As we entered the final Round of games there was still so much to decide in Group C. The first two teams to stake their claim for Cup qualification were FC Spritz and Springfield B. These two teams were in third position and second position respectively.

Springfield B could finish no worse than second with a win and could win Group C if Cruz Del Sur lost their final game. A draw would secure second position and keep them above FC Spritz. Both those scenarios would see them qualify for the Cup. If they lose they would slip to third and would have to wait and see if that would be enough to be one of the two best 3 rd placed finishing teams.

FC Spritz knew a win would guarantee them second position in the table and a place in the Cup. A draw would be enough for third place if The Hoover Dams failed to win but would 7 points be enough to be one of those two best third-placed finishing teams? History told us that in this tournament 9 points or more had traditionally be required although that figure may be lower today looking across the league tables.

The result was a surprising one as Springfield B had been unbeaten so far but they were to ship four goals in the first half. It was a really bad time in the context of the group to do it. FC Spritz were dominant with 2 goals each from Mimi (7 goals for the tournament) and Cornel (3 goals for the tournament).

In the second half, with the damage already done, the teams shared two goals as Ionel was on target for FC Spritz and Liam O'Brien for Springfield B. It was his 8 th goal of the tournament. FC Spritz would finish second with the 5-1 win – well done to them.

Springfield B had done enough to qualify as the best third placed finishing team – on goal difference.

The last game of the group phase would be Legendarische IT Werkgever versus Cruz Del Sur. It looked like the Dutch team would finish in fifth position regardless of this result. They could finish no higher than fifth and they would have to lose by 9 or more to slip to the foot of the table.

Results above had already meant Cruz Del Sur had not only qualified for the Cup competition but they had also already secured the Group C title. They could sit back and enjoy this game knowing that their work was already done. It was the second time that Cruz Del Sur had won their group after also doing so at the 2016 Riga Tournament.

This game went with the formbook as Cruz Del Sur rattled in 3 goals in the first half. After the break they extended the lead to 5-0 with goals from Dominic Pitt (2), Tom Lawro (2) and David Coleman. There was to be a little sting in the tail though as a Bjorn Veldmeijer goal spoilt David Jamieson's tournament clean sheet.

If Veldmeijer had not of scored David Jamieson would have been the first man to keep 5 clean sheets at the start of the Amsterdam Fives and the first man to go through the entire (6-team) group phase since we moved here in 2016. Alas it was not to be but it was still a very fine effort especially at such a high-scoring venue.