User:DeFrietBoer

1992 Lada Masters
The 1992 Lada Masters was the inaugural staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. The tournament would be the first ever organised tournament by the organisation and took place in England.

France won the inaugural event, beating Netherlands 3–2 in the final, becoming the first champion in the PSC.

Qualification
The PSC invited 4 UK countries and 4 European countries. There was some discussion about the invitation of Republic of Ireland as an European country, as Northern Ireland was invited as an UK country. As a result, this was the only time that Republic of Ireland was invited as an European country.

Invited UK Representatives
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (semi-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (quarter-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (quarter-finals)
 * Northern Ireland (semi-finals)

Invited European Representatives
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands (runner-up)
 * 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (quarter-finals)
 * 🇫🇷 France (champion)
 * Republic of Ireland (quarter-finals)

1993 Soccer Matchplay
The 1993 Soccer Matchplay was the inaugural staging of the tournament and the first tournament on the 1993 calendar, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. The tournament took place in England.

Netherlands won their first title, beating surprise finalist Denmark 2–1 in the final.

Qualification
The PSC invited 4 UK countries and 3 European countries. As there were some discussions about the inclusion of Republic of Ireland as an European invitation, the PSC decided to leave one spot available in a open qualifier, which was won by Denmark who would make their debut in the event, managing to create a huge upset by making it all the way to the final in only their first PSC appearance.

Invited UK Representatives
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (semi-finals)
 * Northern Ireland (quarter-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (semi-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (quarter-finals)

Invited European Representatives
 * 🇫🇷 France (quarter-finals)
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (quarter-finals)

Open Qualifier Winner
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark (runner-up)

1993 Samson Soccer Classic
The 1993 Samson Soccer Classic was the inaugural staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. The tournament took place in England.

France became the first country to win their second PSC title, beating Netherlands 1–0 in the final.

Qualification
For the first time, there were no invitations. Instead, the PSC decided to automatically select the top 3 UK countries in the Order of Merit and the top 3 European countries in the Order of Merit. They were joined by 2 Open Qualifier winners, one of which was Norway who made their debut in a PSC event.

Top 3 UK Countries in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (quarter-finals)
 * 2)  Northern Ireland (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (quarter-finals)

Top 3 European Countries in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (runner-up)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (champion)
 * 3) 🇩🇰 Denmark (semi-finals)

Open Qualifier Winners
 * 🇳🇴 Norway (semi-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (quarter-finals)

1993 Lada Masters
The 1993 Lada Masters was the 2nd staging of the Lada Masters, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. This was the first time, a PSC tournament was staged outside England, as France hosted the tournament.

France were the defending champions after beating Netherlands 3–2 in the 1992 final. However, they were surprisingly defeated by Denmark in a cracking match in the quarter-finals which featured the very first penalty shoot-out in PSC history.

England won their first PSC title, beating Denmark, who made another piece of Danish history by surprisingly reaching another final in a tournament debut, 2–1 in the final. England became the first UK country to win a PSC title, making this tournament the first tournament to have not been won by an European country and the first tournament, were Netherlands didn't reach the final, ending an impressive streak of 3 consecutive final appearances.

Denmark and Norway made their debuts in the Lada Masters as Luxembourg and Republic of Ireland didn't manage to qualify.

Qualification
In a change to last year, the PSC decided to pick the top 3 UK and European countries from the Order of Merit. The field was completed by 2 Open Qualifier winners.

Top 3 UK Countries in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (champion)
 * 2)  Northern Ireland (semi-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (semi-finals)

Top 3 European Countries in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (quarter-finals)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇩🇰 Denmark (runner-up)

Open Qualifier Winners
 * 🇳🇴 Norway (quarter-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (quarter-finals)

1994 World Championship
The 1994 World Championship was the first ever World Championship, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. The tournament became the first and biggest major in the history of the PSC.

Netherlands became the first World Champion in the PSC, as well as the first major champion in the PSC, defeating big surprise finalist Sweden, who played in their first PSC event as a qualifier. The final was nerve breaking, as none of the finalists managed to get a point on the board, extending the final all the way to a penalty shoot-out, which was won by Netherlands 4–2.

United States and Sweden made their PSC debuts, with United States becoming the first North American country to compete in the PSC, as well as the first non-UK and non-European country in the PSC.

Qualification
This tournament featured the biggest field in PSC history this far, as 12 countries competed for the legendary title, beating the 8 country record, with the top 8 countries in the Order of Merit being seeded in the draw. They were joined by the number 9 and 10 in the Order of Merit as well as 2 Global Qualifier winners.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (semi-finals)
 * 4) 🇩🇰 Denmark (semi-finals)
 * 5)  Northern Ireland (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (group stage)
 * 7) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (quarter-finals)
 * 8) 🇳🇴 Norway (quarter-finals)

Top 9-10 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (group stage)
 * 2)  Republic of Ireland (group stage)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇺🇸 United States (group stage)
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden (runner-up)

Draw
Group stage NB: P = Played; W = Won; D = Draw L = Lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; +/− = Plus/minus record, in relation to goals; Pts = Points; Status = Qualified to the knock-outs.

