MHaywxrd and XL Tom help England top the table during FIFAe Nations Play-In 3

England’s official esports team, the eLions, produced some outstanding performances to top Europe’s Conference 1 Division 1 table during Play In 3. 

MHaywxrd (Mitch Hayward) and XL Tom (Tom Leese) took part in the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifier Play-In 3 on Thursday 10 March and Friday 11 March at Wembley Stadium connected by EE, with Tekkz (Donovan Hunt) as sub.

The Play-Ins take place over five months and give countries the chance to book a spot at next year’s FIFAe Nations Playoffs without having to take part in the ‘Main Stage’ of qualifying for FIFAe Nations Cup 2022.

Play In 1 in December saw the eLions relegated from Conference 1 Division 1 but ten victories in 12 matches during Play In 2 from XL Tom and MHaywxrd in January saw their side go undefeated and promoted back to the top tier.

And some superb displays from MHaywxrd and XL Tom during Play In 3 meant they won nine of their 14 games to top the table by eight points.

There are four Play Ins during this qualification phase and the nations who are top of Division 1 from each of the five conferences will qualify for FIFAe Nations Cup 2022 without having to go through the ‘Main Stage’ of qualifying, along with the top three teams in the ‘Consistency Ranking’ table at the end of the fourth match week.

The overall goal is to be one of 24 teams who compete at the FIFAe Nations Cup 2022 this year, when the best EA Sports FIFA 22 international team on the planet will be crowned.

The gap between the eLions and the top three in the Consistency Rankings was 150 points heading into Play In 3 but that will now close considerably when the rankings are confirmed in the coming weeks.

The eLions players, who had been training at the eLions room at Wembley Stadium ahead of match week 3, produced several impressive displays during Play In 3.

The game format is 2v2 on PS5 and each match-up consists of two games, with each being worth three points for the winner, one if it is a draw and nothing for the loser.

After starting the campaign with a 3-3 draw against France, who would go on to finish second during Play In 3, the eLions beat Denmark 6-0 and Turkey 4-1 before finishing Thursday's play with a 3-3 draw against Poland.

Friday kicked off with a 6-0 defeat to Israel before 6-0 wins over Switzerland and Poland helped England's eLions finish Play In 3 on 28 points, eight ahead of France and Denmark.

Action from Play In 3 can be watched on our Twitch channel at Twitch.tv/England and you can see England eLions’ full match week 3 results below.

Thursday 10 March
France 3-3 England 
England 6-0 Denmark
Turkey 1-4 England
England 3-3 Poland 

Friday 11 March
Israel 6-0 England
Switzerland 0-6 England
England 6-0 Malta