January 20, 2020 - The Croatia handball team met the Czech Republic for the third game of the second round of the European Championship.

Croatia secured the semifinal of the Euros on Saturday after a thriller against Germany, though every game was still crucial to determine their place in the group.

Luka Cindric, Croatia’s best player in this championship, did not play against the Czech Republic due to a wrist injury. It is not yet known if he will play against Spain, but should be ready for the semifinal match. 

Kasparek scored the first goal of the match in the 2nd minute, though Matej Hrstic returned on the other side for 1:1. 

Marko Mamic scores a great goal for 2:1.

In the 6th minute, Sarac scored to put Croatia in the lead, though the Czech Republic came back to equalize.

Mamic scored his second goal of the game in the 8th minute. 

Asanin made his first save of the game in the 9th minute, and Croatia went up by two goals for 5:3.

The Czech Republic scored a quick two goals in the 11th minute to equalize.

The Czech Republic retook the lead in the 14th minute, though Horak came back to equalize. 

In the 17th minute, Mandic used a counter-attack to equalize. Neither team had a significant advantage yet. 

In the 19th minute, Hrstic found Maric, who scored Croatia’s 8th goal of the game. 

In the 20th minute, Sarac put Croatia back in the lead, and in the 23rd minute, Croatia was up by two goals. 

Mamić scored his third goal of the match and Croatia went into halftime up 11:9. 

Croatia opened the second half with a goal by Mandic for 12:9 in the 32nd minute. 

Brozovic scored for 13:9 in the 36th minute. 

The Czech Republic reduced the score to 13:12 in the 40th minute, though Mamic made it 14:12 seconds later.

Maric scored for 15:13 in the 42nd minute, and Stepancic scored his first goal of the game in the 44th minute for 16:14.

Duvnjak scored a 7-meter shot for 17:16 in the 46th minute. 

Matanovic scored for 18:17 in the 49th minute, and Mamic scored his fifth goal of the game in the 50th minute for 19:17. 

Matanovic scored his second goal of the game for 20:18 with eight minutes to go. 

Stepancic scored his second goal of the game for 21:19 in the 55th minute. 

With seconds to go in the game, Stepancic scored the winning goal of the game. Croatia won 22:21!

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

January 20, 2020 -  Could Croatia co-host the Handball World Championship in 2025? Maybe, and with the help of Denmark and Norway. 

HRT reports that three great handball nations have come up with the idea of hosting the World Championship together. It will be a competition that will go down in history as the first to feature 32 national teams. The nomination was presented in Vienna, in the middle of the European Handball Championship, after Croatia defeated Germany.

In this deal, Croatia is ready to take on four groups before the competition, one major group, two quarterfinals and one semifinal. Denmark and Norway would share the rest.

The president of the Croatian Handball Federation, Tomislav Grahovac, points out that Croatia does not have enough funds to organize such a big competition by themselves.

“We think that both Denmark and Norway represent the world superpowers in addition to Croatia, and that for the first time, it would be the organization of such a great competition in cooperation between the Scandinavian countries and the countries from Central Europe and Southeastern Europe, however we position ourselves. This is something new and as the Croatian Handball Federation strives to be the first, and especially at the front of all new things in handball, co-hosting this World Championship is also one of the first steps towards organizing major competitions and such collaborations,” says Grahovac.

It is no secret that Croatia already has four halls prepared for this kind of competition: Arena Zagreb, Arena Split, Arena Varaždin, Žatika in Poreč and the novelty is a hall in Dubrovnik that is yet to be built.

Presentations such as this one in Vienna have also taken place over the last few days in Malmö, where Denmark played, and Trondheim, where Norway played its European Championship matches.

The final host decision will be known in about a month.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

January 18, 2020 - The Croatia handball team met Germany in the second game of the second round of the European Championship in Vienna on Saturday. Thanks to an incredible comeback, Croatia topped Germany 25:24 and is one step closer to the semifinal.

