2023 FMF World Cup Final
| Event | 2023 FMF World Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 13 August 2023 | ||||||
| Venue | Freddie Mercury Memorial Arena, Mercury | ||||||
| Man of the Match |
 Mark Jacobs | ||||||
← 2021 2025 → | |||||||
The 2023 FMF World Cup Final was the final match of the 2023 FMF World Cup, the 14th edition of FMF's premier competition for national football teams. The match was played at Freddie Mercury Memorial Arena in Mercury, Mercury, on 13 August 2023, and was contested by Calbion and Senya. The tournament comprised hosts Mercury and 19 other other teams which emerged from the qualification phase, organised by the four FMF confederations. The 20 teams competed in a group stage, from which twelve teams qualified for the knockout stages. En route to the final, Calbion topped Group D, first losing 2-1 to Vegno, then defeating both defending champions Floria and The Hexarchy 2-0 and the Unified Governorates 6-1. They then beat the Nouvelle Alexandrie 5-4 on penalties in the quarter-finals, and beat hosts Mercury 1-0 in the semi-finals. Senya also finished top of Group C with a 2-1 win against Tellia, a 3-0 win against Natopia, 3-1 win against Tiana, and a 5-0 win against Osktrava. They defeated Craitland on penalties, and Phinbella 3-0.
The final had only one goal scored by Ƨinkœ Zvet, who scored a close range header at 82' minute. Senya won his second World Cup title, after the one in 2019, in its third appearance in a world cup final. Mark Jacobs was named both man of the match and tournament's best player. This final also marked the tenth match in which the losing team did not score any goals out of 14 finals in the tournament's history.
Background
The 2023 FMF World Cup was the 14th edition of the FMF World Cup and was held in Mercury from 8 July to 13 August 2023. Mercury qualified automatically as hosts, as did Floria after they won the previous edition, while 86 teams competed for the remaining 18 spots through qualifying rounds organised by the four FMF confederations. In the finals, teams were divided into four groups of five with each team playing each other once in a round-robin format. The group winners would automatically qualify for the quarter-finals while the second- and third-ranked teams of each group would advance to the play-off round to play for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Mercury, Phinbella, Senya and Calbion won their respective groups, qualifying directly for the quarterfinals. Play-off round was instead played between the second and third placed teams of the various groups. In the latter the reigning champions Floria beat Tellia, Nouvelle Alexandrie got the better of Meckelnburgh, Vegno won over Tiana and Craitland overtook Sanama in extra time. In the quarter-finals the hosts Mercury defeated Floria and qualified for the semi-finals where they were however eliminated by finalist Calbion, who in the meantime had overcome Nouvelle Alexandrie on penalties. On the other side of the scoreboard, Phinbella beat Vegno 2-1, being defeated in the semi-final by Senya who in the meantime had overcome in the penalty shootout.
Senya enters the third final in its history, with a success rate in the final of 50%, having won the 2019 final against Mercury, but lost the 2017 final against Tellia. In the FMF World Cup it also achieved a third place in 2021, defeated in the semi-final by the hosts and subsequent world champions Floria. Senya also enters the final after having won his third Copa Apollonia in history the year before. On the other hand, Calbion reaches the first World Cup final in its history. Like their rivals, Calbion also arrive at the world event with their continental competition won on the board: in 2022 Calbion won its first ever CiboTap Championship.
Route to the final
Calbion
| Opponent | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vegno | 1–2 |
| 2 | Floria | 2–0 |
| 3 | The Hexarchy | 2–0 |
| 4 | Unified Governorates | 6–1 |
| QF | Nouvelle Alexandrie | 1–1 (a.e.t.)