Group A
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group B
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group C
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group D
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Knock-outs

1994 Soccer Matchplay
The 1994 Soccer Matchplay was the 2nd staging of the tournament and the first tournament on the 1994 calendar, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. Netherlands hosted the tournament.

Netherlands were the defending champions, having beaten Denmark 2–1 in the 1993 final, but lost in the semi-finals to England.

England eventually won the tournament, beating back-to-back finalist Denmark 3–1 in the final. This was their 2nd PSC title.

Switzerland made their PSC debut, replacing Luxembourg who didn't manage to qualify.

Qualification
The qualification criteria changed from last year, as there were no more invitations. Instead, the top 3 UK and European countries qualified for the tournament. The remaining 2 spots were filled by 2 Open Qualifier winners.

Top 3 UK Countries in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (champion)
 * 2)  Northern Ireland (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (quarter-finals)

Top 3 European Countries in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇩🇰 Denmark (runner-up)

Open Qualifier Winners
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland (semi-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (quarter-finals)

1994 Samson Soccer Classic
The 1994 Samson Soccer Classic was the 2nd staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. The tournament took place in France.

The field for this tournament expanded from 8 to 12 countries, adding an extra round with the top 4 countries in the Order of Merit being seeded, receiving a bye to the quarter-finals.

France were the defending champions, winning the 1993 final 1–0 against Netherlands. However, Netherlands took revenge for losing that final, defeating France 0–0 {5–3} in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals.

England won the Samson Soccer Classic for the first time, picking up their 3rd PSC title by defeating Netherlands 2–0 in the final, with Netherlands losing the final for the second year in a row.

With the expanded format, Sweden, Luxembourg, United States and Switzerland all made their debut in the event.

Qualification
The field expanded and the qualification criteria changed. The top 4 countries in the Order of Merit were seeded and received a bye to the quarter-finals. The numbers 5 to 10 in the Order of Merit also qualified, but were not seeded and had to play an extra round. The field was completed by 2 Open Qualfier winners.

Top 4 in the Order of Merit (seeded in quarter-finals)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (runner-up)
 * 2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (champion)
 * 3) 🇩🇰 Denmark (semi-finals)
 * 4) 🇫🇷 France (semi-finals)

Top 5-10 in the Order of Merit
 * 1)  Northern Ireland (first round)
 * 2) 🇸🇪 Sweden (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (first round)
 * 4) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (quarter-finals)
 * 5) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)
 * 6) 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (first round)

Open Qualifier Winners
 * 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland (quarter-finals)

1994 World Matchplay
The 1994 World Matchplay was the inaugural staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. The tournament would feature as the 2nd major on the calendar after the World Championship. The tournament took place in England.

The tournament featured the biggest field this far, as 16 countries competed for the trophy, breaking the record of 12 countries in a single tournament.

The first edition would turn out to be a historic one, as Spain would go on to win their first PSC title and major on their PSC debut. Becoming the first country to do so. Spain defeated number 1 seed and current World Champion Netherlands 3–1 in the final.

Iceland, Finland and eventual winners Spain made their PSC debuts.

Qualification
The top 8 countries in the Order of Merit were seeded for this event. The numbers 9-12 in the Order of Merit also qualified for the event. The remaining 4 spots were filled by 4 Global qualifiers.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (runner-up)
 * 2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (first round)
 * 3) 🇩🇰 Denmark (first round)
 * 4) 🇫🇷 France (semi-finals)
 * 5)  Northern Ireland (first round)
 * 6) 🇸🇪 Sweden (semi-finals)
 * 7) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (first round)
 * 8) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (first round)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇴 Norway (quarter-finals)
 * 2) 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (first round)
 * 3)  Republic of Ireland (first round)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇮🇸 Iceland (quarter-finals)
 * 🇫🇮 Finland (first round)
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland (quarter-finals)
 * 🇪🇸 Spain (champion)

1994 Lada Masters
The 1994 Lada Masters was the 3rd staging of the Lada Masters, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. The tournament took place in England.

The field expanded from 8 to 12 countries, adding an extra round with the top 4 countries in the Order of Merit being seeded, receiving a bye to the quarter-finals.

England were the defending champions, winning the 1993 edition 2–1 against Denmark. England would not succesfully defend their title, as they were beaten 1–0 by eventual winners France, winning their 2nd Lada Masters 1–0 against Denmark, who lost the final for sthe 2nd year in a row.

With the expanded format, Sweden, current World Matchplay champion Spain, Switzerland and United States all made their debut in the event.

Qualification
The field expanded and the qualification criteria changed. The top 4 countries in the Order of Merit were seeded and received a bye to the quarter-finals. The numbers 5 to 10 in the Order of Merit also qualified, but were not seeded and had to play an extra round. The field was completed by 2 Open Qualifier winners.

