Thunder Claim 3rd in EUW Premier League

Team Norse Thunder’s FIFA roster claimed third place in the latest instalment of the EUW Premier League on Friday night, equalling their result last time out.

16 players from across the European region competed in what was the sixth edition of the EUWPL series. The competition has more than 30 members signed up, but only the top-ranked 16 teams qualify to take part.

The opening round of matches saw Thunder’s Dave Scotford face off against Highlife, and Dave romped to victory by scoring 70 goals across the match without reply. The win saw him sail into the quarter-final where he faced up against Slavbedroy - a newcomer to the league.

A baptism of fire saw Dave score 37 to Slavbedroy’s 12 goals, which put Dave into the tournament’s semi-final. After crashing out last time around at the semi-final stage, he was looking to go one better and also get revenge on the player who knocked him out - Lectro09.

The semi-final match again went Lectro09’s way though as he scored 59 goals to Dave’s 35 and secured himself passage into the final in the process - a match which he went on to win. Dave’s goal difference across his matches was enough to secure him a third-place finish.

Dave’s team for the competition was: Pope (GK), Cole (LB), Smalling (CB), Coady (CB), Alexander-Arnold (RB), Milner (CM), Henderson (CM), Mount (CAM), Barnes (LW), Beckham (RW) and Wright (ST). Meanwhile, on the bench were Oblak (GK), Sessegnon (LB), Worrall (CB), Noble (CDM), Gerrard (CM), Maddison (CAM) and Akinfenwa (ST).

Speaking about the result, Team Norse Thunder’s Dave Scotford said: “Back-to-back semi-finals and third place finishes isn’t a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination - 16 players, and some of the best I’ve played again are in this league.

“It’s been rough coming up against Lectro in semi-finals because they’re such a good player with a really good team. They’re still the highest ranked player in the league so they’re always going to be at the business end of tournaments. I think I just need a bit of luck against them, to be honest.

“But I’m happy with where I’m at. Bringing Mount in at CAM felt like a bit of a steal at £9m, and he makes the team better overall too. Maddison gets dropped to the bench but he’s a good option if I need to bring someone into the team for an impact. The team’s getting better and better, and I’m getting better as a player, so I’m hoping to be making finals again soon!”