The Croatia handball team is looking forward to two qualifying matches against Serbia for the European Championship in 2020. However, the news for Croatia coach Lino Červar is anything but good just one week before the games in Belgrade and Zadar.
The Croatia men’s handball team awaits two battles against Serbia in the qualifications for the European Championship in 2020. On Thursday, April 11, Croatia plays Serbia in Belgrade, and on Sunday, the teams play in Zadar, reports Gol.hr on April 3, 2019.
The Croatia handball team started the qualifications with two wins against Switzerland and Belgium, while neighbors Serbia had a slightly worse start in their fight for the Euro after drawing to Belgium at home and losing to Switzerland. The upcoming games against Croatia are crucial for Serbia, and a hellish atmosphere is expected in Belgrade.
However, it won’t be so easy for Croatia coach Lino Červar, either.
Namely, 25-year-old Luka Cindrić will not be able to participate in the upcoming games after suffering an injury in his last club game.
"I came to look at all the players of Zagreb and Nexe. Unfortunately, bad news came from Poland. Luka Cindrić is injured and, given the information we have, he will be out for a while. I want him back as quickly as possible because I think these two matches against Serbia are crucial. We are expecting a difficult week. In Belgrade we expect a hellish atmosphere,” Igor Vori said to RTL. Otherwise, the director of the Croatia national team is in Brest where the final tournament is played for the top four teams in the SEHA league.
The Croatia national team has not been complete for years, and will certainly miss one of the best players in the world.
"We played an excellent World Championship, but there was one bad match. The good news is that Mamić is back, we have another shooter, but when we tried to be complete, this happened to Cindrić. The players are quite exhausted because they are constantly traveling and it is imperative that we get these two games,” said the former Croatia national team player.
Recall, Croatia and Serbia will meet on April 11 at 18:00 in the Aleksandar Nikolić hall in Belgrade, with the return match on April 14 at 20:30 at the Krešimir Arena in Zadar.
After two rounds of qualifiers in Group 2, Croatia defeated Switzerland and Belgium and holds the top spot of the group with four points. Behind Croatia is Switzerland with two points, and Belgium and Serbia with a single point.
Updated Croatia handball team lineup:
MARIN ŠEGO (MOL-PICK SZEGED)
FILIP IVIĆ (PGE VIVE KIELCE) MATEJ AŠANIN (LUDWIGSHAFEN)
MORENO CAR (RK NEXE) ZLATKO HORVAT (PPD ZAGREB)
JOSIP BOŽIĆ PAVLETIĆ (PPD ZAGREB) IVAN VIDA (RK NEXE)
DAVID MANDIĆ (PPD ZAGREB) MANUEL ŠTRLEK (TELEKOM VESZPREM)
VALENTINO RAVNIĆ (PPD ZAGREB) LOVRO MIHIĆ (ORLEN WISLA PLOCK)
MARIN ŠIPIĆ (RK NEXE) ŽELJKO MUSA (SC MAGDEBURG)
KRISTIAN BEĆIRI (CELJE PIVOVARA LAŠKO) TIN KONTREC (PPD ZAGREB)
DOMAGOJ DUVNJAK (THW KIEL) MARKO MAMIĆ (VIVE KIELCE)
MATEJ HRSTIĆ (PPD ZAGREB) ANTE GADŽA (NEXE)
HALIL JAGANJAC (NEXE) LUKA STEPANČIĆ (PSG HANDBALL)
JAKOV VRANKOVIĆ (GRUNDFOS TATABANYA) JOSIP VEKIĆ (PPD ZAGREB)
IVAN SRŠEN (PPD ZAGREB) ŠIME IVIĆ (MEŠKOV BREST)
LOVRO JOTIĆ (PPD ZAGREB)
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