Danial Shakeel Patel Propels India into FIFAe World Cup Quarterfinals

Riyadh, Dec 11 (NationPress) India has had a mixed start at the FIFAe World Cup 2024, showcasing their skills in eFootball at the SEF Arena in Saudi Arabia.

The standout performer for India has undoubtedly been Danial Shakeel Patel, who has advanced to the quarterfinals of the mobile eFootball tournament with a record of four victories, one draw, and two defeats.

Conversely, in the team category – FIFAe World Cup ft. eFootball Console, India fell short of reaching the semifinals, as the eTigers ended up in eighth place in a nine-team group, tallying six losses, one draw, and a single win.

Patel is set to challenge the third-place team from Group B, Turkiye, represented by Yusa Haydar Gokulu, in the quarterfinals of the FIFAe World Cup ft. eFootball - Mobile on Wednesday, which will adopt a best-of-three format. The victor of this match will face a competitor from either Malaysia or Japan in the semifinals later at midnight.

Making his international debut, Patel made a significant impact on the opening day of the tournament with his dynamic attacks that caught his rivals off guard. He kicked off with a remarkable 7-0 victory over England in his first match, followed by two challenging match-ups against renowned Asian esports teams, Japan and Indonesia.

Patel triumphed over Japan with a score of 4-1, and then secured a narrow 3-2 win against Indonesia. He concluded Day 1 with another impressive performance, defeating Spain 5-0.

However, Day 2 presented a different set of hurdles for Patel. With 12 points amassed, he delivered a commanding performance against yet another esports powerhouse, South Korea. Although the match concluded in a tie, Patel dominated possession with 81 percent throughout.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse as he suffered a 1-5 defeat against Costa Rica, followed by a narrow 0-1 loss to Brazil. Despite these setbacks on Day 2, Patel finished with 13 points over seven matches, securing the second position in Group A, just one point behind Indonesia.

The Indian eFootball team, represented by Chinmay Sahoo, Saksham Rattan, and Ibrahim Gulrez, concluded their journey in Group A of the FIFAe World Cup 2024 featuring eFootball Console in eighth place.

Day 1 was marked by a few missed opportunities for the eTigers, who started with a 0-3 defeat against South Korea, followed by a 1-2 loss against Spain. They ended their day with a 0-1 defeat at the hands of France.

On Day 2, the trio had a somewhat encouraging start with a 1-1 draw against Poland, but soon faced defeats from Malaysia, Netherlands, and Indonesia with scores of 2-4, 1-5, and 0-3, respectively.

Nonetheless, the eTigers rallied in their final match against England, clinching a 2-0 victory to push their opponents to the bottom of Group A.