Croatia defeat Egypt 4-2 to win friendly tournament

Croatia came back from a goal down to defeat Egypt 4-2 in a friendly tournament near Cairo on Tuesday.

Croatia fell behind to an early strike from Egypt defender Rami Rabia, but rallied with goals from Nikola Vlasic, Bruno Petkovic, Andrej Kramaric, and Lovro Majer to secure their second victory after defeating Tunisia on penalties following a 0-0 draw on Saturday.

Egypt, who defeated New Zealand 1-0 in their first match, scored a stoppage-time consolation goal through defender Mohamed Abdul-Moneim.

The four-team tournament is part of FIFA's new series of friendly games, which allows teams from different confederations to play each other.

Egypt made a strong start, taking the lead in the sixth minute when Rabia sidefooted home from six yards out following Mohamed Hamdi's left-wing cross.

On 18 minutes, Nantes striker Mostafa Mohamed nearly doubled Egypt's lead, but his chip hit the post after a one-on-one with goalkeeper Nediljko Labrovic.

The error proved costly as Croatia gained the upper hand, with Torino forward Vlasic leveling the score three minutes later with a shot from the edge of the area.

Croatia pinned Egypt in their own half and missed several good chances, including Petkovic's shot that went over the bar with the goal gaping. On 57 minutes, the Dinamo Zagreb striker put the visitors ahead with a bullet header from a corner.

Substitute Kramaric added the third with another free header, and Wolfsburg's lively midfielder Majer scored the fourth three minutes from time.

Abdul-Moneim's late header cut the deficit, but it did little to cheer up the underwhelming crowd at the newly built 92,000-capacity stadium, 45 kilometers (28 miles) east of Cairo.

SportsLigue