# Croatian school football team World Championship campaign

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/croatian-school-football-team-world-championship-campaign
> Updated: 2026-10-24T10:17:19.000Z. Sources: 6. Developments: 2.

A Croatian school football team, primarily composed of students from Druga gimnazija Varaždin, traveled to Suzhou, China, to compete in the ISF World School Football Championship.

After an initial reception to honor the young athletes, the team progressed through the tournament by securing group stage victories against Macau, Algeria, and India. Following knockout stage wins against Morocco, Benin, and Turkey, Croatia won the championship title. The final against Guinea was decided by a penalty shootout, which Croatia won 3-0 after goalkeeper David Cigula saved three penalties, resulting in a 4-1 aggregate victory.

## Claims

- Croatia won the World School Football Championship in Suzhou, China. (corroborated by 2 sources)
- The Croatian team includes 19 players. (corroborated by 2 sources)
- Croatia defeated India 10-0 or 11-0 during the group stage. (corroborated by 2 sources)
- The team is largely composed of students from Druga gimnazija Varaždin. (corroborated by 2 sources)
- Croatia defeated Guinea in the final via a penalty shootout. (single source)
- The final score of the penalty shootout was 3-0 in favor of Croatia. (single source)
- Goalkeeper David Cigula saved three penalties in the final. (single source)
- Croatia beat Turkey 3-1 in the semi-finals. (single source)

## Timeline

### 2026-10-24: Croatia wins World School Football Championship in China

The Croatian school football team, representing Varaždin, became world champions in Suzhou, China, after defeating Guinea in a penalty shootout final.

6 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/croatia-wins-world-school-football-championship-in-china

### 2026-10-13: Varaždin school football team heads to World Championship in China

The Druga gimnazija Varaždin football team will represent Croatia at the ISF World School Football Championship in Suzhou, China, this October.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/varadin-school-football-team-heads-to-world-championship-in-china

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Cite as: Croatian school football team World Championship campaign. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/croatian-school-football-team-world-championship-campaign