Top 4 in the Order of Merit (seeded in quarter-finals)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (semi-finals)
 * 3) 🇫🇷 France (champion)
 * 4) 🇩🇰 Denmark (runner-up)

Top 5-10 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇸🇪 Sweden (first round)
 * 2)  Northern Ireland (first round)
 * 3) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 4) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (first round)
 * 5) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)

Open Qualifier Winners
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland (quarter-finals)
 * 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)

1995 World Championship
The 1995 World Championship was the 2nd World Championship, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. Netherlands hosted the presticious event, having won the inaugural World Championship by defeating surprise finalists Sweden in a penalty shootout: 0–0 {4–2}. Netherlands would not win the competition back-to-back, as they were 4–2 defeated in the semi-finals by France.

France would go on to win their first World Championship confidently by destroying England 4–0 in the final, picking up their first major title.

Current World Matchplay champion Spain, Poland and Italy made their World Championship debuts, while Luxembourg, Republic of Ireland and United States failed to qualify. This also included the PSC debuts for Poland and Italy.

Qualification
The qualification criteria stayed the same as last year.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (runner-up)
 * 3) 🇩🇰 Denmark (group stage)
 * 4) 🇫🇷 France (champion)
 * 5) 🇸🇪 Sweden (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 7)  Northern Ireland (group stage)
 * 8) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (quarter-finals)

Top 9-10 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (group stage)
 * 2) 🇳🇴 Norway (group stage)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇵🇱 Poland (semi-finals)
 * 🇮🇹 Italy (quarter-finals)

Draw
Group stage NB: P = Played; W = Won; D = Draw L = Lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; +/− = Plus/minus record, in relation to goals; Pts = Points; Status = Qualified to the knock-outs.

Group A
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group B
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group C
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group D
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Knock-outs

1995 Soccer Matchplay
The 1995 Soccer Matchplay was the 3rd staging of the Soccer Matchplay, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. The event was held in England for the second time, having hosted the tournament in 1993.

England were the defending champions, having beaten Denmark 3–1 in the 1994 final. However, England would surprisingly lose their first game to Denmark who took revenge, winning their first Soccer Matchplay after losing 2 consecutive finals, beating debutants Italy 2–1 in the final, winning their first PSC title and becoming only the 5th country to do so after France, Netherlands, England and Spain

Spain, Sweden, Italy and United States all made their debuts in the Soccer Matchplay while Northern Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland and Wales didn't manage to qualify.

United States also became the first North American country in the Soccer Matchplay.

Qualification
The qualification criteria where again changed, as no longer, the top 3 UK and European countries qualified for the tournament. Instead, the top 6 countries in the Order of Merit qualified. The remaining 2 spots were still filled by 2 Open Qualifier winners.

Top 6 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇫🇷 France (quarter-finals)
 * 4) 🇩🇰 Denmark (champion)
 * 5) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🇸🇪 Sweden (quarter-finals)

Open Qualifier Winners
 * 🇮🇹 Italy (runner-up)
 * 🇺🇸 United States (semi-finals)

1995 National Pro League
The 1995 National Pro League was the inaugural staging of the tournament and featured as the 3rd major tournament, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation after the World Championship and World Matchplay. France hosted the event.

The tournament featured a format that looked like the format of the World Championship with a few differences. This tournament featured just 3 groups of 4 countries who where randomly drawn. The winner of each group automatically qualified for the semi-finals. The last country to qualify was the number 2 from the group-stage with the most points, the best goal difference or the most goals.

Italy won their first PSC (major) title by defeating England 1–0 in the final.

This tournament also featured the PSC debut of Canada.

Qualification
The top 8 countries in the Order of Merit where automatically qualified. The remaining 4 spots where filled by 4 Global Qualifier winners.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (runner-up)
 * 3) 🇫🇷 France (semi-finals)
 * 4) 🇩🇰 Denmark (group stage)
 * 5) 🇪🇸 Spain (group stage)
 * 6) 🇸🇪 Sweden (group stage)
 * 7) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (group stage)
 * 8)  Northern Ireland (group stage)

Open Qualifier Winners
 * 🇨🇦 Canada (group stage)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (group stage)
 * 🇳🇴 Norway (group stage)
 * 🇮🇹 Italy (champion)

Draw
Group stage NB: P = Played; W = Won; D = Draw L = Lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; +/− = Plus/minus record, in relation to goals; Pts = Points; Status = Qualified to the knock-outs.

Group A
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group B
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group C
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Knock-outs

1995 World Matchplay
The 1995 World Matchplay was the 2nd staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. For the first time in PSC history, Spain would serve as hosts for a PSC tournament.

Spain where the defending champions. However, they were beaten in a huge upset in the first round by PSC debutants Germany in a penalty shoot-out by 2–2 {3–2}.

After losing the final last year, number one seed Netherlands managed to take the title for the first time this year by beating current World Champion France 2–1 in the final.

National Pro League champion Italy, Germany and Hungary made their World Matchplay debuts, as Luxembourg, Republic of Ireland and Finland failed to qualify. For Germany and Hungary, this was their PSC debuts.

