The 2025 Amsterdam Fives was our 25 th eurofootballfives.com tournament in the Dutch capital and this great city. Just one week on from our Sixes tournament it was great to be back so soon. The Amsterdam Fives proved to be an amazing debut in 2008 with teams from four nations competing before Olympic Phil Babb claimed the inaugural Amsterdam Fives trophy.

The Amsterdam Fives has since seen teams compete from Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Rep, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales over the years. Luca Toni FC of Switzerland are the current champions but will not be able to defend their title so we will have a new name on the trophy this season.

Today we had 7x teams representing England, 1x team representing Italy and 5x team representing our hosts, the Netherlands. Who would be holding the coveted trophy aloft at around 17.00 this evening?

The first two challengers to get us underway in Group A were Hobbema's and Sutton on Tour – both teams who have featured in our events before and both featured in the Amsterdam Fives. We'll preview them each in more detail as this report progresses. It was a cagey first half as the two sides eased into the tournament with both defences on top. We reached the break level at 0-0.

In the second half both teams drove forward looking for the goal that would give them all 3 points and a winning start. As the match wore on, the first goal was always likely to be crucial. When it came it was Max Pienik on target for the home team. 1-0 became 2-0 before the final whistle as Philippe de Bruijn ensured it was the men in orange who would be victorious.

Two more debutant teams, FC Floriande (Netherlands) and FC Kraken (England), took to the field in the third match of Group A. Both teams were looking to make an early statement in the tournament. It was FC Kraken who seized the early initiative, with Hollie Marie Hogan writing her name into the history books by scoring her team's first goal in Europe. She opened the scoring in the first half – a composed flicked finish that gave her side a deserved 1-0 lead at the break.

The English side continued their momentum into the second half and doubled their advantage when Ben Philip Rolph added a second, putting FC Kraken in firm control. At 2-0, they looked well on their way to collecting all three points, but FC Floriande had other ideas.

Wahib sparked the Dutch side's comeback with a well-taken goal to halve the deficit, and the tide began to turn. The comeback was completed when Younes El Hassani found the equaliser, levelling the match at 2-2 and setting up a frantic finish.

Despite chances at both ends in the closing stages, neither side could find a winner and the spoils were shared. It was a spirited response from FC Floriande, showing resilience and attacking flair, while FC Kraken will take encouragement from a bright start and the fact they were minutes away from a debut win. A competitive and entertaining fixture that bodes well for both teams in the group stage.