Bournemouth have to settle for Europa League spot after drawing at Forest
By Sunny Badwal, Press Association
Bournemouth missed out on a Champions League place as Morgan Gibbs-White responded to being left out of England’s World Cup squad by scoring for Nottingham Forest in a 1-1 draw.
Gibbs-White sent a message to Thomas Tuchel by netting a smart free-kick for his 15th league goal of the campaign, pointing to his chest and raising 10 fingers in celebration to let the England boss know what he will be missing in an attacking midfield role in this summer’s tournament.
Andoni Iraola was taking charge of his last match for Bournemouth and set his final mission to secure a place in the Champions League, but they fell agonisingly short.
Destination: @EuropaLeague ✈️ pic.twitter.com/Z1aJBHBBZO
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) May 24, 2026
Marcus Tavernier’s second-half equaliser was not enough for the Cherries, who needed to win and for other results to go their way for a place in Europe’s premier club competition next season.
Nevertheless, they finished the season on an 18-game unbeaten streak and secured Europa League football for the first time in their history to continue their remarkable rise up the football ladder.
Following a season which saw three managers come and go at the City Ground, Forest finally made it fourth time lucky as Vitor Pereira did the job required of him to keep the Reds in the league, finishing 16th and five points above the drop zone.
