July 5, 2022 - The Croatia men's volleyball team takes home the Mediterranean Games gold medal after defeating Spain! 

The Croatia men's volleyball team celebrated in the final of the Mediterranean Games in Oran on Monday, reaching the title without losing a set in the match for the gold medal. Croatia defeated Spain 3:0 (25:22, 30:28, 25:20).

The final was tense, as it should be, but Croatia was slightly better than Spain from the start. Croatia won the first set with a three-point advantage, the second with two, and finally the third with a five-point advantage.

Petar Đirlić led Croatia's victory with 16 points and captain Marko Sedlacek with 15 points. The best player for Spain was Andres Jesus Villena Rodriguez with 17 points.

The Croatia men's national team at the Mediterranean Games included Bernard Bakonji, Petar Višić, Ivan Mihalj, Kruno Nikačević, Stipe Perić, Petar Đirlić, Tomislav Mitrašinović, Hrvoje Pervan, Marko Sedlaček, Filip Šestan, Tino Hanžić and Ivan Zeljković.

"Fantastic atmosphere. We are not used to playing in front of such a large number of fans. We are glad that so many of our athletes came to support us. We beat Spain three times this summer, we knew we were favorites. From the first moment, we knew what we came for. The first after many years. Congratulations to everyone and let's celebrate!" said the golden Petar Đirlić.

In the fight for the bronze medal, Italy beat France 3:1 (22:25, 25:20, 25:15, 31:29).

But that's not all. 

Olympic taekwondo champion Matea Jelić also won the gold medal at the Mediterranean Games, defeating Spaniard Cecilia Castro Burgos 8-7 in the final up to 67 kg. On her way to gold, Jelić first defeated Anamarija Georgijevska from Macedonia 28-5 in the quarterfinals and Aya Shehata from Egypt 8-5 in the semifinals.

In addition to this gold, Croatia taekwondo became richer thanks to yet another medal won on Monday in Oran. Nika Petanjek won the bronze in the category over 67 kg.

In the quarter-finals, she eliminated Spaniard Tania Maria Castineira 7-4, but in the semi-finals, Turkish fighter Nafia Kus was better than her 11-10.

Josip Teskera, who was defeated in the quarter-finals of the category up to 58 kg, also competed on Monday. 

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

December 8, 2021 - Croatia men's and women's volleyball teams will play in the 2022 CEV European Golden League!

Great news arrived for Croatia volleyball on Tuesday from the European Volleyball Federation (CEV) headquarters in Luxembourg, as both the Croatia men's and women's national teams have been included in the 2022 CEV European Golden League!

While Croatian volleyball players have been in this Golden Group for several seasons, they now have the opportunity to jump into the elite ranks of European volleyball.

The spot was given to Croatia after great games this summer in the Silver Group and after North Macedonia, which won the right to play in the Golden Group, withdrew from the elite competition.

The other great news is that Croatia will also host the final "Final Four" volleyball tournament on June 18 and 19 next year.

The expert secretary of the Croatian Volleyball Federation, Frane Žanić, who attended the meeting in Luxembourg together with the director Valentina Bifflin, is proud:

"This is an opportunity that is not presented every day, so it is logical that we reluctantly accepted it. Joining the Golden Group of the European League for our men's volleyball means a lot because we open the way to enter the Top 12 European national teams. According to the new scoring system, we can only progress, and the composition of the national team we currently have guarantees that we can achieve excellent results. Next year, the volleyball players will play in the Golden League, where we play in Group B against Ukraine, Belarus and Spain, and the qualifications for the European Championship. Since we are the hosts of the Final Four, we automatically won a place in the finals, and entering the finals opens up the possibility of playing the Challenger tournament, which is also qualifications for the prestigious Nations League."

In addition to Croatia in Group B are the national teams of Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Belarus.

It should also be noted that Croatia is hosting the Challenger Volleyball Tournament in July, the elimination competition for the Champions League. The men's and women's volleyball national teams will participate in the Mediterranean Games in Algeria at the end of June.

"All this is the result of our long-term investment in Croatian volleyball and partnership with the European Volleyball Federation. We have already proven ourselves countless times as good organizers and even better hosts of many competitions under the jurisdiction of CEV, so we have gained a rating there, and we no longer have to prove ourselves. The last was organizing one of the groups of the European Volleyball Championship, which was again professionally done. Entering the Golden Group of the European League was our wish, to be in some way equal to the men's volleyball players, and now we have succeeded. We think we have both teams worthy of respect and can get great results. And this summer will be an opportunity for that because apart from the Golden Group of the European League, the Mediterranean Games will follow immediately, where we promised our COC to play in the strongest lineup, then the women's Challenger and the European Championship qualifiers. So, we will have a long, warm, working summer again, which we are not afraid of but look forward to," said the president of the Croatian Volleyball Federation, Ante Baković.

European Golden League Men's 

Group A: Turkey, Portugal, Slovakia, Denmark

Group B: Ukraine, Spain, Belarus, Croatia

Group C: Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia

Schedule of Croatia men's volleyball players in the Golden Group B

 Round 1 (May 25): Croatia - Ukraine

Round 2 (May 28/29): Croatia - Belarus

Round 3 (June 1): Croatia - Spain

Round 4 (June 4): Spain - Croatia

Round 5 (June 8): Belarus - Croatia

Round 6 (June 11/12): Ukraine Croatia

European Golden League Women's

Group A: Bulgaria, France, Spain, BiH

Group B: Croatia, Slovakia, Belarus, Czech Republic

Group C: Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary

Schedule of Croatia women's volleyball players in the Golden Group B

Round 1 (May 25): Croatia - Czech Republic

Round 2 (May 28/29.): Croatia - Slovakia

Round 3 (June 1): Croatia - Belarus

Round 4 (June 4): Belarus - Croatia

Round 5 (June 8): Slovakia - Croatia

Round 6 (June 11/12): Czech Republic - Croatia

Source: Croatian Volleyball Federation

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

September 10, 2021 - The Croatia men's volleyball team will play in the European Championship round of 16 on Monday in Ostrava against Slovenia.