At 8:30 pm, Croatia and Germany met for a crucial match of the European Handball Championship in Vienna. After Belarus defeated the Czech Republic and Spain defeated Austria, the calculation was pretty clear: a Croatian victory against Germany would secure the semifinal. 

Recall, Germany had no easy road to the second stage of the competition. In the first round, Germany was convincingly defeated by Spain, and in the last round, they barely celebrated against the Netherlands. But anything could happen on Saturday night - and we're pretty sure it did.

Croatia’s Maric scored the first goal of the game in front of over 6,000 Croatian fans in Vienna for 1:0 in the 2nd minute. Duvnjak increased Croatia’s lead to 2:1 in the 3rd, though Germany equalized seconds later.  Germany took the lead in the 5th minute at 2:3, then 2:4 in the 6th minute.

Mandic scored for 3:4 in the 7th, and Karacic equalized in the 9th minute for 4:4. Horvat missed a 7-meter shot for Croatia in the 11th to keep Germany in the lead at 4:5 -  and Karacic missed one in the 14th minute. The intensity was high.

Cindric scored the equalizer seconds later, though Germany quickly retook the lead for 5:6 in the 15th minute. Germany was up by two goals in the 17th (5:7), and three goals seconds later (5:8).

Cindric scored again for 6:8 in the 19th minute and Stepancic scored for 7:9 in the 20th.

Croatia reduced their deficit to 8:9 thanks to Cindric in the 21st, though with two players up,  Germany was back to +3 in the 24th minute (8:11).

Yet another 7-meter shot was awarded to Croatia, which Horvat missed for his second time.

In the 25th minute, Germany was up by four goals (8:12) - and in the 27th minute, it was +5 (8:13).

Duvnjak scored for 10:13 in the 28th minute. 

In the final minute of the first half, Karacic scored for 11:13, though Germany was given a 7-meter shot, which they scored for +3 at the half (11:14). 

Two Croatia goals to open the second half were disallowed due to fouls, and Germany increased their lead in the 32nd for 11:15. In the 33rd minute, Germany was up by five goals (11:16).

Croatia was awarded a 7-meter shot in the 35th minute, which Duvnjak scored for 12:16. But a minute later, Germany scored a 7-meter shot for 12:17.

Brozovic scored for 13:17 in the 37th, with Karacic reducing the deficit to -3 moments later (14:17).

Stepancic and Mandic were brilliant in the 39th for a score of 16:18 - and Stepancic scored again for 17:19. Karacic scored for 18:20.

Croatia was awarded another 7-meter shot in the 44th minute, which Duvnjak scored again for 19:21.

Stepancic was outstanding for 20:21, and Croatia was well and truly on their way to making a comeback.

Horvat brought Croatia to 21:22, and Mandic scored the equalizer for 22:22 in the 48th minute! 

Croatia and Germany went back and forth for the next few minutes, with shots defended on both sides. 

Germany retook the lead in the 52nd minute thanks to a questionable 7-meter call. The game was 22:23 for Germany.

Karacic scored the equalizing goal for Croatia in the 54th minute for 23:23.

Duvnjak scored a crucial equalizer for 24:24 with three minutes to go. Emotions were high - and the intensity was higher. 

Karacic put Croatia back in the lead in the 58th minute for 25:24 - the arena went wild. 

Germany was unsuccessful in their final attack and the game ended 25:24 for Croatia! Karacic was named the player of the match.

With this win, and as long as Croatia does not lose against Spain and the Czech Repulic, they will play in the semifinal of the competition.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

January 16, 2020 - The Croatia handball team opened the second round of the European Championship against Austria on Thursday. 

The Croatia handball team and Austria met in Vienna on Thursday to open the second round of the Euros. Croatia had the support of Croatian fans in the stands. 

Both teams transferred two points to the second round, and with a win, would be one step closer to Sweden and the Euro final.

Austria had the first attack of the match in front of a roaring arena boasting 9,500 spectators. The commentators were confident at least half were Croatian.

