Soccer player Safonov congratulated Team Spirit on advancing to the semifinals of the IEM Cologne Major 2026
Matvey Safonov, goalkeeper for the French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Russian national soccer team, addressed Team Spirit on his personal Telegram channel following the team’s advancement to the semifinals of the IEM Cologne Major 2026, and also jokingly complained about the long overtime periods.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
I was thinking of recording a video for you guys, since we have an early start and a flight through Korea. But yesterday, we were watching the CS quarterfinals and endless overtime matches until 4 a.m. local time. So my face isn’t ready for online posts.
Team Spirit, I’m not planning on going on an emotional roller coaster during my vacation. Are we going to do something about the fact that nerve cells don’t regenerate? Thanks.
And of course, congratulations on the win! Good luck in the semifinals! But I’m afraid we won’t be able to make it for a match that starts at 2 a.m. local time.
Earlier, Team Spirit defeated G2 Esports in a hard-fought battle and advanced to the semifinals of the IEM Cologne Major 2026. The first map, Overpass, went to Nemanya “huNter-” Kovač’s team (13–9), but the “Dragons” took Dust2 (16–14). On the decisive map, Mirage, the match went into four overtime rounds, and Spirit ultimately closed out the map with a score of 25:22. Today, Boris “magixx” Vorobyov’s team will face Team Falcons.
Photo: PGL.
