FIFAe Nations Cup: India drawn with Israel, South Africa, Peru, Sweden and Germany

The Indian esports team has been drawn with Israel, South Africa, Peru, Germany and Sweden for the FIFAe Nations Cup set to be played between July 11-14, 2023.

The Indian team celebrates with the National flag after securing qualification for the FIFAe Nations series 2023. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Indian esports team (FIFAe) has been drawn with Israel, South Africa, Peru, Germany and Sweden for the FIFAe Nations Cup set to be played between July 11-14, 2023.

The FIFAe Nations Cup, having started in 2021, is the pinnacle event for countries in the FIFA esports ecosystem, wherein 24 nations compete for the coveted trophy. France won the inaugural edition in 2021 while Brazil secured the title last year.

This will be India’s second appearance in the pinnacle event, after a group-stage exit from the tournament in 2022.

🇮🇳 will compete in Group D of @FIFAe Nations Cup 2023 alongside Israel 🇮🇱, South Africa 🇿🇦, Peru 🇵🇪, Germany 🇩🇪 and Sweden 🇸🇪 starting 1️⃣1️⃣th July 🗓️#FeNC 🏆 #FIFAe#eFootball#IndianFootball ⚽️ #FameYourGame#eTigers 🐯 pic.twitter.com/uXSyR2ONbZ

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 2, 2023

The eTigers started the first day with a glimmer of hope, registering their first win against debutant Morocco and drawing against Mexico and Italy. On the second day, despite coming close to a draw against Poland, it could not win any match and finished its campaign in the FIFAe Nations Cup at the bottom of its group with five points from 10 matches.

FIFAe Nations Cup 2023 groups:

Group A: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Canada, Qatar, Denmark, Netherlands

Group B: Morocco, USA, France, Malaysia, Italy, Finland

Group C: Spain, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Portugal, Turkey

Group D: Israel, India, South Africa, Peru, Germany, Sweden

The team last year, comprising Siddh Chandarana, Charanjot Singh and Saransh Jain, are expected to stay for this edition as well. They will have further additions in the forms of (esports equivalent of the Indian Super League) 2022 champion Navin Haridoss and Saksham ‘Sakky’ Rattan.

The eTigers began their FIFAe Nations Series 2023 journey in December, 2022, in the Play-Ins stage, progressing then to the layoffs after making their way through the Online Qualifiers Main Stage in April.

Represented by the Charanjot, Saransh, Siddh, and Saksham, they narrowly lost the first round of the double-elimination bracket to Indonesia (2-3 on aggregate) in a close encounter, but fought back with consecutive victories against New Zealand (0-9 on aggregate) and Japan (1-2 on aggregate).

“It is an amazing feeling to make the FIFAe Nations Cup for the second time in a row. I am proud of the way everyone performed. Hard work has paid off for us, finally. We practised hard to achieve this and now it’s time to get even better and work harder for the off-line event,” Charanjot was quoted telling the Indian Super League website.

India is the second-highest ranked team in its group, at No. 6, with Sweden sitting two spots above it in the World Rankings. This is the best-ever ranking for the eTigers as they look for glory on the global stage in its consecutive Nations Cup appearance.

In their run-up to the tournament, the eTigers have scores more goals than any other team, scoring 157 goals, followed by Austria and Australia, who have 139 goals each.