The hugely-anticipated FIFA eWorld Cup 2019™ kicked off with a bang at The O2 in London with 32 of the world’s leading players starting their path to global glory.

Amidst a stunning setting at the iconic arena in the British capital, Day One witnessed Rounds 1-5 of the group stage unfold which produced plenty of drama and a gluttony of goals over 40 games.

It leaves everything perfectly poised for a scintillating second day of action, which will see the culmination of the groups where the top four players from each group will advance to the knockouts. Take a look back at the first day of an EA SPORTS FIFA bonanza from London with FIFA.com.

It is ‘Stokes’ who leads the way in the ultra-competitive Group A – but only on goal difference. The Xbox Global Series winner ended Friday by beating ‘Dani’, who was unbeaten going into the fifth-round game, to move top of a formidable pile that contains none other than No1 seed ‘Tekkz’ and Xbox titan ‘Megabit’.

Just behind ‘Stokes’ is fellow Englishman ‘Tass’ who enjoyed a day to remember. The three-time Grand Finalist went into the tournament under the radar but illustrated why he is a force to be reckoned with at this eWorld Cup by taking six points from his games against ‘Megabit’ and ‘Tekkz’.

The latter occupy the final qualification spots in Group A but with established players like ‘Dani’ and ‘Resende’ hot on their heels, competition for a knockout berth remains ruthless.

Reigning champion 'MsDossary' got his eWorld Cup defence off to a formidable start, signing off the opening day with a perfect record and showing his defensive skills by conceding the least amount of goals on the opening day (eight).

The Saudi Arabian recorded five wins out of five, dispatching established players such as 'Zidane10', 'Rafsou', 'MarcusGomes', 'DullenMike' and 'GoalMachine'. No-one has ever won back-to-back world titles in competitive EA SPORTS FIFA. Can the man from Rogue be the one to break that hoodoo this year?

Meanwhile, 'Rafsou' recovered from a 6-0 aggregate loss against 'MsDossary' to occupy second spot in Group B and is closely followed by fellow Frenchman 'DaXe' and Canada's 'GoalMachine'.

Group C’s opening round produced one of the shocks of the day when bottom seed ‘Marko’ defeated PlayStation No1 ‘Nicolas99fc’. The Australian stunned the Argentinian, who went into the Grand Final after winning back-to-back Global Series Playoffs, 5-3 on aggregate.

Things went from bad to worse for ‘The Iceman’, who had zero points on the board after his first three rounds of games before coming back to win his final two. Can he snatch a place in the knockouts tomorrow?

In contrast, it was a very successful day at the office for ‘MoAuba’, who was the first player to book his spot in the knockouts. The German boasted a perfect record after four games, and despite losing to Denmark's 'Ustun' in the fifth round, the man from Werder Bremen finished his Day One on top of Group C.

'Pinna97' and 'Maestro' once again showed their tournament know-how by finishing Friday neck-and-neck for Group D's top spot. Both are on equal points with just goal difference separating them.

The Belgian, who reached last year's Final Showdown, and the Frenchman, who won this year's FIFA eNations Cup, will meet tomorrow in Group D's final game in what could be the top spot decider.

Group D was expected to be tightly-contested before proceedings got under way, and it shows with competitors being locked in a tight battle for the four Round of 16 berths, with 'Zezinho', 'RastaArtur' and 'Didychrislito' all looking to have their say. Only four can progress, however. Expect plenty of drama on Saturday as competitors vie for the right to advance to the knockouts.

"I feel really good and happy to be the Player of the Day. I’m unbeaten, 5-0. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and hope I can continue the same form. Momentum is really important at this stage. There were unexpected things today like ‘Nicolas99fc’ losing his first three games. When I’m unbeaten, it gives me a lot of confidence and that’s what you want at the World Cup."

"I don’t expect that a German will finally win the Grand Final because we have very hard opponents like ‘Tekkz’, ‘Dossary’ and 'Nicolas99fc'. But with a little bit of luck, maybe we can get it."

"The experience of last year and reaching the Final has helped me. I feel a bit nervous but last year I was very nervous, especially for the first two games. Now that’s changed a bit. I’m feeling confident that I can reach the knockouts if I play like today."

"I didn’t appreciate how hard these groups were going to be. Every game is a complete war. I had a few ups and downs but overall I’m happy with how it went. You look at the Group A table and it’s very, very close. I’m not through at all, so I need to come in with the same mentality I’ve had today. I have to win every single game."

"I’m using my experience. I’m not sure if people expected me to use it. Everyone knows my experience but I feel like at this tournament, compared to the World Cup two years ago, I have been ignored. I understand that I should be ignored because players like ‘Dossary’, ‘Megabit’ and ‘Tekkz’ are incredible, but I want to shock people, and I feel like I’ve done that so far."