September 6, 2022 - The Croatia men's water polo team has secured a spot in the European Championship semifinals! 

The Croatia men's water polo team met Georgia in the quarter-final match of the European Championships in Split on Tuesday. 

The winner of the match will play in the semi-finals against Italy, who beat France 16:8 in the quarter-finals.

Croatia did not reach the quarterfinals easily. They lost the first half to both France and Greece in the group stage and failed to score against Greece in the first 16 minutes of the match. However, a draw against Greece was enough for Croatia to win first place in their group with seven points.

Georgia beat the Netherlands 12:8 (2:3, 5:1, 2:2, 3:2) in the round of 16. Croatia last played Georgia a little over two months ago at the World Championships in Budapest and won 13:7 in the round of 16. 

Match report

1st Quarter

Croatia won the swim-off and the first attack of the match but lost the ball to Georgia. Georgia hit the post in their first attack. Croatia won a penalty with 6:09 on the clock. Kharkov scored for 1:0 Croatia. Bijac saved Georgia's next attack. Croatia's next attack resulted in another penalty which Kharkov scored again for 2:0! Bijac kept the goal clean in Georgia's next attack, and Fatovic scored for 3:0 with 3:39 left. Zuvela made it 4:0 with 6 seconds on the clock, which is how the first quarter ended. 

2nd Quarter 

Croatia won the swim-off but didn't score in their first attack. Georgia scored for 4:1 with 7:09 on the clock. Georgia hit the post in the next attack but scored for 4:2 with 5:22 to go. Buric scored for 5:2 with 4:48 left. Bijac was solid in goal to deny Georgia’s next attacks. Kharkov made it 6:2 with 1:19 to go. Georgia won a penalty with 52 seconds but hit the post. Croatia hit the post in their next attack. 

3rd Quarter

Croatia won the swim-off again and the first attack of the 3rd quarter. Basic nailed the back of the net for 7:2 with 7:30 on the clock. Georgia answered back in their next attack for 7:3 with 7:02 to go. Bukic made it 8:3 for Croatia with 6:32 left. Fatovic scored a penalty for 9:3 with 5:49 left. Bijac saved a Georgia penalty with 5:20 on the clock. Nothing was getting past Bijac in this match. Fatovic had a one-on-one and faked the Georgia keeper for 10:3 with 3 minutes left! Bukic made it 11:3 with 1:29 to go in the third quarter - and 12:3 with 42 seconds left. 

4th Quarter

Popadic replaced Bijac in goal for the final quarter. Georgia got the swim-off in the final quarter of the match. Georgia made it 12:4 with 7:17 to go in the match. Buric answered back with a goal for 13:4. Croatia called a time-out with 4:21 to go. Bukic scored for 14:4 with 2:24 left. Georgia scored for 14:5 with 1:45 on the clock. Kragic made it 15:5 with 42 seconds left. Croatia had the final attack and ran out the clock. The match ended 15:5! 

Croatia and Italy will meet in the semi-final on Thursday in Split!

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

June 27, 2022 - Croatia beat Georgia 13:7 in the FINA World Championships round of 16 in Hungary on Monday. They will face Serbia next in the quarterfinals. 

The Croatia water polo team met Georgia in the round of 16 at the FINA World Championships in Hungary on Monday. Croatia had no right to make a mistake, as a defeat would leave them without a fight for a medal. Winning this match would also mean a quarterfinal match against Serbia later this week.

Due to the suspension, coach Ivica Tucak could not count on Rino Burić. Georgia was also no easy opponent with several foreigners on the national team. Among them is one Croatian, Marko Jelača.

Match Report

1st quarter

Croatia won the sprint and the first attack of the match, which Bukic scored for 1:0. Georgia equalized for 1:1 with 6:49 on the clock. Kharkov put Croatia ahead for 2:1 30 seconds later. Georgia equalized for 2:2 with 3:20 on the clock. Zuvela made it 3:2 for Croatia with 1:42 to go, which is how the first quarter ended. 

