Will Premier League, LaLiga or Bundesliga join Ligue 1 in semifinals?

We’ve reached the nail-biting conclusion of the group stage in ESPN’s Battle of the Leagues, presented by EA Sports FIFA 22, and every single one of Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Eredivisie, Major League Soccer and Liga MX still has a shot of reaching next week’s semifinals.

There is a heavyweight clash in Group A with Bundesliga vs. Ligue 1, with Major League Soccer taking on LaLiga to settle who progresses; in Group B, Serie A vs. Eredivisie and Premier League vs. Liga MX will finalise the other half of the draw in our tournament, simulated on EA Sports’ FIFA 22.

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In Group A, Julien Laurens’ Ligue 1 team have been befitting of their status as defending champions, winning their first two matches to guarantee progress into the semifinals with a game to spare.

For Gab Marcotti’s Bundesliga side to join them, they may need to do what they couldn’t in last year’s final: beat Ligue 1 in order to qualify. If that doesn’t happen, the door is open for either Nedum Onuoha’s Major League Soccer all-stars or Rodrigo Faez’s LaLiga selection to grab second spot if either of them can win their match-up.

Group B is on a real knife-edge. The Eredivisie squad, managed by Fresia Cousino Arias, has been the surprise package of the tournament, winning their first two matches — including a shock win over Mark Ogden’s Premier League All-Stars on Matchday 2 despite playing most of the game with 10 men.

However, the Eredivisie could still fail to reach the semifinals if they lose their last group match against Kay Murray’s Serie A team and the Premier League wins against Herc Gomez’s Liga MX side.