Qualification
The qualification criteria stayed the same, as the top 8 countries in the Order of Merit were seeded. The numbers 9-12 in the Order of Merit also qualified with the remaining 4 spots being filled by 4 Global qualifiers.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇫🇷 France (runner-up)
 * 4) 🇩🇰 Denmark (first round)
 * 5) 🇪🇸 Spain (first round)
 * 6) 🇸🇪 Sweden (first round)
 * 7) 🇮🇹 Italy (semi-finals)
 * 8) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (first round)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (first round)
 * 2)  Northern Ireland (first round)
 * 3) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland (first round)
 * 🇮🇸 Iceland (quarter-finals)
 * 🇩🇪 Germany (semi-finals)
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary (quarter-finals)

1996 World Championship
The 1996 World Championship was the 3rd edition of the World Championship, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. France had the honour of hosting the biggest event of the year, having won the World Championship last year by confidently beating England 4–0 in the final.

France did not succesfully defend their title, as they were unable to progress to the knock-outs as they shockingly finished in last place of their respective group.

Poland realised the biggest shock in PSC history this far by winning the World Championship by defeating Germany who also surprisingly reached the final as they made their World Championship debut by 2–1. This was the first PSC title for Poland.

As interest from countries in the PSC kept increasing, the PSC decided to increase the field for the World Championship from 12 to 16 countries, adding 1 country to each group.

This was an unique year, as all countries who qualified for last years World Championship also managed to qualify this year. With the expanded field however, United States returned after a one-year absence while Australia, Germany and Bosnia Herzegovina made their World Championship debuts. This was the PSC debut for Australia and Bosnia Herzegovina.

Australia also became the first Oceanic country to ever take part in a PSC event.

Qualification
To accumelate with the expanded field, the qualification criteria had to be slighlty altered. The top 8 countries in the Order of Merit were still automatically qualified and seeded. The top 9-12 countries in the Order of Merit where also automatically qualified instead of the top 9-10. 2 extra qualifiers where also added, making a total of 4 Global Qualifier winners.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (group stage)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (quarter-finals)
 * 4) 🇩🇰 Denmark (group stage)
 * 5) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🇸🇪 Sweden (group stage)
 * 7) 🇮🇹 Italy (semi-finals)
 * 8) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (group stage)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (group stage)
 * 2)  Northern Ireland (group stage)
 * 3) 🇳🇴 Norway (group stage)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇦🇺 Australia (quarter-finals)
 * 🇵🇱 Poland (champion)
 * 🇩🇪 Germany (runner-up)
 * Bosnia Herzegovina (group stage)

Draw
Group stage NB: P = Played; W = Won; D = Draw L = Lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; +/− = Plus/minus record, in relation to goals; Pts = Points; Status = Qualified to the knock-outs.

Group A
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group B
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group C
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group D
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Knock-outs

1996 Soccer Matchplay
The 1996 Soccer Matchplay was the 4th staging of the Soccer Matchplay, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. For the first time in PSC history, Denmark hosted a PSC event.

Denmark were the defending champions, having beaten Italy 2–1 in the 1995 final. For the first time however, Denmark would not manage to reach the final of the Soccer Matchplay, losing their first game 2–1 to 1994 champion England.

Netherlands became the first country to win a 2nd Soccer Matchplay title after winning the inaugural 1993 edition, defeating England 2–1 in a final between former champions, winning their 5th PSC title, which was also their 2nd title of 1996.

Netherlands now surpast France, having claimed the most titles in the PSC at that point.

Finland made their debut in the Soccer Matchplay, replacing United States who didn't manage to qualify.

Qualification
The qualification criteria stayed the same as last year.

Top 6 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (semi-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (runner-up)
 * 4) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 5) 🇮🇹 Italy (semi-finals)
 * 6) 🇩🇰 Denmark (quarter-finals)

Open Qualifier Winners
 * 🇫🇮 Finland (quarter-finals)
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden (quarter-finals)

1996 World Matchplay
The 1996 World Matchplay was the 3rd staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. Netherlands had the honour of hosting the second-biggest event of the PSC.

Netherlands where the defending champions and for the first time in PSC history, the defending champions managed to succesfully defend their title by defeating France 4–1 in the final to claim their 2nd consecutive World Matchplay title.

This was the 3rd 1996 title for Netherlands. This was also the 2nd time in 1996 that France lost in the final of a 1996 event, still searching for that next title after winning the 1995 World Championship.

Finland returned to the World Matchplay after a 1-year absence, while current World Champion Poland, New Zealand, Australia and Canada made their World Matchplay debuts, replacing Wales, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Iceland and Hungary who all failed to qualify. This also marked the PSC debut for New Zealand.