After an unsuccessful Austria attack, Horvat missed from seven meters during the first Croatian attack. The game was still 0:0 three minutes in. 

However, it was the captain to score the first goal of the game moments later - Duvnjak scored for 1:0. 

Mandic increased the lead to 2:1 in the 5th minute, and Cindric scored for 3:1 in the 6th minute. Austria equalized in the 7th for 3:3.

Austria took the lead in the 8th minute thanks to a goal from 7-meters, though Mandic equalized in the 11th for 4:4. Croatia retook the lead thanks to a Horvat goal moments later, and Karacic scored for 6:4 in the 13th minute. 

Cindric increased the lead to +3 in the 14th (7:4), and Duvnjak made it 8:4 in the 17th minute. Horvat nailed another shot from 7-meters for 9:5 in the 20th minute, and another in the 21st for 10:5.

Cindric scored in the 25th minute for 11:6, and Stepancic made it 12:7 with two minutes to go before halftime. Cindric scored right before the buzzer for 13:8. 

Croatia opened the second half with a Stepancic goal for a +6 advantage in the 30th minute. Horvat scored yet another 7-meter shot for 15:9.

Stepancic scored for 16:11 in the 34th, and Mandic scored for 17:12 in the 36th. The Croatia captain made it 18:13 moments later.

Mandic continued his scoring streak for 19:14, and the two nations had been playing goal-for-goal for most of the second half.

Horvat nutmegged the Austria defense to bring Croatia back to +5, and Stepancic scored for 21:16 in the 42nd.

Cindric was on fire with another goal at 97 km/hour for 22:16, and Duvnjak brought Croatia back to +6 for 23:17 in the 44th. By this point in the game, Croatia had blocked four shots to Austria’s one, while Sego had made 5/17 saves in the game thus far. 

A new 7-meter shot for Croatia saw Horvat lob the ball over the keeper for 24:18. Austria reduced their deficit to just four goals in the 51st.

Sipic scored for 25:20 in the 54th, and Duvnjak intercepted the ball for 26:20. With a minute to go, Karacic scored for 27:22. The final score of the game was 28:24 for Croatia.

Luka Stepancic was named the man of the match! 

The 'Cowboys' next game is against Germany this Saturday at 8:30 pm. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

January 13, 2020 - The Croatia handball team met Serbia for their final game of Group A in the European Championship on Monday in Graz. Croatia already secured first place in the group and a spot in the second round before Monday, while Serbia had no chance of moving forward regardless of Monday’s result. 

Despite Croatia’s security in the second round, coach Lino Cervar did not want to disappoint Croatian fans and promised a solid Croatian side against Serbia. 

Croatia started the game with the ball and Mandic scored for 0:1 in the first minute. Goalkeeper Sego made a few great saves to keep Croatia in the lead until the 5th minute, when Serbia finally equalized for 1:1. That didn’t last long, and Croatia’s Stepancic retook the lead in the 6th minute for 1:2. Radivojevic equalized in the 7th. 

Croatia lost the ball moments later, which resulted in a Serbia counter-attack. Sego brilliantly defended to keep Croatia ahead. Karacic scored in the 8th minute for 2:3, and Stepancic for 2:4. Sego continued with his brilliant goalkeeping, and Duvnjak scored for 2:5 in the 10th minute. Serbia came back for 3:5 a minute later. Sego saved a penalty in the 13th, and Musa increased Croatia's lead to 4:6 in the 15th.

 A 7-meter shot for Serbia in the 17th minute saw an equal score for the first time - 6:6. However, a Horvat shot put Croatia back in the lead one minute later (6:7). Stepancic scored for 6:8, though Serbia returned for 7:8. The game was equal again in the 21st, and Serbia took the lead for the first time in the 23rd minute for 9:8. In the 24th minute, it was 10:8 for Serbia.

Over the next few minutes, Croatia was unable to score. Approaching the 28th minute, it had been seven minutes since Croatia's last goal. With 9 seconds to go in the first half, Mandic hit the post to keep it 10:8 for Serbia.

