AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The Indian eFootball national team were knocked out in the group stage of the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023 on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The eTigers, represented by Charanjot Singh, Saransh Jain, and Saksham Rattan, bagged 10 points in as many matches to finish Group D in fifth place, missing out on qualification for the round of 16 due to an inferior goal difference to Peru, who also had the same number of points.

After picking up four points on the opening day, India stayed within touching distance of the top four throughout the second day as well, thanks to a crucial 1-0 win against Sweden and a draw with Israel. It all came down to a must-win situation against Peru in the last match, where the eTigers fought hard but could only manage a 3-3 draw in a nail-biting contest.

Peru joined Israel, Germany, and Sweden in the knockout stage from Group D, while India and South Africa were eliminated from the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023, which is being played in a 2v2 format on EA Sports FIFA 23 FUT mode. 

Similar to the opening day, the eTigers narrowly went down to Germany in the first match. The duo of Levyfinn and Umut struck early on and maintained their 1-0 advantage until the very end to inflict India's fourth loss of the tournament.

Saksham (Sakky_8) replaced Saransh on the controller for the next match against South Africa's Kaylan and Bianchi. India found themselves chasing the game again as the Africans scored early but ensured a share of the spoils with a 1-1 draw after an equalising goal mid-way through the second half.

India, keeping the same line-up of Charanjot and Saksham, then put on arguably their best performance of the campaign to beat the group's top seeds Sweden 1-0. Opening the scoring early on, they managed the game well against opponents Ollelito and Optolle, who could not break through the stubborn Indian defence.

The win proved to be a big morale boost for the eTigers, who then went on to hold unbeaten group leaders Israel 1-1 in a thrilling match. The duo of Yuval and Feldman had put six past India last night but did not find it plain sailing this time around. Although they did find the breakthrough early in the second half, India equalised in the 88th minute of the game before saving a penalty in injury time to come out with a point.

Heading into the last group-stage match against Peru, a virtual play-off for a place in the knockout stage, India knew that only a win would do for them. The eTigers kept the intensity high throughout the match and took the lead thrice, but dms10_fc and RioCuartoMagic got Peru back on level terms each time. The last equaliser came in the 85th minute, from where it was too late for India to bounce back again. It ended in a heart-breaking 3-3 draw for the trio of Charanjot, Saksham and Saransh, who gave their all for the country on the eFootball stage during the last two days in the Saudi capital.

India's group stage results:

Day 1:

India 1-2 Germany
South Africa 0-1 India
India 0-3 Sweden
India 0-6 Israel
Peru 1-1 India

Day 2:

Germany 1-0 India
India 1-1 South Africa
Sweden 0-1 India
Israel 1-1 India
India 3-3 Peru