Fiorentina handed Celtic Champions League rescue mission as Scotland’s Czech coefficient battle now rests on on Italians

Scotland's hopes of a top 10 UEFA coefficient place now lie with Fiorentina after Viktoria Plzen drew them in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals.

It's the Scots vs the Czech Republic for the final spot in the top 10 which guarantees a Champions League spot for the top flight winners up to 2025/26, a luxury Celtic have enjoyed over the last two seasons. Rangers' defeat to Benfica on Thursday means our sides can add no more points to the board. But Plzen are still active for the Czech Republic, and they will leapfrog us in the country coefficient standings if they add any more to their total.

Even a draw in either leg will nudge them up a place and move Scotland out of the top 10. That would mean no guaranteed automatic qualifier for the Champions League, though if it's Rangers who win the league, they are likely to qualify anyway through their club coefficient standing. It would also mean more qualifying rounds to go through for the teams who finish in the other European places.

However if Plzen lose both legs, our spot is secure for another year. That would mean the current status quo that has been in place for our sides over the last two seasons, wherein the Premiership winners are guaranteed Champions League football until the 2026/27 season.

And it will be Fiorentina the nation is cheering on, who downed Maccabi Haifa in a thriller to make it this far. Currently eighth in Serie A, it's one of the tougher draws, though Plzen will be breathing a sigh of relief at avoiding Aston Villa.

The caveat to all this is that even if the Czechs leapfrog us into the top ten, there is one scenario where our league winners could still automatically qualify for 2025/26. But only if it's Rangers. The Ibrox side's club coeff