September 10, 2019 - The Croatia national team has three remaining Euro 2020 qualifiers this fall. 

HRT reports that the unexpected result against Azerbaijan spoiled Croatia's excellent performance against Slovakia last Friday, and made the path to qualifying for the European Championship next summer a bit more difficult. However, the World Cup finalists still decide their destiny.

There are still three more rounds in the qualifications and two wins should surely secure the Euros for Croatia. However, in the event Croatia falls short, there is always Plan B - the Nations League playoffs.

The most important thing for Croatia is that they remain at the top of the group once the qualifiers finish. Croatia currently has 10 points, which is one more than Slovakia and Hungary and four more than Wales, while Azerbaijan is in the last place with one point after Monday's draw.

The two best teams in the group will go directly to the Euro, and ahead of the last 270 minutes, Croatia tops the table in first. 

Zlatko Dalic's squad will play two of their remaining three games at home with the direct competitors for one of the first two spots in the group - on October 10 in Split against Hungary and November 16 in Rijeka against Slovakia. Between the two games, Croatia will play Wales away on October 13.

On several occasions during the qualifications, coach Dalic said that it would take 15 points to qualify. Given the current situation, ending the group with 15 points would mean that Croatia will have one win and two draws in the matches to come - and such results may or may not be sufficient.

Victories against Hungary and Wales would certainly secure the Euros, though there is always the chance that Croatia does not end up among the two best teams in the group.

Croatia could, however, qualify for Euro via the Nations League playoffs. Namely, from each of the four Nations League paths, one national team will be eligible for the European Championship. There will be four national teams in each playoff path for those who failed to qualify for the Euro through qualifications. 

“Each league will have its own play-off path if at least four teams have not already qualified in the conventional qualifying group stage. The Nations League group winners will automatically qualify for the play-off path of their league. If a group winner has already qualified through the qualifying group stage, they will be replaced by the next best-ranked team in the same league. However, if there are not enough non-qualified teams in the same league, then the spot will go to the next best team in the overall ranking. However, group winners cannot face teams from a higher league,” explains UEFA. 

“Each play-off path will feature two single-leg semi-finals and one single-leg final. The best-ranked team will host the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team will host the third-ranked team. The host of the final will be decided by a draw, with semi-final winner 1 or 2 hosting the final. The four play-off path winners will join the 20 teams which have already qualified for UEFA Euro 2020,” UEFA adds. 

Remaining Euro 2020 Qualifiers in Group E:

10 October

Croatia - Hungary

Slovakia - Wales

13 October

Wales - Croatia

Hungary - Azerbaijan

16 November

Azerbaijan - Wales

Croatia - Slovakia

19 November 

Slovakia - Azerbaijan

Wales - Hungary

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

September 10, 2019 - As the summer season comes to an end, we look ahead to the winter in Croatia. Thus, Croatia Airlines has announced some small changes to its flight schedule this year. 

Recall, Croatia will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from January 1, 2020. With that said, Ex Yu Aviation reports that the national carrier will add a one flight per week between Brussels and Zagreb, totaling to 12 per week. Furthermore, the seasonal service between Zagreb and Dublin will work until January 26, 2020, while its operations between Zagreb and Lisbon will end at the end of October. 

Croatia Airlines will maintain the same winter operations for other Croatian cities this year, which include flights from Split to Frankfurt, Munich and Rome, Dubrovnik to Frankfurt, and Rijeka to Munich. Croatia Airlines has also announced no changes to its winter operations between Croatian locations. 

Recall, Croatia Airlines is currently undergoing a privatization process, which the Croatian Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, previously said should be completed by the end of the year. “I believe we will deliver within the set timeframe,” the Minister said. Privredna banka Zagreb (PBZ) and Germany's DVB Bank are advising the airline in the process.

While the national carrier projects a 5% increase in passenger traffic by the end of 2019, there are no plans to make any significant changes to its services until the privatization process is complete. 

Ex Yu Aviation adds that Croatia Airlines even dropped its plans to extend the wet-lease for one of Air Nostrum's Bombardier CRJ1000 jets into the winter months, which would have lengthened some of its seasonal routes. Croatia Airlines currently maintains twelve routes from Zagreb during the summer.

