Day 2 Report
MASTERS GROUP STAGE ENDS WITH FOXES SET TO FACE FOREST IN SUPER SEMI
Published on: 26 July 2025

Leicester City Masters will face off against Forest Reds in an all ex-Premier League semi-final tomorrow after the Foxes came out on top of the Masters tournament's Group A. Borussia Dortmund cruised into the other semi-final bracket after continuing their perfect record in this tournament so far – four wins in a row and yet to concede a goal. COSMO Masters defied the odds to claim the other semi-final place, being fired up the table by Masters top scorer Michael Sharples’ four goals and fighting to a 1-1 draw with Corinthians Masters to hold them at bay. This meant that East London All Stars could only secure third place in Group B and will instead compete in the Plate competition which will also feature Corinthians Masters on Sunday. Experience is an invaluable piece of football and the Masters saw plenty of legends get on the scoresheet to separate the top four teams in the competition from the rest of the chasing pack. Robert Huth showed his class at the other end of the pitch in Leicester City Masters’ opening game of the day, calmly slotting home from the edge of the area to be the difference maker in a 1-0 against Real Singapura. The Foxes followed this up later in the day to top Group A with a 3-1 victory in the rain against PERSIB Masters. Meanwhile, in Group B, COSMO’s Sharples retained his top spot in the scoring charts by getting his fourth of the tournament in a 1-0 win against PERSIB. But, more importantly, his team became the first to secure their place in the semi-finals in second place – a last-second equaliser by Corinthians only a consolation as the Brazilian side finished third in the group. With Dortmund and two former Premier League sides in Group B there was always going to be one team that missed out and this was the fate of the East London All Stars after coming out on the wrong side of a 2-1 result against the Forest Reds. As the clock turned 4pm, the All Stars and Reds lined up for the first all ex-Premier League affair of the tournament. It only took 90 seconds for the first bit of entertainment for the fans as Jamie Ward whipped the ball into net from 25 yards out to put the Reds 1-0 up. Ricardo Vaz Te equalised in the second half, but Robert Earnshaw dinked in the winner and treated fans to his famous somersault goal celebration. With over 200 professional goals for his clubs and for Croatia, Mladen Petric certainly knows there the goal is. And he showed this again by adding his second of the weekend to help Dortmund to a 2-0 win against Singa Legends. The Black and Yellow rounded off their group stage with a 1-0 victory against Singapore FC Masters to comfortably make the semi-finals. Tomorrow will see a guaranteed ex-Premier League team in the final but will they, or the COSMO Masters, be able to tame the seemingly unstoppable train that is Borussia Dortmund? Sunday’s set of Soccer7sSeries matches will answer that question.