Qualification
The qualification criteria again stayed the same, as the top 8 countries in the Order of Merit were seeded. The numbers 9-12 in the Order of Merit also qualified with the remaining 4 spots being filled by 4 Global qualifiers.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (runner-up)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (semi-finals)
 * 4) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 5) 🇮🇹 Italy (semi-finals)
 * 6) 🇵🇱 Poland (quarter-finals)
 * 7) 🇩🇰 Denmark (first round)
 * 8) 🇺🇸 United States (first round)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇩🇪 Germany (first round)
 * 2) 🇸🇪 Sweden (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)
 * 4) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (first round)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand (first round)
 * 🇦🇺 Australia (quarter-finals)
 * 🇨🇦 Canada (first round)
 * 🇫🇮 Finland (first round)

1997 World Championship
The 1997 World Championship was the 4th annual staging of the World Championship, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. Poland had the honour of hosting a PSC event for the first time, which also was the biggest event of the year.

Poland was the surprise champion last year, but didn't manage to defend the title, as they lost to Netherlands in the quarter-finals by 3–1.

Netherlands were the heavy favorites to become the first country to win their 2nd World Championship and they succesfully realised that prediction by defeating England in a close final as they were decided all the way in a penalty shoot-out, just as with the first World Championship victory for Netherlands by 2–2 {3–2} to win their 3rd tournament in a row, and their 5th tournament from the 1996 calendar. This was already the 4th major title for Netherlands and their 8th PSC title in total. England lost their 2nd World Championship final as they also lost to France in the 1995 World Championship

Republic of Ireland returned after a 2-year absence, appearing at the World Championship for the first time since the inaugural 1994 World Championship, while Hungary and Czech Republic made their World Championship debuts. This was also the PSC debut for Czech Republic. These countries replaced Northern Ireland, Australia and Bosnia Herzegovina who didn't manage to qualify.

Qualification
The qualification criteria stayed the same as last year.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (semi-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (runner-up)
 * 4) 🇮🇹 Italy (group stage)
 * 5) 🇵🇱 Poland (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🇩🇰 Denmark (quarter-finals)
 * 7) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 8) 🇩🇪 Germany (group stage)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)
 * 2) 🇳🇴 Norway (group stage)
 * 3) 🇸🇪 Sweden (semi-finals)
 * 4) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (group stage)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (group stage)
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary (group stage)
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (group stage)
 * Republic of Ireland (group stage)

Draw
Group stage NB: P = Played; W = Won; D = Draw L = Lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; +/− = Plus/minus record, in relation to goals; Pts = Points; Status = Qualified to the knock-outs.

Group A
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group B
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group C
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group D
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Knock-outs

1997 News of the World
The 1997 News of the World was the inaugural staging of the News of the World, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. This tournament featured as an replacement for the discontinued National Pro League, bringing the total number of majors back to 3. Netherlands hosted the tournament.

This tournament was a big deal, as it featured the largest fied this far, as 32 countries participated. The tournament also featured the largest sum of prize money this far.

Italy won the tournament, beating Spain 2–1 in the final to claim their 2nd major title.

As only 25 countries had a tourcard, the PSC had to complete the field by helding a qualifier for all non-tourcard countries. This meant that Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, Jamaica, Barbados, Faroe Islands and Israel all made their PSC debuts.

Jamaica and Barbados also became the first Caribbean and Central American countries to participate in a PSC event, while Israel became the first Asian country to participate in a PSC event.

If one or more of those countries would make it all the way to the quarter-finals, they would receive a tourcard.

Qualification
The top 8 countries in the Order of Merit were seeded, while the remaining countries from the Order of Merit (9-25) and the qualifiers were randomly drawn.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (first round)
 * 2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (second round)
 * 3) 🇫🇷 France (first round)
 * 4) 🇮🇹 Italy (champion)
 * 5) 🇵🇱 Poland (second round)
 * 6) 🇩🇰 Denmark (quarter-finals)
 * 7) 🇩🇪 Germany (quarter-finals)
 * 8) 🇦🇺 Australia (second round)

Top 9-25 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)
 * 2) 🇳🇴 Norway (semi-finals)
 * 3) 🇪🇸 Spain (runner-up)
 * 4) 🇸🇪 Sweden (first round)
 * 5) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (second round)
 * 6) 🇫🇮 Finland (first round)
 * 7)  Republic of Ireland (second round)
 * 8) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (first round)
 * 9) 🇭🇺 Hungary (first round)
 * 10) 🇨🇭 Switzerland (second round)
 * 11)  Northern Ireland (first round)
 * 12) 🇨🇦 Canada (quarter-finals)
 * 13)  Bosnia Herzegovina (first round)
 * 14) 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (first round)
 * 15) 🇮🇸 Iceland (first round)
 * 16) 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (first round)
 * 17) 🇳🇿 New Zealand (second round)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇦🇹 Austria (first round)
 * 🇭🇷 Croatia (semi-finals)
 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia (first round)
 * 🇯🇲 Jamaica (first round)
 * 🇧🇧 Barbados (first round)
 * 🇫🇴 Faroe Islands (first round)
 * 🇮🇱 Israel (second round)

1997 World Matchplay
The 1997 World Matchplay was the 4th staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. Netherlands hosted the major for the second year in a row after succesfully defending their title last year.