Croatia Airlines has welcomed 960,620 passengers from January to June this year, which is an increase of 1.2% compared to 2018. 

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

September 9, 2019 - The Croatia national team met Azerbaijan in Baku on Monday for the 6th round of the EURO 2020 qualifications.

After a critical victory against Slovakia on Friday, Croatia came to Baku for their second crucial match in three days. Zlatko Dalic's side faced an Azerbaijan squad led by Croatian Nikola Jurcevic. Before the match on Monday, Croatia had so far played Azerbaijan three times, registering two wins and one draw with a goal difference of 8:1.

The game on Monday was also unique for another reason - captain Luka Modric celebrated his 34th birthday. 

Croatia came out playing the same attacking game coach Zlatko Dalic favored in the game against Slovakia - and by the third minute, it wasn’t hard to see that Croatia would be giving Azerbaijan’s defense no easy job. After a few attacks which resulted in no goals, the ref whistled to the penalty spot after a handball by an Azerbaijani defender. Luka stepped up to the challenge and scored for 0:1 Croatia in the 11th minute. 

Azerbaijan’s keeper was brilliant in the minutes that followed - blocking chances from Perisic, Rebic and Vlasic to keep the game 0:1. 

Azerbaijan had their first real chance in the 17th minute, forcing Livakovic to make a stellar save - though the ref called the player offside in the end. 

Nikola Vlasic, who opened the scoring spree against Slovakia, dangerously shot from outside the penalty box, which forced the keeper to make a difficult save. 

By the 26th minute, Croatia had 60 percent of the ball possession, with eight shots on goal.

Azerbaijan had an almost alarming counter-attack in the 32nd minute which was ultimately saved by Livakovic’s leg - and in the 37th minute, Azerbaijan hit over the goal. 

A dance around the defense by Ante Rebic found the foot of Nikola Vlasic in the 41st, who hit another stunner from outside the penalty area, though the game remained 0:1. 

A free-kick by Perisic in the 44th went just over the goal, and an offside goal by Azerbaijan ended the game 0:1 for Croatia at the half. 

Azerbaijan had their first corner of the game in the 54th minute, which was cleared by Croatia's defense. Croatia's kept the forceful attacking game from the first half at the start, though Azerbaijan's defense was making it more difficult for Perisic, Petkovic, Vlasic, and Rebic. Dalic's side needed a new burst of energy to carry them through the half. 

Azerbaijan picked up the pace considerably in the second half, giving Croatia's defense more work in the first 15 minutes of it than they had all of the first. Petkovic had a chance in the 61st minute that hit just shy of the goal, and Croatia continued hunting for their second goal. 

In the 66th minute, Croatia was lucky another Azerbaijan goal was called offside to keep the result in Croatia's favor; however, that didn't last long. In the 72nd minute, Tamkin Khalilza dribbled through Croatia's defense to equalize for Azerbaijan 1:1. 

Dalic brought young blood Brekalo on for Bartolec in the 76th minute in the hope of some momentum, though Azerbaijan kept on pressing. Orsic came on for Rebic in the 86th. Croatia's energy continued to dwindle.

Croatia had a corner in the 89th minute, though Vida hit over. Four minutes of extra time were added, though neither team was able to score. The game ended 1:1. 

Croatia's next Euro qualifier will be the decisive match against Hungary at Poljud stadium in Split on October 10, 2019.

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

September 8, 2019 - Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic talks Trnava, staying humble, and the young talents leading the way through Croatia's Euro 2020 qualifications. 

Many Croatian football fans may still be wondering if that Croatia team we saw crush Slovakia 0:4 in Trnava was made of magic, or if we’re still dreaming. Sure, a team like Croatia should have had no problem winning that game, but when you take into consideration the players missing (Rakitic, Kovacic), that half of the starting lineup was a team of young reserves, and that it was perhaps the best game of football played under coach Zlatko Dalic, the shock seems a bit more warranted. 

Zlatko Dalic revealed his feelings in the aftermath for Jutarnji List.

