KTChampions correct me if I am wrong, but to me it looks that there are only 4 tickets to the Champions League. See here in the table at the bottom, it says that 1st to 4th will only qualify for the Champions League and there is no country that has 5 starting spots. I don't know for sure, but to me it looks like 4th is the cut-off.
I believe that this is going to be hard for Borussia Dortmund. They are not underperforming temporarily, they are having big problems within the team that I think cannot be solved just like that. There are several teams that I think will be ahead of Borussia Dortmund.
From your link:
For the 2025–26 UEFA Champions League, the associations are allocated places according to their 2024 UEFA association coefficients, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 2019–20 to 2023–24.[3] The table reflects Russia's ongoing suspension from UEFA.
Apart from the allocation based on the association coefficients, associations may have additional teams participating in the Champions League, as noted below:
(EPS) – European Performance Spot, the additional berths for associations who finish in the top 2 of the 2024–25 association coefficients
Now we just check who got into this season's Champions League based on the results of last season: Bayern, Bayer, Leipzig, Dortmund, Stuttgart. Similarly, Italy has 5 participating teams.
It is believed that at the end of this season, England will most likely enter the top 2 and receive an additional ticket, but for the remaining spot, in my opinion, Germany will be able to compete with Italy.
Theoretically, one country can have 7 teams in the group stage of the Champions League. To do this, you need to be in the top 2 in the rating + clubs from this country must win the Champions League and the Europa League, but finish below 5th place in the national championship.