World Footy News

2017 International Cup Round 5

Men’s Division 1   U.S.A. Revolution   Vs  Ireland Warriors

The Division One 5th place playoff with the two mid table sides – each having won 2 and lost 2 – perhaps the prediction might be a drawn match. The Brits two losses were to Canada and Ireland while wins achieved over South Africa and Fiji. The Nauru Chiefs ran into the brick wall of the NZ Hawks on day 1 and subsequently scored wins over Canada and France while falling short against PNG after a horrible first quarter at Sebastopol in Ballarat. The Brits take in the height advantage while the Chiefs prefer to open out the play and use the ball with precision both by hand and foot. The weather would play it’s part in this game – as the first half was played in real wintry Melbourne conditions. Suddenly at half time – out came the sun. The wind though – was a constant. This was a hard and physical game that saw the Chiefs have to work overtime to finally kick clear after half time - the Brits at the main break could taste a defining victory but in the end - it went the way that these contests have in the past.

On a frosty, early morning both the Dragons and Samurais were out warming up, full of energy despite the cold conditions. The strong gusts of wind whipped across the ground that had potential to make kicking a challenge today.

Japan and China came into this match with a 2-1 record in their sections and losses in their semi finals.  This meant they were playing off for 3rd and 4th place in Division 2. 

Being the highest ranked Asian nations in the International Cup, the title for the match 'The Battle for Asia' was being thrown around in the crowd.

Round 5 Grading matches and the Division 2 Grand Final were played at Royal Park today.

It was four seasons in a day (well maybe not summer) but sunshine, wind and rain all played a part.

Harley Vague quickly summarised today's matches before putting on the glad rags and heading to the gala.

The Division One battle for 7th place promised a mighty battle between two sides that had tasted victory just once each across the tournament. Both sides had put up fighting efforts and while Fiji were favourites against 2011 rivals the French Les Coqs for the Tribe’s only win, the Canadians perhaps pinched one to get over Great Britian in the school round. Ironically both sides performed almost identically against the unbeaten NZ Hawks – produced a goal each in total as arguably the tournament favourites exerted their will.

The fifth game for each team - in 2 weeks - as the Canadian coach put it before the game "I know you're sore, they're sore too - who's tougher?" The final Friday asks more of many players than they imagined they could draw upon - as evenly matched opponents produce some of the most entertaining and fiercely fought matches of the tournament. And not letting anyone down - this match went down to the wire.

Croatia are Division 2 Premiers for the 2017 International Cup, after running away with a convincing 66-point win over Germany in the final at Royal Park today.

The Germans were in the contest for the first half, before Croatia's big forwards wore them down in the third, then completely blew the game apart in the final term.

The Division One wooden spoon battle – or the fight for 9th place – sees two sides that have had a tough time of it over the previous two weeks. South Africa Lions with just the one hard fought win a week earlier under lights in Geelong against Fiji. Meanwhile Les Coqs Français have been outgunned in each game, although have flown the flag valiantly and not failed to score at least 2 goals in any of their outings.

Live scores updated 1/4 by 1/4 across Round 5, Finals, Friday 18th August, 2017 International Cup at Royal Park, Melbourne, Australia

Refresh page for updates.

Also note the AFL are live streaming most matches here.

Note the Men's Division 1 grand final NZ vs PNG is at the MCG tomorrow (11:15am Saturday 19th August)

Note the Women's grand final Canada vs Ireland is at Etihad Stadium tomorrow (4:30pm Saturday 19th August)

The 6th AFL International Cup wraps up with Men’s Div 1 and Women’s Grand Finals to be played on Saturday. The Men’s Div 1 will crown the 6th AFL International Champion. The two competing nations – the New Zealand Hawks and the Papua New Guinea Mosquitoes – have been here before. In fact – PNG have featured in every decider thus far however must consider themselves a tad lucky to have made it there this year. Having won in IC08 and IC14, PNG are hoping to become the first nation to go “Back to Back”.

The German Eagles and Croatian Knights tomorrow will meet in the GF of the men's Division 2. In their first IC appearances, both the Eagles and Knights have impressed, losing only one game each - the Croatians against China in a slow start to Round 1, and the Germans to Japan in the final group round.

The Semis saw both sides dominate, the Croatians running away with what was ultimately an easy win over Japan, and the Germans eventually pulling away from China in a match which had started evenly.

It adds up to a match where the result go easily go either way.

This year's International Cup sees two debutant sides squaring off in this Friday's Division 2 Grand Final - the high-flying German Eagles and the uncompromising Croatian Knights.

For both sides, it's been a long time in the making, with over 10 years since the beginnings of domestic footy in Croatia and around 20 years in Germany.

We take a look at the history of the two countries' footy scenes, with some of the stories featuring them on WFN over the years. In Part 2, we look back at some of the stories out of Germany back since the founding of this news site.