5–4 (p) |
| SF | Mercury | 1–0 (a.e.t.) |
Calbion qualified for the 2023 FMF World Cup by triumphing in Group B of the CTFA qualifiers with 28 points. In the draw he was placed in pot 2 and was drawn in group D together with the reigning champions Floria, Unified Governorates, The Hexarchy and debutants Vegno. The tournament debut took place on 11 July 2023 in Kuiper, where they were defeated 1-2 by Vegno. Wyn-Jones responds to Boretto's goal, but in full extra time Vassena forces the dragons to their first defeat of the tournament. 4 days later they achieved their first victory by beating the reigning world champions Floria 2-0 thanks to goals from Wyn-Jones and Moriarty. In the third game Calbion also beat The Hexarchy 2-0 with goals from Hughes and Morgan securing the 3 points after a blocked first half with no opportunities. With qualification almost achieved for at least the play-off round, the Dragons only needed to get a draw against Unified Governorates. Calbion instead won its third victory of the group by beating its opponents 6-1. Thanks to Vegno's draw on the last day, they therefore closed the group first in the standings, obtaining direct qualification for the quarter-finals, with 9 points, 11 goals scored and 3 conceded. The team's driving force in the group stage was certainly the striker Wyn-Jones, who scored 4 goals in 4 games.
In the direct elimination phase they meet Nouvelle Alexandrie in the quarter-finals. The game proved to be open from the first minutes with Aubin Lahaye's goal in the 8th minute, who turned inside the penalty area after passing Andy Carter and finished with his right foot. A few minutes later however Calbion managed to grab the equalizer thanks to an excellent header from Owen Baine following a splendid assist from Shakir. The attacker sprints to the offside line and hits a diving header, putting the ball into the bottom corner where Jean-Alain Foucault cannot reach. During the first half Lahaye and Miller continue to create danger at Evan Dexter's goal without managing to score. In the second half and during extra time the trend was the same, with Nouvelle Alexandrie continuing to attack with greater intensity but without finding the way to the net. Incredible at the 120' minute was the post hit by Robert Peck, the last chance that forced the two teams to take penalty shots, where Jean-Pierre d'Oliviera's error and Evan Dexter's save were decisive.
In the semi-final they meet the hosts and most popular Mercury inside the Taylor Sporting Club packed with yellow fans in the city of Taylor. The first half remained very blocked with few opportunities for both sides, while in the second both teams began to discover each other. in the 64th minute Liam Morgan serves a great ball for Owen Baine who volleys it just wide, while 5 minutes later Joe Foxon shoots from inside the penalty area but finds a great save from Dexter. In the 80th minute Shakir recovers a ball on the goal and crosses towards Wyn-Jones who, alone, in the penalty area misses and kicks out, sending the teams to extra time. The turning point of the match comes in the 105th minute when Josh Huw, served in the center of the area by Baine, finishes towards goal, finding the unfortunate deflection by Chris Deacon, which puts Foster out of action and gives Calbion qualification for the first final in their history .
Senya
| Opponent | Result | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tellia | 2–1 |
| 2 | Natopia | 3–0 |
| 3 | Tiana | 3–1 |
| 4 | Osktrava | 5–0 |
| QF | Craitland | 1–1 (a.e.t.)
5–3 (p) |
| SF | Phinbella | 3–0 |
Senya qualified for the 2023 FMF World Cup with a practically flawless path: first in group B of the AEFA qualifiers with 30 points obtained in 10 wins out of 10, conceding only 3 goals to the opponents. As 1° ranked in the FMF Elo Micras Rankings, it was placed in the first pot and drawn within group C together with Tellia, Natopia, Tiana and Osktrava.
In the group stage the Green Army's progress proved to be impeccable, literally dominating group C with full points with 4 wins out of 4, 13 goals scored and only 2 conceded. The debut at the 2023 FMF World Cup took place on 10 July 2023 where they beat Tellia rivals 2-1 thanks to a brace from Barnaby Hands, which allowed the Apollonian team to win 3 points after being reached Denoix-Moreau's momentary equalizing goal . From the second match onwards the situation went downhill for Senya, who defeated Natopia 3-0 with a brace from striker Alesandrœ Danetskë, scoring for the fourth consecutive FMF World Cup, and a goal from Hands. Senya comfortable won also with Tiana 3-1 and with Osktrava 5-0, where Danetskë scored a hat-trick, thus becoming the player with the most hat-tricks achieved in the FMF World Cup with 5 equal with Florent Lassana-Traoré.
