Croatia, the World Cup semi-finalists, overcame an initial setback to secure a 4-2 victory against hosts Egypt in a friendly tournament held near Cairo on Tuesday.
After conceding an early goal by Egypt defender Rami Rabia, Croatia rallied with goals from Nikola Vlasic, Bruno Petkovic, Andrej Kramaric, and Lovro Majer, marking their second win in the tournament. Their first victory came against Tunisia in a penalty shootout following a goalless draw on Saturday.
Despite Egypt’s opening win against New Zealand, they could only manage a stoppage-time consolation goal by defender Mohamed Abdul-Moneim against Croatia.
The tournament, featuring four teams, is part of FIFA’s initiative to promote friendly matches between teams from different confederations.
Egypt started strongly, taking the lead in the sixth minute through Rabia’s finish from a cross by Mohamed Hamdi. Despite a near miss by Nantes striker Mostafa Mohamed, who hit the post, Croatia quickly equalized as Vlasic found the net from the edge of the box.
Croatia dominated thereafter, with Petkovic scoring a header to put them ahead in the 57th minute. Substitute Kramaric and midfielder Majer added two more goals for Croatia, while Abdul-Moneim’s late header for Egypt provided little consolation for the subdued crowd at the newly-built stadium, located 45 km east of Cairo.
