Following the conclusion of a qualification process where 190 teams were narrowed down to 24, the eagerly anticipated FIFA eClub World Cup 2020™ gets under way on Friday 7 February in Milan, Italy.

The pinnacle event of club team-based competitive FIFA sees the planet’s leading sides vie for global glory in a unique 1v1 and 2v2 format, where a total of 100,000 USD and essential Global Series points on the Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2020™ will also be up for grabs.

FIFA.com takes a look at a tightly contested Group D, which promises to produce many intriguing battles in Milan, as six teams battle for four Round of 16 berths.

Manchester City are no strangers to the eClub World Cup. By returning to the tournament for a third time, they equal the record set by two-time champions Brondby for the most participations.

British duo ‘Shellz’ and ‘Ryan’ will once again be representing the English giants, who reached the quarter-finals in 2019 after a blistering group stage performance. With lessons learned from last year, City will no doubt be hungry for the 2020 title – and are certainly among this year's favourites after an impressive showing in qualifying, which left them as Group D's No1 seed.

After finishing top of the Asia and Oceania qualifying region, Team FW AU make the trek from Down Under to Milan. 'FUTWIZ Jamie' and 'FUTWIZ Marko', however, are well accustomed to the jet-setting journeys given they are regulars at major tournaments.

For 'FUTWIZ Marko', this year marks his eClub World Cup debut having competed at the likes of the FIFA eWorld Cup and FIFA eNations Cup in recent times. 'FUTWIZ Jamie', meanwhile, reached the knockouts of the FUT Champions Cup Stage II this campaign, only to be thwarted by Xbox whizz 'Tekkz'.

Sporting CP eSports were a late addition to the FIFA eClub World Cup 2020, replacing Fierce eSports in Milan. The Portuguese giants are making their return to the tournament, having competed in the inaugural edition back in 2017.

In ‘SCP Diogo’ they have one of the world’s most in-form players. Can a pairing of ‘SCP Diogo’ and ‘BrunoRato’ inspire the Portuguese side to global glory?

Complexity Gaming travel to the eClub World Cup as the second-ranked North American team, having finished behind Hashtag United in the qualifying region.

As well as having 'MaXe', fresh from making his first FUT Champions Cup at Stage III in Atlanta this month, Complexity boast the experienced 'Joksan'. He knows all about competing at the highest level having made last year’s Grand Final, as well as qualifying for two of the three FUT Champions Cups this year.

Hailing from Denmark, R288 are another team in Group D making their eClub World Cup debut. The Danes have a storied history at the tournament with Brondby winning the inaugural edition in 2017 under ‘Marcuzo’ – and then retaining the title in 2018 with a pairing of ‘Ustun’ and ‘Fredberg’.

In a country awash with competitive FIFA talent, Denmark’s representatives at this year's competition are ‘Mr_lillelys’ and ‘Don Oli’. Can R288 bring Danish delight back to the eClub World Cup in 2020?

Spanish outfit Dux Gaming will be represented at the eClub World Cup by a cross-continental link-up between 'Gravesen' and 'diegog1996'. One of Spain's leading players, 'Gravesen' is the reigning Virtual LaLiga champion and, despite reaching the knockout stages of last year's PlayStation Global Series Playoff, narrowly missed out on a Grand Final place.

'Diegog1996', meanwhile, was on the periphery of reaching the knockout stages of major tournaments in FIFA 19 - and a positive showing at the eClub World Cup could really kick-start his FIFA 20 campaign.