Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], August 23 (ANI): The Indian eFootball national team were crowned the inaugural champions of the FIFAe Continental Championship Asia 2026 ft. eFootball Mobile after defeating Japan 1-0 on aggregate in the final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday.

This victory also marked their third successive qualification for the FIFAe World Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia later this year, according to an All India Football Federation (AIFF) release.

India was represented by the duo of Danial Patel (DaNiAL) and Mujtaba Husaini (MujjiCool), who capped the memorable campaign and secured the historic title for the nation.

'We're feeling so proud about what we've done. All our fans sitting at home are also part of this. It feels incredible. We worked really hard for this, and we brought home the trophy. I'm proud of my partner Danial. He's been superb throughout the tournament,' Husaini said after the final.

The eTigers began their continental campaign on Wednesday in the group stage with a 1-0 win against Myanmar before suffering a 0-2 defeat to Jordan. The duo responded strongly right after, recording three consecutive victories -- 1-0 against Japan, 2-0 against Uzbekistan and another 1-0 against Thailand. A 0-1 defeat to Indonesia ended the winning run but India were able to secure a top-two finish with a 1-1 draw against Malaysia, which got them a bye to the semi-finals.

India faced Thailand in the semi-final on Friday evening. The eTigers edged the opening game 1-0, and a 1-1 draw in the second leg sent them through to the final and also punched their ticket to the World Cup.

Japan awaited India in the title decider on Saturday. Like their group stage meeting, it turned out to be a tight contest on the screens again. India scored the only goal of both legs early in the first game, before holding their East Asian opponents to a goalless draw in the second. The 1-0 aggregate victory made India the first-ever winners of the FIFAe Continental Championship Asia ft. eFootball Mobile.

For Patel, the triumph was not only a landmark achievement for the team but also a statement of intent ahead of the World Cup, with the eTigers now looking to carry their continental form onto the global stage.

'Now that we've won the Continental Championship, we've made a statement that India are one of the favourites for the World Cup. So, yeah, we're prepared, and the next step is to win the World Cup,' said Patel.

India makes Rocket League debut on the continental stage.

India also made their maiden appearance at the FIFAe Continental Championship Asia 2026 ft. Rocket League, with Abhai Ponna (Abscrazy), Karthik Raghunandan (Karvin), and Aditeya Amol Srivastav (Riyal) representing the nation after qualifying through the FIFAe Nations League.

The eTigers finished fifth in the group stage with seven points and were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Oman.

All the action took place on Sunday. The Indian trio endured a difficult start to the campaign against Jordan and Australia, going down 0-3 in both encounters. However, they bounced back with a run of five unbeaten matches - consecutive draws against Qatar and Oman before a 3-0 win over Maldives - marking their first win of the tournament. The eTigers wrapped up the group stage with further draws against Malaysia and Indonesia to make it to the knockout stage.

In the quarter-final, India faced Oman in a series of four matches. But the West Asians won all four to bring India's run to an end.

Despite the quarter-final exit, the eTigers' run marked a promising beginning to India's journey in Rocket League, with the team reaching the knockout stage in their first-ever appearance at the FIFAe Continental Championship Asia. (ANI)