We all thought live football was gone from our lives, but clubs all around the world are signing up for FIFA tournaments -- and we're keeping track of them!
JUMP TO: Asensio steers Real Madrid to FIFA 20 glory
The FIFA 20 Ultimate Quaran-Team tournament, the online competition involving 128 football clubs from around the world, is rapidly moving toward the business end, with Saturday night ushering in some choice round-of-32 ties.
PSV booked themselves a place in the round of 16 with a thumping 4-0 replay win over Manchester City.
The Dutch side will now face either Newcastle or FC Sion, who are due to slug it out on Sunday.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, @PSVEsports take a 4-0 win in the replay, sending @Shellzz out of #UltimateQuaranTeam
ggs to @aaygun96 for a deserved victory?and thanks to @leytonorientfc for organising a great event! pic.twitter.com/slgszahcDB
— Man City Esports (@mancityesports) March 27, 2020
Premier League strugglers Norwich City saw their run come to an end as Todd Cantwell was unable to prevent Standard Liege from running amok with a 3-1 win at Carrow Road.
Todd's #UltimateQuaranTeam journey has come to an end ? Thanks to all who tuned in to our matches!
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) March 28, 2020
Elsewhere, Brentford continued their impressive run by beating Forest Green Rovers 3-0 in convincing fashion to ensure a place in the quarterfinals. Forest Green were the only team left in the competition with an actual professional footballer at the helm in the guise of defender Chris Stokes.
FULL TIME...
Our #UltimateQuaranTeam run comes to an end after a tough defeat against @SkyBetChamp side @BrentfordFC and @MrFrampton147.
A big thanks to @leytonorientfc for hosting a fantastic event ?#WeAreFGR pic.twitter.com/7TYMrB7R8K
— Forest Green Rovers (@FGRFC_Official) March 28, 2020
Queens Park Rangers also powered into the round of 16 with a straightforward 3-1 win over hosts Genk to reach the latter stages of a cup for the first time in a long time!
? The R's march on! @JordanHugill's double and @EbereEze10's clincher see #QPR's @benjylovell2 sail into round 4?? of #UltimateQuaranTeam! pic.twitter.com/oCdDmaYzsU
— QPR FC (@QPR) March 28, 2020
The Hoops face a tricky home time against Feyenoord, one of four Dutch teams to have reached the round of 16.
With real football postponed until further notice, English League Two side Leyton Orient organised a huge 128-team competition that has seen real world clubs taking each other on in video game form.
As well as passing the time during a football blackout, the "Quaran-Team" tournament is also raising vital money for charity as well as Football League clubs, many of whom will be facing financial uncertainty in the coming months.
Initially aiming for 64 clubs, Orient had to expand to competition to welcome 128 teams from all corners of the footballing community to create a festival of FIFA football.
There are still plenty of second-round games to be completed before 32 teams head in the hat ahead of the third round, which is scheduled for this Thursday, March 26.
To clarify a couple of things...
- Each club will chose a representative to play throughout. Could be a first-team player, or fan - their call.
- To enter, the club has to be on FIFA, and play as themselves.
- More info to follow...#UltimateQuaranTeam #LOFC
— Leyton Orient (@leytonorientfc) March 15, 2020
I know a landslide when I see one.
Executive decision...
PLAY ON https://t.co/NvJpkjfvL9 pic.twitter.com/u1GK7ew3hA
— Leyton Orient (@leytonorientfc) March 16, 2020
? SAY HELLO TO YOUR CONTENDERS!
Here is the full list of 128 teams competing in the #UltimateQuaranTeam Cup!
Represented:
??????????????????????????????????? ???????? ?? ??
The draw will take place on *Wednesday* now - more info to follow.
Who's do you make as the favourite then? ?
? pic.twitter.com/FYX78hMm2P
— Leyton Orient (@leytonorientfc) March 16, 2020
The schedule:
Quarterfinals: Monday, March 30, 7 p.m. BST
Semifinal: Wednesday, April 1, 7 p.m. BST
Final: Friday, April 3, 7 p.m. BST
Asensio steers Real Madrid to FIFA 20 glory
The La Liga FIFA 20 tournament reached an exciting finale on Sunday as Real Madrid ran out winners of the inaugural quarantine-friendly competition.
With Marco Asensio at the helm, the virtual Real powered to a 4-2 victory over Leganes (represented by Aitor Rubial) in the final after seeing off Eibar in the semis.
Luka Modric was among the scorers in the final for Asensio's all-conquering XI, who now have the honour of being the inaugural winners of both the European Cup and this (no less prestigious) online competition.
? El @realmadrid de @marcoasensio10 acaricia el título de #LaLigaSantanderChallenge...#QuédateEnCasa#EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos pic.twitter.com/ZzLCbiKwwP
— eLaLiga Santander (@esportslaliga) March 22, 2020
The championship was organised by Spanish YouTuber and gamer Ibai Llanos and involved players from all of Spain's 20 top-flight teams.
As well as helping to keep folks entertained in the absence of real football, the event has also helped raise around €142,000 ($152,000) to help in the fight against the coronavirus.
"It has been a spectacular tournament," Asensio said after securing the win, with which he was clearly delighted.
#WearetheChampions !! @realmadrid pic.twitter.com/w75OJj4ww6
— Marco Asensio (@marcoasensio10) March 22, 2020
"The goal was to have a good time, laugh, entertain ourselves in these difficult times for everyone, and donate in the fight against COVID-19, and we have succeeded!"
Whether Asensio will be forced to defend his crown in a second installment of the franchise, only time will tell.
¡Enhorabuena, madridistas! ?
? El @realmadrid de @marcoasensio10 se proclama campeón de #LaLigaSantanderChallenge ?
Y lo más importante: ¡Más de 140.000€ recaudados! ? pic.twitter.com/pDsY9WTufi
— eLaLiga Santander (@esportslaliga) March 22, 2020
The idea to create a full tourney came about after around 60,000 football-starved fans tuned in to watch a virtual derby between Borja Iglesias of Real Betis and Sergio Reguilon of Sevilla -- which saw the former triumph in a dramatic 6-5 win for Betis.
The competition is the brainchild of esports aficionado Llanos, who serves as tournament organiser, host, drawmaster and even live commentator -- all while remaining comfortable in his bathrobe at home.
Here's how the first edition of the competition shook out, in full:
El camino del campeón: ¡este es el cuadro final de #LaLigaSantanderChallenge! ?
? Todavía puedes seguir donando para ayudar en la lucha contra el COVID-19: https://t.co/TZUdr10dNd#QuédateEnCasa#EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos pic.twitter.com/dTMB1rEnCz
— LaLiga (@LaLiga) March 22, 2020
Congratulations to all involved, namely:
Alaves: Lucas Perez
Athletic Bilbao: Gorka Guruzeta
Atletico Madrid: Marcos Llorente
Barcelona: Sergi Roberto*
Celta Vigo: Kevin Vazquez
Eibar: Edu Exposito
Espanyol: Adri Embarba
Getafe: Jason
Granada: Jose Martinez
Leganes: Aitor Ruibal
Levante: Carlos Clerc
Mallorca: Alex Pozo*
Osasuna: Ruben Garcia
Real Betis: Borja Iglesias
Real Madrid: Marco Asensio
Real Sociedad: Adnan Januzaj
Real Valladolid: Pedro Porro
Sevilla: Sergio Reguilon
Valencia: Carlos Soler
Villarreal: Manuel Morlanes
*Clubs had to forfeit games due to their clubs' deals with PES creators Konami
Source: espn.co.uk