India have been drawn in Group D of FIFAe Nations Cup 2022 alongside Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Mexico and Morrocco after the official draw was held in Zurich, Switzerland on July 4.
The Indian team comprising Charanjot Singh, Siddh Chandarana, and Saransh Jain etched their names in the history books by qualifying for the FIFAe Nations Cup 2022. This will be India’s debut appearance at the esports showcase event, which will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark from July 27 to July 30, 2022.
In the FIFAe Nations Series 2022 playoffs, India overcame the Korea Republic and Malaysia to qualify for the FIFAe Nations Cup 2022.
The Indian efootball team’s adventure began in January 2021, when the AIFF and FIFA inked a participation agreement for the FIFAe Nations Series 2021.
2⃣4⃣ nations, 1️⃣ dream! To lift the #FeNC Trophy in Copenhagen 🏆
The road to the title begins in the #FeNC Group Stage – wave your flags in the comments 👇 pic.twitter.com/NXSrcxhFze
— FIFAe (@FIFAe) July 4, 2022
India was one of 60 countries that took part and was assigned to the Middle East and Africa Zone. India came in third place in their zone, just missing out on a spot in the FIFAe Nations Playoffs 2021.
India won 12 games, lost 11 games, and drew 9 games during the play-ins over four Match Weeks. India remained in Division 1 for the entire four-match weeks. India qualified for the Playoffs by finishing second in the Consistency Points table, putting them one step closer to the FIFAe Nations Cup in 2022. India also reached its greatest global ranking of 19 during this time period.
Esports in India are on the verge of rising, as we got to see when eISL was introduced in the last edition of the Indian Super League.
Saransh Jain who played for the Chennaiyin FC eISL team while speaking to AIFF said, “It has been a great experience to represent the Indian national team. I’ve known both Charanjot and Siddh for almost 5 years now. We’re great friends even off the field and gel a lot which helps our coordination as well.”
India will begin the tournament against Italy on July 28, followed by matches against the Netherlands, Poland, Mexico, and Morocco. The return fixtures will take place the next day.
The final of FIFAe Nations Cup will take place on July 30.
(Inputs from ANI)