Home / FIFA 23 / An Overview of the 2023 FIFAe Nations Cup

An Overview of the 2023 FIFAe Nations Cup

The FIFAe Nations Cup is the ultimate stage for nations to assert their dominance and claim the title of the world’s best FIFA esports team.

Drawing upon the rich tapestry of footballing heritage, this extraordinary event bridges the gap between the virtual and the real, embodying the global love for the beautiful game. As the digital realm converges with the physical, players bring to life the hopes and dreams of their nations in thrilling matches that leave spectators breathless.

A little Look Backwards

The FIFAe Nations Cup began in 2019 with France claiming the first title of the competition, represented by Maestro and DaXe. The format sees national teammates play alongside each other in a 2v2 format, and each team has a substitute available.

This championship is all about national pride, as global glory is at stake. This is FIFA’s official competition between nations where countries across the globe are represented by their best players in EA SPORTS FIFA 23.

Brazil are the Reigning Champions

It was Brazil who claimed the title last year in an amazing final against Poland. The Brazilian trio made of Phzin, Crepaldi and Klinger were crowned as FIFAe Nations Cup 2022 Champions and this year they return once again as favourites. Are they going to be able to retain the top position this year? Who are the contenders vying for the top prize?

It all started with the FIFAe Nations Play-ins and FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers earlier this year. It has been a thrilling and lengthy battle with many twists and turns. The FIFAe Nations 2023 Playoffs took place last month, and now fans are eagerly awaiting the final event.

No Kiwi Team to Cheer On

Unfortunately, if you are a Kiwi looking to wage on your country’s finest FIFA players, New Zealand failed to qualify this year, leaving Airbrn, JmKKing & Noahja out of the runnings.

On the bright side, you can still drop into a PayPal, Skrill or even a Google Pay casino nz to get your kicks while you watch the rest of the world battle it out for eSports supremacy. As New Zealand is ranked 50th in the world, it was not too great a shock that they did not progress to the latter stages of the competition. 

Not Long to Wait

The search for the ultimate national team in the FIFA esports scene is almost over. The FIFAe Nations Cup 2023 is one of the most anticipated events on the esports calendar with big prize money at stake, and the winners will seal their names in international esports folklore. 

What is the Format?

The tournament will start with the group stages, with 24 national teams split into four groups of six. Play will then be in Double Round Robin format, with each game counting as a single match. There will be no extra time or penalties. The teams get 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for losing. The top 4 teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage.

Once into the knockout stages, it is a winner takes all scenario, with the losers being eliminated from the competition until only two are left. The final game will determine who are the 2023 champions.

The Qualifying Nations

The teams taking part in this year’s edition are:

Asia and Oceania

  • Australia
  • Singapore
  • Malaysia
  • India

Europe

  • Israel
  • Portugal
  • France
  • Netherlands
  • Germany
  • Denmark
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Sweden
  • Türkiye
  • Finland

Middle East & Africa

  • Qatar
  • Morocco
  • South Africa

North & Central America

  • United States
  • Canada

South America

  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Peru

A Lot at Stake

The final team rosters for each nation is yet to be announced. This year, Saudi Arabia will host the tournament for the first time ever, and the action will take place between the 6th and 9th of July.

All games will be played on PlayStation 5 and the winning side will bag a cool US $120,000 reward. The second prize is an impressive US $60,000, while the 3rd and 4th place teams will take home US $30,000.

No team walks away empty-handed at this stage of the competition. Those not progressing out of the groups still take home US $2,500 in prize money.

The teams who go out first in the knockout stages will also get US $2,500. The national teams in 9th – 16th place get US $10,000 and 5th – 8th will be rewarded with US $15,000. There is serious money to play for in esports these days. 

The Playoffs saw some Surprising Drama

The FIFAe Nations Playoffs 2023 were full of surprises and excitement. Ultimately, it was determination and skill that brought the best 24 nations through to the final stages.

Will they be able to maintain the pressure in Saudi Arabia this July? Last year’s finalists, Poland, were knocked out and this came as a huge surprise, meaning nothing is sure for next month’s tournament. England, Japan and Korea also failed to progress to the final phase of the competition.

Finland had a dramatic journey when they qualified on the back of a dramatic penalty shootout. Morocco battled through a nail-biting final match to secure their place in the FIFAe Nations Cup Finals.

The first team to bag their slots from the qualifications were from the Asia and Oceania region. The North & Central America region claimed the last spot when Canada became the final team to qualify.

A Parting of the Ways

This will be the last FIFAe Nations Cup in conjunction with EA Sports, as the game developer and FIFA are not continuing the partnership, which goes back to 1993.

However, EA Sports’ will continue their football gaming franchise with EA Sports FC with a release set for fall 2023. According to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, FIFA is going to develop its own game, claiming it will outperform the industry leader so it will be interesting to see all of this will be played out in the future.

 

About Christian Silvestri

Avatar photo
Content Writer for FIFA Infinity. Passionate about football, FIFA and AC Milan!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.