2016-17 Champions League: only six countries represented in the Round of 16, a record low

Of the 16 clubs qualified for the knockout stages of the 2016-17 Champions League after the group stage - which ended on 07/12/2016 - are from the six countries (Spain, Germany, England, Italy, Portugal, and France) who were also the top six in the UEFA association (country) coefficient rankings at the end of the 2015-16 season.

This is the first time since the creation of this competition - born in 1955 under the name European Champion Clubs' Cup, and which became the Champions League in 1992 (and then, only from 1997-98 with more representatives from the top ranked countries) - that only six countries have comprised the 16 places in the first knockout round. The prior minimum number of countries in the Round of 16 was seven.

Over the last 10 seasons prior to 2016-17 (2006-07 to 2015-16), Spanish, German, English, Italian, Portuguese, and French representatives occupied an average of 13.4 of the 16 (83.75%) places in the first knockout round of the Champions League. This means that, on average, less than three clubs from countries other than the top six manage to reach the knockout…