The final day of the FIFAe Nations Cup brought a final that no one had in mind. In the end, Brazil takes the world title.
Atmospheric drumming and waving flags – at the end of the FIFAe Nations Cup in Copenhagen, the crowd, which was admitted for the first time during these tournament weeks, created plenty of atmosphere in the house.
And this despite the fact that hosts Denmark had already failed in the quarter-finals. They all witnessed two free-flowing teams that no one had put among the favourites before or during the tournament.
But Brazil and Poland did not care about expectations. Both had played their way into the final as the most effective teams of the tournament.
Brazil
Brazil again showed staying power in the first semi-final of the day. Italy took an early lead. But the “eSelecao” came back in the 50th minute after a beautiful passing combination and even increased the lead before Italy equalised shortly before the end.
Again it was the southern Europeans who took the lead in the 34th minute after a header. Brazil, however, continued to act calmly and equalised again shortly before the end of the match, thus saving themselves for extra time.
From then on, Brazil dominated the extra time – taking Italy by surprise with two quick goals. With a final score of 4:5, the tournament ended in the semi-finals for the “Squadra Azzurra”, who defeated Germany in the round of 16.
Poland continue to surprise
The surprise of the tournament also knew how to convince against Sweden. In a conversation with eSport, the Scandinavians had actually set their sights on Portugal as their opponents. But the latter lost to FIFAe Nations Cup newcomer Poland in the quarter-finals.
And so one of the best defensive teams of the FIFAe Nations Cup so far seemed visibly impressed by the effectiveness of the Eastern Europeans. Almost every shot was on target. At times it looked almost too easy. Poland’s final goal scenes were similar.
Olelito’, who was substituted for the second leg, kept shaking his head. In the end it was 6:1 for Poland. “Actually we played a good game, created chances. The result doesn’t reflect our performance, but in the end Poland was still much stronger,” summed up the Swede ‘Olelito’ in an interview with eSport. The final of the surprise teams was thus perfect.
The final no one had in mind
In the first leg of the FIFAe Nations Cup, Poland and Brazil did not give each other a single metre. Poland acted a little more creatively, but failed to find a finish in the final stages. Both teams eliminated each other;
In the return match, the Eastern Europeans found their way into the game more quickly and repeatedly created dangerous chances. In the 42nd minute, they scored after a long shot from half field.
But if Brazil had shown one thing in this tournament, it was that they could never be written off. The “eSelecao” equalised with their first chance – extra time was in the air. In injury time, however, the South Americans had another chance and, after a turn of events, scored with a powerful shot into the net – 2-1.
By winning the 2022 FIFAe Nations Cup, Brazil follow France, who were the last nation to win the 2019 World Cup title.
“We feel great but are completely speechless. After 1-0, we didn’t let ourselves get rattled and kept the formation. That, like the whole tournament, turned out to be the best tactic for us.”
