it, it has been a tale of woe since then, not only for Rangers, but for all Scottish clubs involved in continental competition. Have results really been as bad as the headlines suggest or have there been any reasons for optimism?

2022/23

Rangers continued from where they had left off in the previous campaign, edging past Union Saint-Gilloise and, even more impressively, PSV Eindhoven to join Celtic in the group stages of the Champions League.

That was as good as it got for the two Glasgow giants, however, as they combined to secure just two points from a possible 36, both coming in 1-1 draws against Shakhtar Donetsk for the team in green and white.

Although you would have got long odds on Europa League success for Hearts, crashing out of the competition at the first hurdle was not part of their plan. That Playoff Round defeat at the hands of Zurich did come with the safety net of a place in the Conference League Group Phase, but two wins against Latvia’s RFS proved insufficient to secure their progress.

In fact, the Edinburgh outfit were not the only Scottish side to be eliminated from Europe’s third competition that season, with Motherwell bowing out to Sligo Rovers in the Second Qualifying Round and Dundee United being thumped by AZ Alkmaar in the Third Qualifying Round.

2023/24

Having navigated their way past Servette, Rangers this time came unstuck at the hands of PSV Eindhoven in Champions League qualifying. Once again, Celtic enjoyed automatic entry to the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition, but they finished bottom of a tough section that also included Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Feyenoord.

In the Europa League, Aberdeen were humbled by Sweden’s Hacken in the Playoff Round. Rangers took full advantage of their second chance in European competition, however, topping a group that featured Spanish opposition in the shape of Real Betis, before narrowly losing out to Benfica in the last 16.

Both Hearts and Hibernian progressed to the Playoff Round of the Conference League, though PAOK and Aston Villa, respectively, put them to the sword. The Greek outfit then finished above both Eintracht Frankfurt and Aberdeen in Group G, though the Dons did defy a few football predictions by beating the already-qualified Germans in their final game.

2024/25

Having won both of their Champions League qualifiers in 2022/23 and the first of their two in 2023/24, Rangers fell at the first hurdle this time around against Dynamo Kyiv.

Celtic, by way of contrast, took full advantage of an absolute cakewalk of a draw in the revamped League Phase of the competition, finishing 21st of 36 teams to book a meeting with Bayern Munich in the Knockout Phase Playoffs. Few tipsters gave the Scottish side a chance, but only a late goal from Alphonso Davies in the second leg in Germany prevented the tie from going to extra-time.

Whilst Kilmarnock and Hearts were unable to make progress in the Europa League, Rangers put their Champions League disappointment behind them by securing a top-eight finish in the League Phase of Europe’s secondary competition. Fenerbahce were then beaten on penalties in the last 16 following a nervous night at Ibrox, before Athletic Bilbao ended the Gers’ interest in the quarter-finals.

In the Conference League, both St. Mirren and Kilmarnock only faced Nordic countries, winning and losing one tie apiece. Hearts were parachuted into the League Phase following defeat in the Europa League Playoff Round, but they missed out on qualification as a result of scoring fewer goals than Serbia’s TSC.

2025/26

Once again, Rangers had to attempt to qualify for Europe’s premier competition. After seeing off the not inconsiderable challenges of Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen, few would have had a 9-1 mauling at the hands of Club Brugge amongst their Champions League predictions. Elsewhere, having benefitted from automatic entry in recent seasons, Celtic suffered the ignominy of elimination at the hands of Kazakhstan’s Kairat on penalties.

Hibernian and Aberdeen added to Scottish football’s misery in the Europa League, losing out to Midtjylland and FCSB, respectively. Whilst Rangers’ season continued to unravel with a League Phase exit in this competition, Celtic did at least make it through to the Knockout Phase Playoffs, though Stuttgart’s convincing win in the first leg left the Bhoys with too much to do in Germany.

Neither Dundee United nor Hibernian reached the League Phase of the Conference League, though three of their four ties in the competition went to extra-time. As for Aberdeen, their return of two points from a possible 18 meant that only Rapid Wien finished below them in the 36-team table.

2026/27

The current campaign has offered Scottish football fans precious little by way of encouragement. Hearts were beaten 6-0 by Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying, whilst Celtic plumbed new depths, also versus Austrian opposition, by turning a 4-0 aggregate lead into a 5-4 defeat against LASK.

Martin O’Neill’s men can at least look forward to facing the likes of Benfica and Marseille in the Europa League, but they won’t be joined by Hearts or Rangers, both of whom have already exited the competition.

As a result of Hibernian and Motherwell each winning two ties in the Conference League, Scotland had four teams in with a shout of reaching the League Phase. Only Hearts sneaked over the line, however, and, based upon what has happened so far, any football betting tips that back them to make further progress have to be taken with a pinch of salt.

SUMMARY

Somewhat incredibly, Scottish clubs have lost 25 of their 42 European qualifiers over the course of the last five seasons. As if this wasn’t bad enough, eight of their 12 Group/League Phase appearances have ended in elimination, as have four of their five knockout ties.

Such continual underachievement can only lead to a decline in the country’s UEFA coefficient, which, in turn, means potentially longer and harder routes through the qualification process in future seasons.

At least supporters of Celtic and Hearts still have continental competition to look forward to this season. The same cannot be said for Rangers, though the lack of Thursday/Sunday football could benefit them and make them a decent price when it comes to Scottish Premiership odds.