Germany secured silverware this weekend as they ran out victors in the third edition of the Adria Cup, in Zagreb.
The 2018 World Champions won the three team tournament in The Croatian national team finished the tournament in second place, with the same number of points and the same goal difference as Germany (+8), but the Germans scored more goals and thus won the tournament. Interestingly, Croatia, after losing 2:3 to Germany on the first day of the tournament, on Saturday managed to beat England 6:1 and get even with the Germans by beating them 2:1. This tournament was a great preparation for the upcoming Socca World Cup, and the Croatian coach Željko Ostrman was pleased with his team.
“Although we won second place in the end, it was a great second day of the Adria Cup for us. We entered the match with England decisively and we managed to win. In the second game we played with dangerous Germany, from which we unfortunately lost the day before. This time, luck was on our side, so we ended this competition with three victories. I must say that I am very satisfied with how the national team looks at the moment and I think we will be even better when the World Cup comes,” said Ostrman.
ISF Executive director Tom Nash was present in Croatia at Adria Cup. He shared his thoughts regarding the event.
”It was a great tournament and really well organized by Socca Croatia. It was good to see some teams finally playing, obviously after the pandemic. It was a eally good standard of football, congratulations to Germany for their win and it will be great to see all those teams in the future at the Socca World Cup. This is my third time that I came to Croatia, but my first time in Zagreb. Seems really nice here, everyone’s very welcoming and friendly. Croatian team looks really good. I’ve seen them many times, so I know they are a good set up. They have some really good players and I expect good things at the World Cup from them”, concluded Nash.
Germany won the inaugural Socca World Cup in Lisbon 2018. and now, after the pandemic, they won 3rd edition of Adria Cup. President of Socca Germany, Christoph Koechy was pretty excited after the victory ceremony.
”You come here and think – it’s just a preparation tournament, we’ll see how it goes, and at the end when you walk to the pitch you want to win. This is part of the game, and finally we are happy we won this tournament. That is good for a mood of the players and for preparations for Socca World Cup. All organization here in Croatia was really nice, especially the TV production. For us, it was really helpful, so thanks again to Socca Croatia for invitation at this great tournament”, said Koechy.
Kilian Seinsche from national team of Germany was named the MVP of the Adria Cup, while the top goalscorer of the tournament was Croatian player Tomislav Haramustek who scored 5 goals.
RESULTS, April 22nd
England – Germany 3:5
Croatia – England 4:1
Croatia – Germany 2:3
RESULTS, April 23rd
Croatia – England 6:1
Croatia – Germany 2:1
Germany – England 7:1
FINAL TABLE
1. Germany 9 (16:8)
2. Croatia 9 (14:6)
3. England 0 (6:22)