Half the battle has been won: After the first round of the FIFAe Nations Cup group stage, Germany is at the top of the table.
The first day of the FIFAe Nations Cup in Copenhagen started with a little surprise. In the first game of Group B, Umut ‘Umut’ Gültekin and Mustafa ‘xMusti19’ Cankal stumbled to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of underdogs United Arab Emirates – but that turned out to be just a blip in hindsight.
The German team then got back on track with three wins against Japan, Peru and defending champions France and a draw against Sweden. With ten points, Germany are now at the top of the table. “I think we need three points to progress, but ten points to secure the group win. That’s our goal,” Gültekin summed up after the first day.
Jockeying for places in Group B
France recorded three wins and are currently second in the table with nine points. The second leg in Group B and the battle for the top four places that mean a place in the knockout rounds promises to be exciting on Thursday, with one point separating third-placed Sweden from Japan, the United Arab Emirates and Peru in fourth to sixth place.
The Italians, who have been playing so strongly this season, have not found their way into the tournament so far. The footballing nation, which is one of the favourites, has only managed one win and two draws. With eleven points, Poland are surprisingly at the top of Group D, ahead of the well-rehearsed duo of the Netherlands in second place.
Denmark confident through Day 1
The hosts are right on target after the first day. With a total of four victories and 13 points, Denmark are currently unbeaten at the top of the Group A table. The local heroes have rotated their squad time and again.
However, there already seems to be one constant. Initially, the Danes rotated within the team, but Anders ‘Anders’ Vejrgang stayed. The 16-year-old sat in front of the screen with his usual emotion – and won, whether with ‘Marcuzo’ or ‘Üstün’.
Favourites Argentina, on the other hand, started the tournament with their well-rehearsed duo ‘Nicolas99FC’ and ‘Matiasbonanno9’ with two draws – one of them against Denmark. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, they finished second after three wins and eleven points.
England, meanwhile, struggled: ‘Tekkz’ and ‘Tom’ collected a meagre five points in five games. That was still enough for third place – one point ahead of Singapore and two ahead of Brazil and Scotland.
All clear in Group C?
Spain and Portugal are just as confident as Denmark. The Iberians occupy first and second place in Group C with 13 and twelve points respectively.
South Korea and Kazakhstan, already six points behind in fourth place, should not have high hopes of advancing. The difference in performance to Canada and Israel in third and fourth place seems too great.
The FIFAe Nations Cup kicks off the second round of the group stage on Thursday at 11:05 a.m. live on Twitch.