“Everything's fine now. We played superbly, all 90 minutes, I said it was one of our best games since I have been the coach. I wouldn't single out any players because they were all great. We played decisively, aggressively, dominated, we were what Croatia should be,” Zlatko Dalic said on Saturday morning before heading to Baku. 

In public appearances before Trnava, Dalic announced a solid Croatia, however, during the week, some doubts were raised about how it would all end. Did Dalic believe this would be the result?

“This was intensified in the media, journalists emphasized the problems, but it wasn’t like that among us. I said the atmosphere was great, we were ready, and that I believed we would play the right game. We held a meeting together talking about where we are and what awaits us. Of course, the atmosphere is not like the World Cup, because the World Cup is something completely different, but the atmosphere in the team is great, and what Dejan Lovren said was not interpreted correctly, it was put in the wrong context.”

Recall, ahead of the game against Slovakia, Lovren revealed that the atmosphere in the team was poor, and far from the positivity that carried the team through Russia. 

Dalic said that he'd let these two games pass, then deal with Rakitic. What will the outcome be?

“They're not over yet. We have a game against Azerbaijan, and now we only have to think about that. No, it doesn't make sense to emphasize anything about Rakitic right now. That's what the media does.”

Ivan Perisic said that Croatia never played the way did against Slovakia in the World Cup, never for 90 minutes at that level of intensity.

“It is true that we kept a high pace for all 90 minutes, that we did not stop even when the result was very favorable. We could have scored far more goals. Slovakia is a good quality team, but they are not like Argentina or England, it wasn’t that kind of high profile match, or like some others in Russia, which had their peculiarities. The World Cup is something extraordinary, but Slovakia looked bad because we didn't let them play. We blocked them, they exploited themselves, they couldn't develop their game. The development of the match was based on our merit.”

What was the shock of being left without Tin Jedvaj on match day?

“When we were told that Tin Jedvaj had a more series injury, we didn't want to risk anything. It happened to us three times that one of our backs had to come out early in the game and that disrupted us. We played great in Elche twenty minutes into the game against Spain, then Sime Vrsaljko was injured and we fell dramatically. The same thing happened with Vrsaljako at Wembley, where we were also good at the start, and Borna Barisic leaving Budapest is the third case. These forced substitutions turned out to have a bad effect on the team, and we were defeated every time. I didn't want to gamble with Jedvaj, so it wouldn't happen again.”

Is Dalic satisfied with Bartolec?

“I did not like the option of putting Vida on the right back and Mitrovic as the stopper as it would not affect the team well. Let the stopper play stopper; the right back play right back. If one falls, another specialist comes in the position. Bartolec was trying to make an impression at first, but later he let loose, fit in, played as I asked. He is our gain and we can certainly rely on him in the future.”

Why were the attacking three Perisic - Petkovic - Rebic selected and Brekalo only introduced in the second half?

“I decided to play as we did at the World Cup, with Rebic and Perisic on . the wings, as they can give the most. Rebic was a midfielder at Eintracht, however, he plays there in the center, facing the opponent's goal and has plenty of space. In the national team it is different, he is closer to the net, in a dense space, and does not do so well. This was evident during the match in Budapest when he was imprisoned and could not reap the benefits. That's why I opted for such a variant.”

Petkovic was one of the best players in the match.

“We need a striker who can hold the ball, and he is the only one in that picture. He is a great player, he danced around his opponents, created chances, scored. We prepared with these tactics and Petkovic executed perfectly. In Petkovic, we have the type of striker we didn't have. I've said it could bring us a lot.”

In addition to qualifying for Euro, it will also be a huge benefit to form a new core of the national team for years to come. But maybe already for 2020.

“If we qualify for Euro, then rejuvenating the national team will make sense. But one thing is clear: they need new aces, hungry, ambitious young men. I said that right after Russia. Brekalo, Petkovic, Vlasic and some others are increasingly important to us.”

Could Croatia be very dangerous at Euro 2020?

“I could tell you something, but this is not the time for such stories. First, we need to collect 15 points, and then we will talk about ambitions for the Euro. We need to stay with our feet on the ground. We only have nine points; this is not enough to qualify.” 