Croatia secured third place in Group D in Tallinn on Wednesday, while the outcome of Group B in Ostrava on Thursday kept Slovenia in second place.

On the last day of the group stage in Ostrava, Bulgaria first defeated Belarus 3-1 (25-13, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22), and then Italy was better than the host Czech Republic 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-22). Italy thus confirmed first place in the group with all five victories, Slovenia and Bulgaria achieved a win-loss ratio of 3-2, but Slovenia won nine and Bulgaria eight points, so Slovenia took second place and Bulgaria third place. The fourth Czech Republic also reached the round of 16 from that group with a 2-3 ratio and seven points, while Belarus remained fifth with a 2-3 ratio and six points. Montenegro remained at the bottom with all five defeats.

France kept a clean slate in Group D in Tallinn; the Tokyo Olympic champions in the last match defeated the hosts Estonia 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) and thus knocked them out of the championship. The second place with a 4-1 ratio was confirmed by Germany, who beat Slovakia 3-2 (25-20, 25-17, 25-27, 25-27, 15-9), Croatia is third with a 3-2 ratio, while the defeats of Estonia and Slovakia benefited Latvia, which took fourth place with a 1-4 ratio and five points and will play in the round of 16 against Italy. The 5th-placed Slovakia has the same ratio as Latvia, but with fewer points, and Estonia finished their performance at the European Championships.

THE RESULTS
GROUP B (Ostrava):
Bulgaria - Belarus 3-1 (25-13, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22)
Czech Republic - Italy 1-3 (20-25, 21-25, 25-23, 22-25)
TABLE:
Italy 5 5 0 15-2 15
Slovenia 5 3 2 10-6 9
Bulgaria 5 3 2 10-9 8
Czech Republic 5 2 3 10-10 7
Belarus 5 2 3 7-10 6
Montenegro 5 0 5 0-15 0

GROUP D (Tallinn):
Germany - Slovakia 3-2 (25-20, 25-17, 25-27, 25-27, 15-9)
Estonia - France 0-3 (18-25, 17-25, 19-25)
TABLE:
France 5 5 0 15-1 15
Germany 5 4 1 13-6 11
CROATIA 5 3 2 9-11 7
Latvia 5 1 4 8-13 5
Slovakia 5 1 4 8-14 4
Estonia 5 1 4 6-14 3

ROUND OF 16
Saturday, September 11:
Russia - Ukraine
Poland - Finland
Sunday, September 12:
The Netherlands - Portugal
Serbia - Turkey
Italy - Latvia
Germany - Bulgaria
Monday, September 13:
France - Czech Republic
Slovenia - CROATIA

Source: HRT

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

May 17, 2021 - The Croatia men's volleyball team defeated the Netherlands in Apeldoorn 3-2 (27-25, 25-23, 18-25, 24-26, 15-13) on Sunday and secured a spot at the European Championship, which will take place from 1 to September 19 in Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Finland.

This will be Croatia's first participation in the European Championship after 2015, when they finished the competition in Italy with three group-stage defeats, reports HRT.

The match in Apeldoorn was full of nerves, a difficult psychological encounter, but no less physically demanding, because the day before, Croatia defeated Sweden in five sets. At the same time, the Netherlands had one more day to rest.

Ivan Raič, Croatia's corrector who, along with Filip Šestan, was the most efficient with 17 points, revealed after the match:

"We knew before the game that one set was enough for us to be among the best second-placed national teams going to the Euros, but we started quite nervously. Still, we showed that we had character at the end of the first set. We played more relaxed. In fact, it was only then that we started to play more freely. I think it was a good, quality, and interesting match in which we deservedly celebrated in the end."

Indeed, Croatia showed its character in that first set, winning 27-25. The Netherlands led 10-7, 17-13, 23-20 and had a set-ball at 25-24, but Emanuele Zanini's team turned the lead in their favor and won the first set for a spot in the European Championship.

In the second set, Zanini's team led for the most part, although the hosts put up a fight. The set ended at 25.23. Instead of solving the game with 3-0 sets, the third and fourth sets went to the Netherlands, the fourth especially easily.

However, once again, Croatia played the best when it was most needed. The fifth set went to Croatia with 15-13 for the final celebration on the court, which they certainly deserved.

They played bravely, on the verge of risk, which paid off in the end. Croatia's captain and longest-serving member, along with Ivan Raič, did not hide his happiness after the match.

"I would like to congratulate my team, the entire professional staff, and all the people who believed in us. It is difficult to describe the feelings at the moment after this long-awaited triumph for which we have worked hard. We will be maximally prepared for the Euro, and believe me, we will not disappoint you," said Tsimafei Zhukuoski.

The Netherlands won first place in qualifying group A with ten points, while Croatia won seven and took its place among the top five runners-up to play in the European Championship.

24 national teams will take part in this year's Euro. The hosts Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Finland, and the eight best national teams from the last European Championship (Serbia, Slovenia, France, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Germany, and Belgium), had the direct right to play. In the qualifications, 12 more teams were wanted for the Euro. In addition to Croatia, there is also the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Turkey, Latvia, Slovakia, Greece, Portugal, Northern Macedonia, Spain, Belarus, and Montenegro.

Next weekend, Croatian is back in action, this time in the Silver Group of the European League, which will be great preparation for the European Championship.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

To get more news about sports in Croatia, CLICK HERE.