Netherlands did not manage to succesfully defend their title again, as Czech Republic created a huge upset by winning their first major title on their tournament debut, ending an impressive streak of 11 match wins at the World Matchplay by defeating Netherlands 1–0 in the final.

Czech Republic became the second unseeded country and first debutant to win the World Matchplay, after Spain did the same in the inaugural 1994 edition.

Hungary made their return after a 1-year absence, while eventual winners Czech Republic debuted. They replaced New Zealand and Canada who both failed to qualify.

Qualification
The qualification criteria remained the same.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (runner-up)
 * 2) 🇮🇹 Italy (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (first round)
 * 4) 🇩🇪 Germany (semi-finals)
 * 5) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🇫🇷 France (quarter-finals)
 * 7) 🇵🇱 Poland (semi-finals)
 * 8) 🇩🇰 Denmark (quarter-finals)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)
 * 2) 🇺🇸 United States (first round)
 * 3) 🇦🇺 Australia (first round)
 * 4) 🇸🇪 Sweden (first round)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (champion)
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary (first round)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (first round)
 * 🇫🇮 Finland (first round)

1998 World Championship
The 1998 World Championship was the 5th staging of the World Championship, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. Netherlands became the first country to host the World Championship for the second time, having also hosted the 1995 edition.

This would turn out to be the last World Championship to feature a group stage.

Netherlands were the defending champions, but didn't manage to win their third World Championship, losing surprisingly in the semi-finals to United States by 3–1.

United States wortie another chapter of PSC history, becoming the first North American country to win the World Championship and a major PSC title by defeating England 1–0 in the final. This was also the first time that a non-European or non-UK country won a major title and only the second time that a unseeded country won the biggest title of them all after Poland won in 1996.

This was the second consecutive year that England lost in the final and their third final loss overall, still searching for their first world title.

Australia returned after a 1-year absence, while Turkey and Switzerland made their World Championship debuts, with Turkey also making their PSC debut.

Two notable absentees were 1994 runners-up Sweden and 1995 quarter-finalists Scotland, having both been present since the inaugural 1994 edition. Republic of Ireland also failed to qualify.

Qualification
The qualification criteria remained unchanged.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🇮🇹 Italy (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (runner-up)
 * 4) 🇪🇸 Spain (group stage)
 * 5) 🇩🇪 Germany (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🇵🇱 Poland (group stage)
 * 7) 🇩🇰 Denmark (group stage)
 * 8) 🇫🇷 France (group stage)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇳🇴 Norway (group stage)
 * 2) 🇺🇸 United States (champion)
 * 3) 🇦🇺 Australia (group stage)
 * 4) 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (semi-finals)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey (group stage)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (group stage)
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland (quarter-finals)
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary (quarter-finals)

Draw
Group stage NB: P = Played; W = Won; D = Draw L = Lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; +/− = Plus/minus record, in relation to goals; Pts = Points; Status = Qualified to the knock-outs.

Group A
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group B
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group C
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Group D
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Knock-outs

1998 World Matchplay
The 1998 World Matchplay was the 5th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. For the first time, Czech Republic hosted a PSC tournament after their surprise win last year.

There was a lot of tension in the Czech Republic, as they had to enter the global qualifier last minute, as they fell out of the top 12 in the world after the last open event before the World Matchplay. They still managed to succesfully qualify and again made it all the way to the final, just losing out to Italy who won their first World Matchplay, winning by 1–0 in the final.

Czech Republic became the first country to reach the final of the World Matchplay twice as an unseeded country, reaching the final in two consecutive years.

Bosnia Herzegovina made their debut in the event, replacing Hungary who failed to qualify.

Qualification
The qualification criteria remained unchanged.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (first round)
 * 2) 🇮🇹 Italy (champion)
 * 3) 🇪🇸 Spain (semi-finals)
 * 4) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (first round)
 * 5) 🇺🇸 United States (first round)
 * 6) 🇵🇱 Poland (quarter-finals)
 * 7) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)
 * 8) 🇩🇰 Denmark (first round)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇩🇪 Germany (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🇫🇷 France (first round)
 * 3) 🇦🇺 Australia (first round)
 * 4) 🇸🇪 Sweden (quarter-finals)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇫🇮 Finland (first round)
 * Bosnia Herzegovina (quarter-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (quarter-finals)
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (runner-up)

1998 World Grand Prix
The 1998 World Grand Prix was the inaugural staging of the World Grand Prix, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. Italy hosted the tournament.

The World Grand Prix was a replacement for the News of the World tournament, as the PSC was looking for an unique format that was never used before. Therefore, the PSC created a double-match knock-out format, were each matchup included two matches, where the scores would be aggregated to decide the winner. If these scores would end in a draw, a penalty shoot-out would be used as a decider. This way, losing one match, still gives the possiblity of progressing in the tournament, by winning the second match.

Netherlands won the inaugural World Grand Prix, defeating Spain by an aggregated score of 3–3 {6–5} in the final, making expertly use of the unique format, losing the first match 0–2, to tie up the match by winning the second match 3–1, to edge out Spain 6–5 in a penalty shoot-out.