How did Dalic conclude that 15 points would be enough? Isn’t Croatia going to need more?

“I looked at the final qualification tables in earlier cycles. In a six-team group, more points are needed, 21 or 22, but when there are five teams in the group, 15 points are always enough to pass. That is why I say that this is the limit we must reach.”

So, according to Dalic’s estimation, if Croatia defeats Azerbaijan and Hungary, they will celebrate qualifying for the Euros on October 10th in Split?

“That would be the best. According to our wishes. It doesn't matter how we get those points, just get them in the account, but we want them as soon as possible.”

It is not always easy for a mentality like Croatia’s to continue in a duel against the last-placed team in the table after a significant victory. Azerbaijan doesn’t have a single point, but we must remember what happened in 2015, when the two teams played 0-0.

“The focus must be completely on Azerbaijan; they are motivated, they have shown in Zagreb that they are good and we have no right to relax. This situation reminds me of the post-Argentina atmosphere, when I said we had to be humble. We need to stay firm on the ground. If we don't get Azerbaijan, we have done nothing.”

And who congratulated Dalic after the big win in Trnava apart from Mario Mandzukic?

“Rakltic also congratulated me; he sent a message. Not only Ivan, but also Corluka, Vrsaljko, and many others. Most of the messages I have not been able to read, my phone is full.”

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

September 6, 2019 - Croatia and Slovakia met in Trnava on Friday night as part of the Euro 2020 qualifiers. Three thousand Croatia fans made the trip to Slovakia to cheer on the 2018 World Cup finalists. 

The Croatia national football team returned on Friday to kick off the next round of the Euro 2020 qualifications. There are five games scheduled over the next three months, each of which could be decisive for Croatia’s spot in the competition next summer. The first in the series was played on Friday in Slovakia, which is followed by a visit to Baku against Azerbaijan three days later.

Croatia had an opportunity to move to the top of the group with Hungary, though Slovakia had the same plan in mind. Recall, Slovakia opened the qualifiers with a win against Hungary and a loss to Wales, but thanks to a 5:1 victory in Azerbaijan, they had a better goal differential than Croatia going into Friday’s qualifier. 

The World Cup finalists had not proven their true worth during these qualifications, though their win against Wales in Osijek gave coach Zlatko Dalic a bit of ease this summer. On Friday, however, Croatia was left without Ivan Rakitic and Mateo Kovacic, and a back injury for Tin Jedvaj put Croatia’s defense into question even more.

Croatia went into Friday’s game without the superstar lineup of the World Cup - and the starting 11 featured only captain Luka Modric, Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic, and Ante Rebic from the silver-medalist squad. Dalic instead had to rely on Dinamo goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic in goal, Karlo Bartolec and Borna Barisic in the defense, and Nikola Vlasic and Bruno Petkovic in the attack. 

Croatia had their first real chance of the game in the 8th minute when Modric shot over the goal, which was followed by a Brozovic crossbar moments later. Livakovic saved Slovakia’s first chance at goal in the 11th minute. 

Croatia came out playing the attacking game Dalic said they would, and spent most of the first half pressuring Slovakia’s defense. However, Croatia’s biggest chance came in the 28th minute off a Modric corner when Vida missed directly in front of the goal. Croatia had three corners to Slovakia’s zero by then.

Petkovic dribbled through Slovakia’s defense in the 30th minute for a one-on-one chance with the keeper, though the goalie’s leg saved his weak shot. Just four minutes later, Perisic hit the crossbar - and in the 37th minute, Petkovic missed another chance from the penalty area. 

Opportunity after opportunity, Croatia was left without luck, that is, until the 45th minute when the young Nikola Vlasic nailed a goal in the far corner for 0:1 Croatia at the half.

The World Cup finalists kept their momentum in the second half, which shocked all spectators as a goal by Ivan Perisic increased the lead to 0:2 in the 46th minute! 

Slovakia had a chance in the 51st minute, which Livakovic had no problem saving. Petkovic had yet another chance a few minutes later but hit over the goal. An incredible play between Rebic and Perisic saw Brozovic miss. Croatia's attacking game showed no signs of slowing down, and by the 60th minute, they were running circles around Slovakia's defense. 

