Photo by Slobodan Kadić
March 26, 2024 – Croatia beat Egypt 4-2 in the ACUD Cup friendly tournament final in Cairo!
The Croatia national team met Egypt in the final of the ACUD Cup friendly tournament on Tuesday in Cairo. Croatia advanced to the final after beating Tunisia on penalties (0-0, 5-4), while Egypt beat New Zealand 1-0.
The ACUD Cup is a preparatory tournament before the European Championships in Germany, where Croatia will play in Group B with Spain, Italy, and Albania. The Euros starts on June 14 and Croatia will open the competition on June 15 against Spain.
Croatia will play two more preparatory matches before Germany. They will meet North Macedonia in Rijeka on June 3 and their final test is in Lisbon against Portugal on June 8, after which they will head to their Euros base camp in Neuruppin.
Lineups
Egypt: Abou Gabal – Hany, Rabia, Abdelmonem, Hamdi – Fathi, Attia, Afsha – Marmoush, Mohamed, Trezeguet. Izbornik: Hossam Hassan.
Croatia: Labrović – Stanišić, Vida, Pongračić, Gvardiol – Modrić, Brozović – Majer, Vlašić, Pjaca – Petković.
Match Report
Croatia debuted their brand new home kits in Cairo tonight, giving us a glimpse of what we’ll see in Germany. But the red and white checkers didn’t bring them luck from the start of the match.
In the 6th minute, a free kick for Egypt was saved by Labrović, but as the play continued, Rabia nailed Croatia’s net for the 1-0 lead. The goal was checked for a potential offside but was ultimately counted.
Egypt had a chance to make it 2-0 in the 17th minute but Croatia was saved by the goal post. Four minutes later, Vlašić answered with a left-footed rocket from outside the box, making the game 1-1!
Petković missed a sitter in front of the goal to bring Croatia ahead at the end of the first half, and the game went into halftime 1-1.
To start the second half, Dalić brought on Kovačić for Brozović and Kotarski for Labrović.
Petković redeemed himself in the 58th minute. A corner kick from Modrić found Petković unmarked on the far post who brilliantly headed into the goal for the Croatia lead (2-1).
Modrić was subbed off in the 59th minute for Marco Pašalić and Gvardiol came off for Juranović. In the 67th minute, Kramarić and Mario Pašalić came on for Petković and Vlašić.
Pašalić had a great chance in the 72nd minute but just missed the goal. But it happened for Croatia five minutes later. Majer found Kramarić unmarked who scored with a header for 3-1 Croatia!
Less than 10 minutes later, Croatia did it again. Majer shot from 16 meters to score for 4-1. Four minutes of stoppage time were added, in which Egypt scored for 4-2. The game ended 4-2 for Croatia, giving them their first gold medal and first-place trophy!
To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