Qualification
The top 4 in the Order of Merit were seeded for the event. They were joined by the top 5-12 in the Order of Merit and 4 global qualifiers who were randomly drawn in the bracket.

Top 4 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 2) 🇮🇹 Italy (first round)
 * 3) 🇪🇸 Spain (runner-up)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 United States (first round)

Top 5-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (quarter-finals)
 * 2) 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (first round)
 * 3) 🇩🇪 Germany (quarter-finals)
 * 4) 🇩🇰 Denmark (first round)
 * 5) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)
 * 6) 🇵🇱 Poland (semi-finals)
 * 7) 🇫🇷 France (quarter-finals)
 * 8) 🇸🇪 Sweden (quarter-finals)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇳🇿 New Zealand (semi-finals)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (first round)
 * 🇦🇺 Australia (first round)
 * 🇦🇹 Austria (first round)

1999 World Championship
The 1999 World Championship was the 6th staging of the World Championship, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. For the first time in PSC history, the World Championship was held outside the UK and Europe as United States had the honour of hosting the presticious event, becoming the first North American country to do so.

United States were the defending champions, but narrowly lost in the quarter-finals to England, who needed a penalty shoot-out to win 1–1 {5–4}.

For the third time in PSC World Championship history, an unseeded country managed to win the biggest title of the year, as Portugal won the tournament, beating England 2–0 in the final. This was the first time, a debutant won the World Championship.

England became the first country to reach the World Championship final in 3 consecutive years, but still didn't manage to win their first world title, having now lost 4 finals in total.

A big change was made in the format of the World Championship, as the group-stages were completely banished, making the tournament a straight knock-out. This allowed the PSC to increase the field of countries from 16 to 24, without drastically increasing the length of the tournament and allowing the possiblities for even more shocking upsets.

Sweden, Scotland and Republic of Ireland all returned after 1-year absences, while Northern Ireland and Bosnia Herzegovina both returned after 2-year absences.Canada, Faroe Islands, Finland, Croatia, Austria and Portugal all made their World Championship debuts, with Portugal also making their PSC debut.

One notable absentee was 1995 quarter-finalist Wales, failing to qualify for the first time in 5 years, having been present since the inaugural 1994 World Championship. 1998 quarter-finalist Hungary and Turkey also failed to qualify.

Qualification
The qualification criteria were adapted to the increased field, with the top 8 in the Order of Merit still being seeded, but also automatically qualified for the second round. The top 9-16 in the Order of Merit were also automatically qualified, instead of the top 9-12. The field was completed by 8 global qualifiers instead of 4.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded in second round)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🇮🇹 Italy (second round)
 * 3) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 4) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (runner-up)
 * 5) 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)
 * 6) 🇩🇪 Germany (second round)
 * 7) 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (second round)
 * 8) 🇩🇰 Denmark (quarter-finals)

Top 9-16 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇵🇱 Poland (first round)
 * 2) 🇳🇴 Norway (second round)
 * 3) 🇫🇷 France (semi-finals)
 * 4) 🇸🇪 Sweden (first round)
 * 5) 🇦🇺 Australia (second round)
 * 6) 🇨🇭 Switzerland (first round)
 * 7)  Republic of Ireland (second round)
 * 8) 🇨🇦 Canada (first round)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇫🇴 Faroe Islands (first round)
 * 🇫🇮 Finland (first round)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (first round)
 * 🇭🇷 Croatia (second round)
 * 🇦🇹 Austria (quarter-finals)
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal (champion)
 * Northern Ireland (second round)
 * Bosnia Herzegovina (first round)

1999 World Matchplay
The 1999 World Matchplay was the 6th annual staging of the World Matchplay, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. For the first time, Italy hosted the contest after winning the event last year.

Italy did not succesfully defend their title, losing surprisingly in a big upset in the quarter-finals to qualifier Croatia by 0–2.

Netherlands created another piece of history by claiming their 3rd World Matchplay title. They beat United States 3–0 in the final. Netherlands still remains the only country to have won this presticious title more than once.

This was the first event, Netherlands didn't enter as world number one, as 1998 World Matchplay Champion Italy took over that position.

United States became the first North American country to reach the final of the World Matchplay. They were also the first non-European country to do so.

One shocking non-qualifier was 1997 quarter-finalist Denmark, who had been present ever since the inaugural 1994 World Matchplay. Not qualifying for the first time after 5 years.

Finland, Australia and Bosnia Herzegovina also failed to qualify, while new World Champion Portugal, Croatia, Israel and Austria all debuted in this event.

Israel became the first Asian country to qualify for the World Matchplay.