Croatia opened the second half with a super save by Sego, and Cindric scored for 10:9 in the 30th minute. Serbia increased its lead to 11:9 in the 32nd, however, brilliant goals by Stepancic and Duvnjak put Croatia back in the game.

The Croatia handball team was awarded a 7-meter shot in the 36th minute, which Horvat scored for the equalizer (12:12). In the 41st minute, Serbia was back up to +2 (14:12). Sego's defense ensured it wasn't any higher, and Croatia came back to score for 14:12 in the 42nd.

An incredible counter by Duvnjak saw Croatia back in the lead - it was 14:15 in the 44th minute! Mandic increased the lead to 14:16, and Horvat made it 14:17 in the 46th minute. Sipic scored for +3 in the 48th and Karacic for +4 in the 49th (14:19). On fire from his last goal, Karacic scored again for Croatia's five-goal lead in the 50th minute.

Serbia unraveled under pressure, and Duvnjak scored for 15:21 in the 51st. Serbia began making a comeback, though a Cindric goal made it harder with a goal for 19:22 in the 56th minute. A Sego defense was followed by a Croatia counter-attack where Mandic was one-on-one with the keeper to score for 19:23. At this point, Croatia's victory was inevitable. Cindric scored for 19:24 with two minutes to go. Croatia slowly kept possession, though Serbia was able to come back to 21:24 in the final minute. The game ended 21:24 for Croatia. 

Marin Sego was named the man of the match.

Croatia will now travel to Vienna, where they will continue their competition on Thursday. Croatia's opponent is yet to be announced, though it is likely Austria.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

January 11, 2020 - The Croatia handball team defeated Belarus in Graz 31:23 (15:10) in the second match of Group A at the European Championship. After an initial victory against Montenegro (27:21), and with Montenegro’s win against Serbia, the ‘Cowboys’ secured first place in the group and the second round of the tournament in Vienna.

Igor Karacic scored six goals for Croatia, while Luka Stepancic scored five, Domagoj Duvnjak scored four, and Luka Cindric and David Mandic scored three goals. Goalkeeper Marin Sego recorded seven saves. For Belarus, Mikita Vajlopau scored eight goals.

Lino Cervar's side opened the match excellently against Belarus. After the initial score of 1:1, they only increased their lead. After 11 minutes of play, Croatia led 6:2, and in the next minute came a five-goal advantage (7:2). Belarus managed to reduce the gap to two for 7:5. After Belarus came just a goal behind (7:6), Cervar called for a timeout. 

With two Karacic goals, Croatia was up by 3 for 11:8 in the 25th minute of the match. Cindric scored for 13:10 with two minutes remaining and Karacic’s new goal put Croatia up by 4 for 14:10. At 113 kilometers per hour, Cindric scored for 15:10. Croatia was then a player up. 

Duvnjak scored to open the second half and Croatia led 16:10. A Sego save was followed by Mandic's goal for 17:10. Stepancic increased the lead to +8 (18:10). Two more Stepancic goals followed, first for 20:11, then for 21:12. In the 44th minute, Croatia was up by10 for 24:14. Cervar finished the match by trying new combinations and rested the most important players. Josip Sarac scored two goals and Matej Asanin came in for Sego. 

The Montenegro handball team defeated Serbia 22:21 (11:10) in the second game of Group A. With this outcome, Croatia secured first place in the group and will move on to the second round in Vienna, where they will transfer a maximum of two points. Thus,  the Croatia-Serbia meeting on Monday is irrelevant.

Group A (Graz):

CROATIA - Belarus 31:23 (15:10)

Montenegro - Serbia 22:21 (11:10)

1. CROATIA 2 2 0 0 58:44 4

2. Belarus 2 1 0 1 58:61 2

3. Montenegro 2 1 0 1 43:48 2

4. Serbia 2 0 0 2 51:57 0

Source: HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

January 9, 2020 - The Croatia handball team opened the European Championship in Graz with a win against Montenegro 27-21 (12-13) in Group A.

