Two teams with German participation are in the round of eight at the FIFAe Club World Cup: while Schalke 04 and NEO survived the preliminary round, 1. FC Köln was eliminated.

However, the joy of the eighth-final qualification was clouded: already in the first knockout round for the Club World Cup, the German duel between Schalke 04 and NEO will take place.

"I think it's very unfortunate for us as friends that we have to play against each other in the first knockout round," Schalke's Julius "S04_Juli" Kühle explained in an interview after the game. However, the friendship will rest on the virtual lawn on Friday at the latest.

For a Fifa professional, it is a special tournament away from the sporting dimension: Dylan "DullenMIKE" Neuhausen, Canada's reigning individual champion in Fifa 22. The e-sportsman is playing his last tournament in the jersey of the Swiss e-sports organization NEO, after announcing his switch to Focus on July 11.

Meanwhile, the e-athletes from FC Köln no longer have a chance to win the world title. As the fifth of the preliminary round group A, the team missed the round of eight by one point.