Qualification
The qualification criteria remained unchanged.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇮🇹 Italy (quarter-finals)
 * 2) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 United States (runner-up)
 * 5) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (first round)
 * 6) 🇫🇷 France (first round)
 * 7) 🇵🇹 Portugal (semi-finals)
 * 8) 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (first round)

Top 9-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇵🇱 Poland (quarter-finals)
 * 2) 🇩🇪 Germany (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇸🇪 Sweden (first round)
 * 4) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇭🇷 Croatia (semi-finals)
 * 🇮🇱 Israel (first round)
 * 🇦🇹 Austria (first round)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (first round)

1999 World Grand Prix
The 1999 World Grand Prix was the 2nd staging of the World Grand Prix, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. Netherlands hosted the event for the first time after winning the inaugural edition last year.

Netherlands succesfully retained the title, already becoming a 2-time World Grand Prix Champion. They defeated England in the final by an aggregated score of 2–1, again forcing a stunning comeback in the final, losing the first match 0–1, but winning the second match 2–0 to retain the title.

England became the first UK and unseeded country to reach the final of the World Grand Prix.

The PSC wanted to experiment with the format, introducing a group-stage, where two countries of each group would progress to the quarter-finals. This group-stage was different than anything we had seen before, as the winners of each of the first two matches of each group, faced each other, where the winner already progressed to the quarter-finals. The losers also faced each other, with the loser being eliminated. The winner would face the loser of the previous game to decide the second country to progress to the quarter-finals.

Each group had one seeded country, two countries in the top 5-12 in the Order of Merit and one qualifier. The seeds were already filled in each group, but the other countries were randomly drawn in the group.

This would turn out to be the only year, a group-stage was used in the World Grand Prix.

This was the first time, Italy entered the tournament as the number 1 seed, having taken over the position from Netherlands.

World Champion Portugal, Canada, Greece and Luxembourg made their debuts, replacing Czech Republic, 1998 semi-finalist New Zealand, Australia and Austria who all failed to qualify, making this the first edition without any Oceanic entries.

Qualification
The qualification criteria remained the same for this edition.

Top 4 in the Order of Merit (seeded)
 * 1) 🇮🇹 Italy (semi-finals)
 * 2) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 3) 🇪🇸 Spain (group stage)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 United States (group stage)

Top 5-12 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (runner-up)</li>
 * 2) 🇵🇹 Portugal (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇫🇷 France (quarter-finals)
 * 4) 🇵🇱 Poland (group stage)
 * 5) 🇩🇪 Germany (semi-finals)
 * 6) 🇸🇪 Sweden (group stage)
 * 7) 🇳🇴 Norway (group stage)
 * 8) 🇨🇦 Canada (group stage)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇬🇷 Greece (group stage)
 * 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (quarter-finals)
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark (group stage)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (quarter-finals)

Draw
Group-stage

Group D
Knock-outs

2000 World Championship
The 2000 World Championship was the 7th staging of the World Championship and the first event of the new era, organised by the Professional Soccer Corporation. This became the first PSC event, organised in Portugal after winning the World Championship in their PSC debut last year.

Portugal did not succesfully retain their title, losing in their first game in the second round to qualifier and debutant Ukraine by 2–3, causing a big upset quite early in the tournament and realizing the first loss of Portugal in the World Championship.

Netherlands, inaugural 1994 and 1997 World Champion, won their 3rd World Championship by defeating 1995 World Champion France 3–2 in a final of former World Champions.

This marked the first World Championship final victory for Netherlands without needing a penalty shoot-out.

This was a pretty special edition of the World Championship, as Luxembourg, who haven't participated in the World Championship since the inaugural 1994 edition, returned after a 5-year absence. Wales and Hungary also made their returns after 1-year absences, while Ukraine, Belgium, Serbia and Iceland all made their debuts. These countries replaced Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Australia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Finland and Croatia who all failed to qualify this year.

This also marked the PSC debuts of Ukraine, Belgium and Serbia.

Qualification
The qualification criteria remained the same as last year.

Top 8 in the Order of Merit (seeded in second round)
 * 1) 🇳🇱 Netherlands (champion)
 * 2) 🇪🇸 Spain (quarter-finals)
 * 3) 🇮🇹 Italy (quarter-finals)
 * 4) 🇺🇸 United States (quarter-finals)
 * 5) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England (second round)
 * 6) 🇫🇷 France (runner-up)
 * 7) 🇵🇹 Portugal (second round)
 * 8) 🇵🇱 Poland (quarter-finals)

Top 9-16 in the Order of Merit
 * 1) 🇩🇪 Germany (first round)</li>
 * 2) 🇸🇪 Sweden (first round)
 * 3) 🇨🇿 Czech Republic (first round)
 * 4) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland (semi-finals)
 * 5) 🇨🇦 Canada (second round)
 * 6) 🇳🇴 Norway (first round)
 * 7) 🇭🇺 Hungary (first round)
 * 8) 🇨🇭 Switzerland (first round)

Global Qualifier Winners
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark (second round)
 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine (semi-finals)
 * 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (second round)
 * 🇦🇹 Austria (second round)
 * 🇧🇪 Belgium (second round)
 * 🇷🇸 Serbia (first round)
 * 🇮🇸 Iceland (first round)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales (second round)