2nd quarter 

Croatia won the sprint again for the first attack, but Georgia equalized for 3:3 with 6:47 left. Kragic put Croatia ahead for 4:3 in the next attack. Kharkov scored a rocket for 5:3 with 5:46 to go. Basic made it 6:3 for Croatia's biggest lead of the game with 3:03 to go. Georgia reduced Croatia's lead to 6:4 with 1:45 on the clock. Krapic scored for 7:4 with 0:27 on the clock, which is how the match went into halftime.

3rd quarter

Georgia won the sprint to start the third quarter but was unlucky in their first attack. Kharkov scored his third goal of the match for +4 Croatia with 6:26 to go (8:4). Kharkov scored a penalty for 9:4 with 5:44 to go. Kragic scored for 10:4 Croatia with 1:45 left in the quarter. Croatia went into the final quarter leading by 6 goals. 

4th quarter 

Croatia won the sprint but was unsuccessful in their first attack. Georgia scored in the next attack for 10:5 with 6:47 left in the game. Georgia scored again for -4 (10:6) with 4:51 left. Zuvela scored for 11:6 with 4:20 to go. Fatovic scored for 12:6 with 3:29 on the clock. Kragic scored a penalty for 13:6 with 2:09 to go. Georgia scored for 13:7 with 41 seconds left. 

Croatia and Serbia will meet in the quarterfinals later this week. 

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated sports section. 

November 19, 2019 - After qualifying for Euro 2020 at Rujevica Stadium on Saturday with a win against Slovakia, the Croatia national team played a friendly match against Georgia in Pula. 

Georgia finished fourth in their Euro 2020 qualifying group behind Denmark, Switzerland, and Ireland, but will participate in additional qualifications for the Euro in March. Namely, Georgia welcomes Belarus at home in the Nations League 'D League' tournament, and if they win that match, they will play the winner of North Macedonia - Kosovo.

The Croatia national team had played against Georgia twice before the friendly on Tuesday, both in competitive matches. Croatia and Georgia met first as part of the 2012 European Championship qualifiers in Poland and Ukraine. They lost in Tbilisi 1:0 thanks to a Kobiasvili goal in the 90th minute. The second time the teams met was in Split when they celebrated thanks to goals by Mandzukic and Kalinic in the 76th and 78th minutes.

Thus, on Tuesday, in front of just over 4,000 fans, Croatia and Georgia met for the third time. Standard captain Luka Modric left the squad early to rejoin his club in Madrid, leaving Ivan Perisic to captain the team for the friendly. Dalic set out with a team of players who had never played together before tonight. The lineup included goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic - Karlo Bartolec, Tin Jedvaj, Mile Skoric, Dario Melnjak - Milan Badelj, Mateo Kovacic - Ivan Perisic, Mario Pasalic, Ante Rebic - Mislav Orsic.

Croatia was a bit shaky at the start of the first half, which saw Georgia take the lead in the 19th minute thanks to a goal by Giorgi Papunashvili. It didn't take long for Croatia to equalize, however, and just six minutes later, a Croatia free-kick saw Kashia score an own goal for 1:1. Croatia had a few promising chances for the remainder of the half, though it ended 1:1. 

At the start of the second half, Dalic subbed Simon Sluga in goal for Lovre Kalinic. Duje Caleta-Car came in for Tin Jedvaj, Josip Juranovic came in for Karl Bartolec, and Marko Rog played for Mislav Orsic.

It didn't take long for Croatia to score their second goal. A stunning cross from Josip Juranovic found the head of Ivan Perisic, who scored for 2:1 in the 53rd minute!

In the 65th minute, Nikola Vlasic came in for Mateo Kovacic, and Dino Peric came in for Mario Pasalic in the 75th. A downpour made it difficult for either team to score, and the game ended 2:1 for Croatia.

This is the final game of the Croatia national team in 2019. 

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