Croatia and Montenegro met in front of 5,000 spectators on Thursday at the Stadthalle Hall in Graz, Austria, to begin their European Championship campaign.

Croatia showed a lot of weaknesses in the first half, especially in the defense, but the persistent Montenegrin team was broken at the beginning of the second half thanks to a 9-3 series. Croatia was phenomenal in the second half and overcame any weaknesses shown in the first.

Croatia started the match with two missed shots by Cindric, and their first goal came only in the 5th minute. Montenegro led 3-1. By the 19th minute, Croatia came to an advantage for the first time and was up by two goals (9-7).

However, Lino Cervar's side failed to reach a more significant advantage by the end of the first half. Moreover, Montenegrin goalkeeper Simic defended well, and with a mini-series of 4-0, Montenegro led 13-11 at the end of the half. Maric scored in the last second of the first half for 12-13.

At the beginning of the second half, and namely in the first five minutes, Croatia had a 5-1 series to lead 17-14. Croatia then increased their lead to 21-16 in the 46th minute. With a Mandic goal, Croatia increased their lead by six goals (23-17) and the Cowboys secured a peaceful ending to the game, with debutants Sarac, Ravnic, Matanovic and Hrstic entering the court. 

Luka Cindric was the most efficient for Croatia with six goals, followed by Marino Maric and Zlatko Horvat, who scored four each and Marin Sipic, who scored three goals. Montenegro was led by Nemanja Grbovic (6) and Vladan Lipovina (4).

In round 2 on Saturday, Croatia plays against Belarus at 4 pm, and Serbia-Montenegro will meet at 6.15 pm.

The two first-ranked teams from the group move to the second round in Vienna.

Source: HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

January. 5, 2019 - In the final match of the Croatia Cup 2020 on Sunday, the Croatia handball team defeated Qatar 33:28 and thus won the tournament in Porec.

HRT reports that Qatar beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 30:27 on Friday, and because Croatia played 33:33 against BiH on Saturday, this was a direct fight for first place.

Again, there were many ups and downs in Croatia’s game, but the victory was still great encouragement ahead of the start of the European Championship. 

“We played a lot harder, more responsible, and it was definitely a better show and that is the path we should actually follow. In the first half, our defense was not very good, at 5-1, we received some easy goals, so the weaker part of the game was in the first half. We created chances in the attack but missed a lot of shots. There was a major change in the second half in the sense that our defense became much more solid. Fifteen minutes later, we found the key to the defense and that was decisive in this match,” said coach Lino Cervar after the match.

The best for Croatia was certainly Luka Cindric, who scored eight goals from nine shots. Luka Stepancic was also among the top scorers with five goals, while Frankis Marzo was the best for Qatar with eight goals.

“We expected a tough match, a fight, but on the other hand, they also have a Spanish coach, so they could also outsmart us tactically. However, I think that the coach saw what he could do better in these two games, what was good, what else we should work on and I am pleased that we won this Cup again and that we are going with that win to the Euros, so there will be a positive atmosphere,” said Luka Stepancic.

The European Championship is scheduled for January 9-26, and Croatia will play in Graz with Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia in the first round.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

January 5, 2019 - The Croatia handball team played 33:33 (18:17) against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Croatia Cup in Porec on Saturday. 

Index.hr writes that the match was the story of the day in the BiH media, who proclaimed this draw to be a great sensation and a huge success for BiH handball.

Anyone with knowledge about handball knows that BiH has a solid team with a few impressive individuals. They have the excellent goalkeeper Buric from Flensburg and Ivan Karacic, who is the brother of great Croatian handball player Igor.

For the first time in history, BiH has qualified for the Euros and boasts the oldest team in the championship. One of their better players, Nikola Prce, is 40 years old.

The BiH national team led most of the game, but towards the end, Croatia managed to lead 32:28. BiH eventually reached the draw.

Igor Karacic scored seven goals for Croatia, while Luka Cindric and Luka Stepancic added four. Marko Panic was BiH's top scorer with ten goals.

