FIFA eWorld Cup
Goals galore on opening day
02 Aug 2019
- FIFA eWorld Cup under way at The O2 in London
- Rounds 1-5 of group stage leave everything perfectly poised
- Get your tickets for the Final Showdown on 4 August
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.
FIFA eWorld Cup: Day One in pictures
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Mosaad Aldossary (Msdossary) of Saudi Arabia speaks with the commentators during Day 1
02 Aug 2019
Mosaad Aldossary (Msdossary) of Saudi Arabia speaks with the commentators during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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The FIFA eWorld Cup Trophy is seen on the plinth
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: The FIFA eWorld Cup Trophy is seen on the plinth during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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General view inside the arena during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019 at the O2 Arena
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: General view inside the arena during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Nawid Noorzai (GoalMachine) of Canada in action
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Nawid Noorzai (GoalMachine) of Canada in action in his Group B match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Stefano Pinna (Pinna97) of Belgium in action
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Stefano Pinna (Pinna97) of Belgium in action in his Group D match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Presenters, Adam Smith and Spencer Owen during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England.
02 Aug 2019
Presenters, Adam Smith and Spencer Owen during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England.
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Chris Holly (Didychrislito) of the United States reacts
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Chris Holly (Didychrislito) of the United States reacts in his Group D match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Mosaad Aldossary (Msdossary) of Saudi Arabia looks on
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Mosaad Aldossary (Msdossary) of Saudi Arabia looks on in his Group B match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Marcus Gomes (MarcusGomes) of Australia in action
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Marcus Gomes (MarcusGomes) of Australia in action in his Group B match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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The FIFA eWorld Cup trophy is seen on the plinth
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: The FIFA eWorld Cup trophy is seen on the plinth during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Corentin Thuillier (Maestro) of France in action
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Corentin Thuillier (Maestro) of France in action in his Group D match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Presenters, Adam Smith and Spencer Owen during Day 1
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Presenters, Adam Smith and Spencer Owen during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Mosaad Aldossary (Msdossary) of Saudi Arabia reacts
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Mosaad Aldossary (Msdossary) of Saudi Arabia reacts in his Group B match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Detail of a competitor playing on a PS4 controller during Day 1
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Detail of a competitor playing on a PS4 controller during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Michael Bittner (MegaBit) of Germany reacts
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Michael Bittner (MegaBit) of Germany reacts in his Group A match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Mo Harkous (MoAuba) of Germany celebrates with his coach in his Group C match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England.
02 Aug 2019
Mo Harkous (MoAuba) of Germany celebrates with his coach in his Group C match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England.
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Dani Hagebeuk (Dani) of the Netherlands reacts in his Group A match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England.
02 Aug 2019
Dani Hagebeuk (Dani) of the Netherlands reacts in his Group A match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England.
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Marko Brijeski (Marko) of Australia celebrates in his Group C match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England.
02 Aug 2019
Marko Brijeski (Marko) of Australia celebrates in his Group C match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England.
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Dylan Neuhausen (DullenMIKE) of Germany in action
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Dylan Neuhausen (DullenMIKE) of Germany in action in his Group B match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Corentin Thuillier (Maestro) of France is interviewed
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Corentin Thuillier (Maestro) of France is interviewed following his Group D matches during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
© Getty Images
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Mo Harkous (MoAuba) of Germany speaks with the media
02 Aug 2019
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Mo Harkous (MoAuba) of Germany speaks with the media following his Group C match during Day 1 of the FIFA eWorld Cup at the O2 Arena on August 02, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
© Getty Images
Group A - Xbox
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.
Group B - Xbox
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 - PlayStation
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.
Group D - PlayStation
'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.
What they said
'MsDossary'
"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."
'MoAuba'
"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."
'Pinna97'
"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."
'Stokes'
"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."
'Tass'
"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."
The stat
The number of goals scored on the opening day of the eWorld Cup. 'Zezinho' showed how clinical he is in front of goal, ending the day having bagged 32 goals - the most of any player - followed closely by 'MoAuba' with 31. Meanwhile, 'MsDossary' boasted the best goal difference of any player with +14.