January 25, 2023 - Croatia found out its opponent in the UEFA Nations League semi-final after the draw was held in Nyon on Wednesday.  

Croatia will thus play against the Netherlands on June 14 in Rotterdam. Spain and Italy will meet in the second semi-final on June 15 in Enschede.

The winners of the semi-final matches will play in the final in Rotterdam on June 18, while the losers will play for third place also on June 18 in Enschede.

In the third season of the Nations League, Croatia reached the final tournament and was the only debutant in this mini-tournament. Croatia went to the final four after finishing first in a group against defending champions France, Denmark, and Austria.

Croatia was impressive in the third edition of the Nations League after poor results in the first two editions. After opening against Austria with a shock 3:0 defeat in Osijek, Croatia still had to face the national teams of France and Denmark. Dalić had to apologize to the fans, and there was little belief in this Croatia after the debacle against Austria.

The show at Poljud in front of 30,000 fans started Croatia'ss revival in the Nations League. A draw against the then-current World Champions, France, was a sign that Croatia could turn everything around. In the end, Croatia defeated Denmark twice, one of the best European teams then. For the first time in history, Croatia also beat France at Stade de France in front of more than 70,000 fans and confirmed their spot in the final tournament with a victory against Austria in Vienna.

Dalić commented on Croatia's semi-final opponent:

"We will play against the most difficult opponent, the hosts, who will play in front of a full stadium and led by a new coach. The Netherlands is a truly great team. However, whichever team we draw, we would be playing against a strong opponent, as all four teams are in the top ten in the world. We know what our goal is, a place in the final, and we will try to achieve it. The Netherlands has a new coach, and is very good, especially in defense. They have young, powerful players, and they will play in front of their audience, but I also expect great support from our fans in Rotterdam. A big match awaits us, it will be a big challenge for us, but we will be ready, and I expect our victory," said Zlatko Dalić.

The first semi-final match will be played on June 14 in Rotterdam at 20:45, and the second in Enschede on June 15 at 20:45. The game for third place will be played on June 18 in Enschede at 15:00, and the final is the same day in Rotterdam at 20:45. It was decided in advance that the Netherlands would play its semi-final match in Rotterdam.

The Croatian Football Federation delegation in Nyon included assistant coach of Croatia Vedran Ćorluka, team manager of the national team Iva Olivari, and official spokesperson Tomislav Pacak.

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January 26, 2022 - Croatia ended their EHF Euro 2022 campaign with a draw against the Netherlands on Wednesday night. 

The last European Championship match for Croatia was against the Netherlands in the last round of Group I on Wednesday. Both teams lost their chance at the semifinal, so the match was not of importance - though it's always nice to say goodbye to the Euros with a win.

The Netherlands was left without several key players due to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Croatia coach Hrvoje Horvat thanked Ivan Slišković, Šimo Ivić, and Vlado Matanović who went back to their clubs early. Today's Croatia lineup included Pešić, Pilipović, Čupić, Glavaš, Martinović, Maraš, Cindrić, Gadža, Lučin, Srna, Jelinić, Ćavar, Marić, Šipić, Načinović, and Gojun.

Recall, after losing to Denmark, Croatia lost all chances of reaching the semifinals. Despite winning against Iceland, Croatia was ultimately left without a chance to fight for third place in the group, which brings the match for fifth place, the last leading directly to the 2023 World Championships. Croatia will thus have to play World Championship qualifiers this spring. 

Recap

Sipic scored for 2:0 Croatia in the 2nd minute. The Netherlands scored for 2:1 going into the 3rd minute. Sipic made it 3:1 going into the 4th minute. 

Sipic scored his 4th goal of the match for 4:4 Croatia in the 6th minute. 

The Netherlands took the 5:4 lead in the 7th minute. Srna scored for 5:5 in the 10th minute. 

Sipic scored his 5th goal for 6:5 Croatia in the 12th minute. Cindric made it 7:6 a minute later. 

The Netherlands led 9:8 in the 17th minute. Cupic equalized for 9:9 in the 19th minute. The Netherlands led by 2 goals for the first time of the match in the 22nd minute - 11:9. 

Gadza scored for 11:10 in the 23rd minute. The Netherlands led 13:11 with 4 minutes to go. Martinovic scored for -1 Croatia in the 27th minute before the Netherlands made it 14:12 with two minutes to go. 

It was 15:13 for the Netherlands going into halftime. 

Martinovic opened the second half with a goal for Croatia for -1 - 15:14. Martinovic equalized from 7 meters for 15:15 in the 32nd minute. 

Martinovic equalized for Croatia again with a penalty in the 34th minute for 16:16. Sipic made it 17:17 in the 38th minute. 

Martinovic scored his 7th goal of the match for 18:18 in the 41st minute. Sipic made it 19:19 a minute later. 

Martinovic finally put Croatia back in the lead for 20:19 in the 45th minute. Srna made it 21:19 for Croatia in the 46th minute. Cindric made it 22:19 a minute later. 

Croatia was leading 26:24 with 5 minutes to go. Martinovic scored his 12th goal in the 56th minute for 27:25. Croatia was up by only one goal with a little over a minute to go. 

The Netherlands equalized for 27:27 in the final minute. Lucin scored for 28:27 in the final 15 seconds and the Netherlands equalized for the final 28:28. 

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February 20, 2021 - Croatia records their first loss to the Netherlands in the EuroBasket qualifiers. 

The Croatia basketball team lost to the Netherlands 57:65 in the Eurobasket qualifiers on Saturday. However, Croatia has already qualified for the European Championship and will play the final game of the tournament against Turkey on Monday. 

After the Netherlands initially led 2:0, Croatia equalized and only increased their advantage. After seven minutes of play, they led +7, 11:4. Mršić's team also had an advantage of 13 points, 19:6, and they finished the first quarter at 19:11.

Although they were equal in the second quarter (16:16), Croatia managed to keep the advantage from the first quarter and went into halftime with a score of 35:27.

In the third quarter, the Netherlands played harder and reduced the gap to 43:44, and with a three-pointer, they took the lead at 49:48. The Netherlands continued ahead in the decisive quarter in which they lead +6, 54:48.

In the first match of the 5th round in Group D, Turkey defeated Sweden 88:80 in Istanbul and remained in the game to qualify for the final tournament. Sengun with 24 points and Tuncer with 19 was the best for Turkey, while Jerebko led Sweden with 21 points.

Croatia leads the group and has already qualified for EuroBasket 2022. The three best national teams will qualify for the final tournament.

Standings
1. Croatia 5 4 1 364-314 9
2. The Netherlands 5 3 2 345-340 8
3. Turkey 5 2 3 368-389 7
4. Sweden 5 1 4 371-405 6

In the last round, scheduled for Monday, February 22, Sweden-Netherlands (15:00) and Turkey-Croatia (18:00) will meet.

Source: HRT

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