Croatia captain Domagoj Duvnjak praised Croatia’s neighbors.

“It is a nice reminder to us. First of all, I would like to congratulate Bosnia on a phenomenal game. BiH has a great team, they played really smart, Buric was great in goal, and I wish Bosnia all the best at the European Championships," Duvnjak said.

"We don't even have money for preparations. We can't get into a hotel without paying the full amount of expenses in advance. At this point, I don't know if we will start preparations. If the state does not help with the Euros, however, we have run out of options,” Vice-President of the BiH Handball Federation, Asim Sahman, told Sarajevo-based Dnevni Avaz.

In the meantime, despite financial problems in the Federation, the team managed to get sponsors to pay for its travel and accommodation in Norway. They are not out of the woods yet, but perhaps because of these circumstances, they can achieve an incredible result at the Euros.

The BiH team managed to come to Porec thanks to the Croatian Handball Federation, which provided them with the conditions for part of the preparations and their hotel. BiH coach Bilal Suman particularly thanked Croatia.

"I would like to thank our host. We are here for a few more days and they provided us with all the necessary conditions. The hotel, the hall - they gave us everything and we thank them. I wish them good luck at the European Championships," Suman said.

The European Championship is scheduled for January 9-26, and Croatia will play in Graz with Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia in the first round.

Lino Cervar's team will test their strength against Qatar in the final day of the Croatia Cup on Sunday.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

January 2, 2019 -  The Croatia handball team will compete in the European Handball Championship, to be held from January 9 to 26. Coach Lino Cervar finally has the complete squad in Porec ahead of the competition. 

Gol.hr reports that the Croatia men's handball team gathered in Zagreb on Wednesday before heading to Porec where they will hold the last part of preparations for the European Championship, which will be held in Sweden, Norway and Austria from January 9 to 26.

The Croatia squad is finally complete, as the players who compete in Germany have joined. Thus, coach Lino Cervar can finally begin playing the team according to his visions and wishes.

An unfortunate circumstance of these preparations, as well as for the Euros, is that Croatia will not be able to count on the three players with injuries - Lovro Mihic, Fran Mile and Luka Sebetic. Their absence will significantly change Cervar's plans and ideas for the team, especially in the defense.

Namely, two of these three players were to find their place in Croatia’s final team in Graz for the first round of the European Championship. Croatia captain Domagoj Duvnjak said that despite this bit of bad luck, he and Croatia are ready to perform at the Euros. 

"The group looks easier on paper, but it's not like that. I think it's very tough and that we have difficult games. Like every year, I repeat that the first game is the hardest one, and this one is against Montenegro. I'm healthy and I can't wait for it to start,” Duvnjak said.

As part of the third cycle of preparations, the Croatian Cup will be played in Porec, with Bosnia and Qatar participating alongside Croatia. It is these two teams that open the tournament on Friday, January 3, at 6 pm in Zatika. A day later, on January 4, at 4:50 pm, Croatia and BiH will play. The tournament ends on Sunday, January 5, with Croatia and Qatar, which also begins at 4:50 pm.

At the European Championship, Croatia will play in Graz against Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia in the first round.

List of players for the third phase of preparations;

Marin Šego – Montpellier

Matej Ašanin – PPD Zagreb

Zlatko Horvat – PPD Zagreb

Vlado Matanović – Gorenje Velenje

David Mandić – PPD Zagreb

Valentino Ravnić – PPD Zagreb

Željko Musa – Magdeburg

Marino Marić – Melsungen

Marin Šipić – PPD Zagreb

Domagoj Duvnjak – THW Kiel

Marko Mamić – Leipzig

Josip Šarac – Celje PL

Matej Hrstić – PPD Zagreb

Luka Cindrić – Barcelona

Igor Karačić – Vive Kielce

Luka Stepančić – MOL-PICK Szeged

Josip Vekić – PPD Zagreb

Ivan Martinović – Hannover-Burgdorf

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.