Tuesday’s friendly tournament near Cairo saw World Cup semifinalist Croatia come back from a goal down to upset hosts Egypt 4-2 and win the ACUD trophy.
After losing to Tunisia on penalties after a 0-0 draw on Saturday, Croatia rallied for their second victory, rallying from an early goal by Egypt defender Rami Rabia.
Goals came from Nikola Vlasic, Bruno Petkovic, Andrej Kramaric, and Lovro Majer.
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Defensor Mohamed Abdul-Moneim gave Egypt, who had won their opener game 1-0 over New Zealand, a late consolation goal.
Part of FIFA’s new friendly game series, the four-team competition lets teams from various confederations compete against one another.
Egypt got off to a fast start and led by six minutes when Rabia side-footed home from six yards out after Mohamed Hamdi’s left-wing cross.
On the eighteenth minute, Mostafa Mohamed of Nantes came close to doubling Egypt’s advantage with a chip that bounced off the post after a one-on-one with goalie Nediljko Labrovic.
Three minutes later, Torino forward Vlasic levelled the score with a shot from the edge of the area, proving that his miss had cost Croatia the lead.
Egypt was confined to their own half by Croatia, who also squandered a few excellent opportunities, such as Petkovic’s attempt that struck the crossbar with the goal gaping.
After a corner, the Dinamo Zagreb striker made apologies by firing in a header to put the visitors ahead on minute fifty-seven.
Three minutes from time, Majer, the dynamic midfielder for Wolfsburg, scored their fourth goal, while substitute Kramaric added the third with another clear header.
Abdul-Moneim’s late header cut the deficit, but it didn’t lift the spirits of the gloomy spectators at the recently constructed 92,000-seat stadium, located 45 kilometres (28 miles) east of Cairo.