Germany have some ground to make up ahead of their final three FIFAe Nations Series Play-Ins matches.
In March, the eNationalteam was in need of promotion, their flawless run to the first division of the second European Conference preserved their prospects.
Six direct places for the play-offs are awarded in Europe – three per conference. Germany is unlikely to qualify via the Consistency Ranking, so they will have to finish first in the fourth Play-Ins week. After the first four matches, the DFB is in fifth place.
Heavyweights are over
The gap to the leading Swedes is ten points, but the situation is by no means hopeless: With the duels against Spain (1:4), Italy (4:1), Portugal (3:3) and Sweden (3:3), Umut ‘Umut’ Gültekin and Mustafa ‘xMusti19’ Cankal already have the four heavyweights behind them.
On Friday, starting at 5 p.m., Iceland, Estonia and Scotland will be the opponents of the eNational team – the three teams currently ranked last in the first division. 18 points are still up for grabs in six games.
DFB breaks personnel rhythm
A different DFB duo was expected for the final Play-Ins week: Dylan ‘DullenMIKE’ Neuhausen and Kai ‘Hensoo’ Hense had completed the second week, ‘Umut’ and ‘xMusti19’ the weeks one and three. Whether the break in rhythm is related to the poor performance of ‘DullenMIKE’ and ‘Hensoo’ is not known.
Friday’s opener will be enormously important: while Sweden and Spain as well as Portugal and Italy will be battling it out for points, the German national team should be aiming for the maximum six points against Iceland – only then could a real showdown ensue in the last two duels.