And then it finally happened for Dinamo star Bruno Petkovic in the 73rd minute, who danced around Slovakia's stopper to score for 0:3! 

Substitute Brekalo's fancy footwork almost increased the lead even more in the last 10 minutes of the game, and Pasalic hit just wide of the goal with five minutes to go. 

It was more than clear that Croatia wasn't done scoring yet, and a diving header by defender Dejan Lovren increased the lead to 0:4 in the 87th minute, which was the final score of the game.

The 'Vatreni' will play Azerbaijan next on Monday at 6 pm in Baku.

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

September 1, 2019 - Czech tourists are often referred to as the ‘pašteta tourists’ of  Croatia, or tourists who would rather travel cheap and eat pate on vacation than spend their money in restaurants or bars. But is this really the truth? 

After the Croatian media reported about the shameful act of a Czech traveler who dumped feces from his yacht into the sea near Komiža, many comments followed stereotyping Czech tourists in the Adriatic. The news even spread to the Czech Republic, and the portal Blesk claims that Croats unjustifiably launched a discriminatory campaign against their tourists, reports Splitski Dnevnik.

"It is very unfair to give us the stamp of ‘pašteta tourists’. Czech guests are absolutely crucial for Croats. Nearly one million people come to the Adriatic every year,” said Jan Papež, spokesman for the Czech Association of Travel Agents in Blesk.

Moreover, according to Papež, they do not only spend their summers staying in the cheapest accommodation.

"Many go to four-star and higher-category hotels," he added. He also emphasized that after the war in the early 1990s, when the world was not interested in Croatia, the Czechs came first.

"And now we are not losing interest, even though prices are increasing by five to ten percent every year," Papež said.

Last year, 32,763 Czech boaters visited Croatia (and realized 218,404 overnights). And it probably doesn’t need to be stressed that they didn't eat pate, the author wrote. Most Czech tourists also rent boats on-site, which cost between 800 to 50,000 euros per week.

But how much they spend doesn’t end here. Anchoring and mooring boats must also be taken into account. For example, in Split, anchoring a yacht from 10 to 20 meters will cost around 700 to 1600 kuna per night.

Parking a car in the marina sets you back around 40 to 60 euros a week, which is supplemented by fresh water, fuel or electricity, or wifi for an overnight stay in the marina. The total cost of the week is about 600 euros per person, without traveling around Croatia, food, and drink, the Czech journalist calculated.

"According to a rough estimate, Czech boaters spend around 180 million kuna in the country that calls us 'pašteta tourists'," Blesk added.

According to a survey by the University of Rijeka last year, Czechs spend an average of 390 kuna a day in Croatia, which isn't much compared to the British who spend an average of 915 kuna.

“But the Croats themselves spend even less. They are the second-largest group of tourists in the country, spending 368 kuna a day,” the portal said.

If the statistics do not lie and we multiply 5,489,607 Czech overnights in Croatia by average spending, Czech tourists brought about 2.2 billion kuna to Croatia last season alone,” Blesk concluded. 

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

The Croatia women's volleyball team secured a place in the round of 16 of the European Championships after topping Hungary 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 35-33) in the last round of Group C in Budapest.

With their third victory and ten points, Croatia secured a place among the four best-placed teams in the group, ensuring at least third place thanks to the win against Hungary - and if Romania overcomes Azerbaijan, they could be second, which would mean an easier draw in the round of 16, reports Gol.hr.

In the game against Hungary, Croatia was dominant from 7-7 in the first set, when they quickly took their advantage to 12-7 and ended the first set of the game 25-20. In the second set, the Croatian volleyball players, on the wings of the brilliant Samanta Fabris, quickly reached a 7-3 advantage, though Hungary came back to equalize at 21-21. Fortunately, a block by Croatia worked, and the second set went to the red-and-white checkered side 25-23.

Hungary opened the third set much better (8-5, 11-7) and was cheered on by their home audience to lead 14-9. Croatia fell behind 17-18 and 20-21 and then equalized at 22-22. The Croatian side figured out how to weaken Hungary’s strength in the next action and went into the lead at 23-22. Hungary then failed to use six set points and again, with a great block, Croatia used their fifth match point for the final 35-33. 

