FURIA secured their spot in the IEM Cologne Major 2026 semi-finals following a hard-fought 2-1 victory over 9z. The Brazilian squad managed to bounce back after dropping their opening map on Dust2, claiming wins on Mirage and Overpass to take the series. Following the match, head coach Sidnei “sidde” Macedo addressed the team’s resilience and highlighted the ongoing development of young talent Molodoy.
Despite FURIA’s collective success in reaching the playoffs, Danil “molodoy” Golubenko visibly struggled with frustration during the series. Coach sidde addressed the player’s mindset directly, pointing out that the youngster places a heavy burden on himself when matches do not go his way.
He punishes himself too much on bad games and maybe he’s focusing on numbers,” sidde explained. “I think maybe he has to figure out a bit of his emotions during the game so he can make the best decisions because other than that, he’s amazing for the team.”
The coach stressed that molodoy remains a highly effective asset who brings necessary energy and wins clutch rounds that keep the team alive. The next step in the player’s progression is learning how to reset mentally in the server.
If he can figure out how to stay mentally in the game even after maybe a hard start or even after making a bad decision, he can fix it in the next round,” sidde said, adding that such hurdles are entirely expected from a young player.
Fixing communication issues against 9z
To secure the series, FURIA had to recover from an initial deficit on Dust2. According to sidde, the primary issue on the first map was a lack of clear communication.
We are not talking enough to each other during the rounds. So as soon as we figured that out, everything went all right,” sidde noted.
Once the team corrected their vocal exchanges, they leaned on their mental fortitude to carry them through the remaining maps. The coach instructed his players to keep believing, which helped them maintain confidence and capitalize on high-pressure clutch situations. This victory brings significant relief to a FURIA roster that faced severe internal pressure following an early exit against NAVI at the previous Major in Budapest.
Preparing for a tough matchup against Aurora
FURIA will face Aurora in the upcoming semi-final. Sidde dismissed the idea that either team enters the match with an advantage, expecting a highly competitive series. He is well acquainted with the opponent, partly through his friendship with Aurora player Wik.
They are a team of fighters. They go until the end. They don’t give up,” sidde said. “Maybe people from outside don’t realize how difficult it is playing them. They are a very powerful team and it’s going to be a crazy match. There’s no favorites there.
You can see the interview with sidde in the video below.
