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27th March 2024
05:17pm GMT
Croatia were crowned champions of the Egypt International Capital Cup final on Tuesday – a tournament that nobody has ever heard of.
The European nation beat Egypt after coming from a goal behind to win 4-2. Goals from Nikola Vlasic, Bruno Petkovic, Andrej Kramaric and Lovro Majer ensured success.
An official trophy presentation saw Croatia lift the title in front of a rather empty stadium.
Initially the tournament was set to be called the Winsunited Cup and take place in Abu Dhabi but was moved for sponsorship reasons.
Tournaments were also held in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, who staged two different groups where teams such as Bulgaria and Vanuatu, ranked 170th in the world by FIFA, featured.
It had been devised as a pilot test but following it’s success, it now appears like it will be permanently added to the footballing calendar.
During the official unveiling of the tournament back in March, FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed that the tournament was something many of the FIFA-ranked nations had been asking for.
“The FIFA Series is a really positive step forward for national-team football at global level,” he said.
“Our member associations have been telling us for a long time now of their desire to test themselves against their counterparts from all around the world. And now they can do so within the current Men’s International Match Calendar.
“More meaningful matches will enable far more valuable footballing interaction for players, teams and fans, and will make a concrete contribution to the development of the game.”
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