I too have struggled to win the opening two games. In fact I've paid tokens to rejoin!
For the 2nd match at the 2nd attempt I completely changed my tactics. Played defensive, hard tackling, changed formation to 4-1-1-3-1 and won the game 4-1.
Leaving the challenge alone for now to see what else comes out of the forum.
Definitely harder then the U.K.