Having qualified first in the group, Senya's national team met Craitland in the quarter-finals, who with unexpected difficulties had qualified for the play-offs and then for the quarter-finals. The match turned out to be more complicated than expected for the Green Army with both teams struggling to find a way to the net in the first 45 minutes. At the Taylor Sporting Club the first half ended 0-0 with very few chances on both sides, but the first turning point of the match came in the 60th minute when Ben Hjyngmost crossed an excellent ball into the middle for Jan Tórsen's head. The header is close but central and is blocked by Mark Jacobs, who however is unable to move the ball much away. Alexis Pellegrino pounces on the rebound and gives Craitland the lead with an empty net. However, only a few minutes were enough for Senya to grab the equalizer. In the 63rd minute Läns Däl commits a foul on Kiket Volinsk and Danetskë takes charge. The Senyan striker draws a perfect trajectory that goes behind the innocent Vallensen. In the 84th minute Craitland almost took the lead again with a precise cross from Hjyngmost that found Dräsen Isrdlvarien's head two steps from goal; Jacobs' save, however, is spectacular and keeps the draw. A few minutes later it's the Unconquered again that made the green and white fans tremble. Juan Pellegrino receives from Juliaĵsen and unleashes a shot that hits the post. During extra time it is still Craitland that was more dangerous, but without being able to find the way to the goal first with Juliaĵsen and then with Isrdlvarien who hit another post. The last chance of the match occurred in the 115th minute when Mark Jacobs made yet another extraordinary save of his match on a shot into the top corner by Isrdlvarien, allowing his team to reach the penalty shoot-out, where Freddie Huläj's decisive error, hitting the bar, allowed the green army to reach the semi-finals.
In the Semifinals Senya met Phinbella and demonstrated all its superiority and strength after a very difficult quarter-final. In the 16th minute Danetskë gave his team the lead after a splendid through ball by Matthew Hazlan. Hazlan himself, fed this time by Markœ Minyorletsken, made it 2-0 in the 36th minute with a precise left-footed shot into the bottom corner. Before the end of the first half Danetskë scored his second goal of the match after being set up by another excellent pass by Ƨinkœ Zvet. In the second half and with the result 3-0 Senya limited himself to managing the result and winning the third final in his history after those of 2017 and 2019.
Match
Summary
The final was played at the Freddie Mercury Memorial Arena on 13 August 2023. The first chance of the match occurred already in the 14th minute when Owen Baine found an excellent pass for Wyn-Jones who finished first with his right foot towards the goal, finding a great save by Jacobs who deflects the ball into a corner kick. From the same corner Falk manages to head the ball past Colchester but, once again, Jacobs responds with a great save. In the 17th minute Senya tried to respond with Hazlan who frees himself well from Morgan's pressing and tries a shot from distance which goes just wide of the goal defended by Dexter. The first half ends 0-0 with the yellow and blue team appearing significantly better than their opponents.
The second half, however, begins with a completely different mood for Senya which immediately became dangerous again with Hazlan who gets rid of Morgan again and unleashes a right-footed shot that goes just wide. Wyn-Jones responded to this opportunity in the 56th minute, freed in the penalty area by an excellent pass by Falk. The Barkham FC striker shoots with his left foot, but just misses the target. In the 62nd minute Wyn-Jones tried again, this time served by Moreland. His close range shot was again saved by Jacobs who once again showed off his reflexes.
The turning point of the match came in the 80th minute when, after a free kick, Minyorletsken served a high ball deep towards Zvet who was on the edge of offside. The Sverige Tiem FC midfielder hits a header from super close range and gives dexter no chance to save. It's 1-0 for the Green Army who find themselves leading the match despite the fewer scoring opportunities created. Calbion's players tried to shake themselves mentally and two minutes after conceding the goal, Shakir put in a nice cross for the head of Huw, who directs the ball towards the goal, but once again finds Jacobs who opposes and deflects it into the corner. The Dragons' last attempts to recover the deficit were in vain.
The match ended 1-0 and sees Senya lift the FMF World Cup trophy for the second time in its history in its sixth participation at the tournament.
Details
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Man of the Match:
Mark Jacobs
Statistics
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