Samanta Fabris was the best for the Croatian side with 25 points, while Karla Klarić added 16 points. Klarić was also the best blocker of the game, along with Božana Butigan (4 blocks).

In the other Group C game, Azerbaijan celebrated against Estonia 3-2.

The European Championships, which takes place from 23 August to 8 September, is attended by 24 teams divided into four groups in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, and Turkey.

Group C Standings 

1) The Netherlands

2) Croatia

3) Azerbaijan 

4) Romania

5) Hungary

6) Estonia

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

August 28, 2019 - After overcoming Romania, Croatia sits in second place of the Group C standings in the European Championships and plays Hungary in the final round on Wednesday. 

The Croatia women’s volleyball team celebrated 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22) in Budapest in the fourth round of Group C of the European Championships against Romania. Now, they are just one step away from placing into the round of 16, reports HRT.

Croatia opened the match well, led 15-9 in the first set, and successfully held the lead until the end of the set. But in the second set, Romania quickly reached an advantage of 13-6, and the Croatian players seemed to have no counter-game. Still, Croatia managed to come back and tied at 23-23, though Romania took the last two points in the set, and after 51 minutes of play, the result was equal at 1-1.

Romania was better at the start of the third set, leading 6-2, though it was followed by a turnaround. The Croatian players scored seven points in a row, and when they went five points ahead (16-11), they finished the set in their favor. Croatia continued in the fourth set with good play, was up by a six-point advantage several times, and in the exciting finish, a stellar block eventually led them to celebrate 3-1 in sets.

Lucija Mlinar was the best for the Croatian side with 22 points, followed by Martina Samadan who scored 16 and Sanja Popović-Gamma who scored 14 points.

On Wednesday, Croatia plays Hungary in the last round of Group C (6 pm).

The European Championships, which is held from 23 August to 8 September, is attended by 24 teams divided into four groups. The top four teams from each group will advance to the round of 16.

Standings for Group C

1. Netherlands 4 4 0 12-0 12 
2. CROATIA 4 2 2 8-8 7 
3. Romania 4 2 2 7-8 6 
4. Azerbaijan 3 2 1 6-5 5 
5. Hungary 3 1 2 4-6 3 
6. Estonia 4 0 4 2-12 0

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

August 25, 2019 - After losing their opening game to Azerbaijan, the Croatia women's volleyball team won their first game in Group C of the European Volleyball Championships in Budapest.

Namely, Daniele Santarelli's side topped Estonia 3-1 in the 2nd round match (25-18, 25-17, 26-28, 25-12) after one hour and 46 minutes of play, reports Gol.hr.

Samanta Fabris was the best for Croatia with 14 points, while Lucija Mlinar and Karla Klarić scored 12 points. Estonia’s best was Kertu Laak who scored 13 points, followed by Nette Peit with 11 points.

In an even first set, Estonia held their own partly thanks to the mistakes of the Croatian volleyball players. However, from 19-17, Croatia scored five points and used their second chance to win the first set.

Carried by the strong finish of the first leg, Croatia continued to play in the same rhythm in the second set in which they led 13-3. A 24-9 lead saw Croatia get a bit too comfortable, and Estonia came back to a close 24-17 before Croatia used their ninth set point.

Croatia coach Santarelli decided to rest captain Samanta Fabris in the third set, which Estonia saw as an advantage to take the lead through the entire set for 22-18. Santarelli then brought Fabris back into the game and gave Martina Samadan a chance, which resulted in six of the next seven points, and Croatia’s first chance at a match point (24-23). Estonia used their second set point and continued the match.

But that was where the experiments ended. Again with Samantha Fabris in the impressive line-up, Croatia systematically increased their advantage, which ultimately reached a maximum of +13 (24-11). Croatia secured the match point, which gave them three points and a temporary lead in the Group C rankings

Croatia has thus achieved four points in two matches, while the Netherlands and Hungary have three points with one game less. The top four teams from the four groups will compete in the second round.

On Sunday, Croatia will have their first day of rest, and on Monday they will play against Romania in the third round. The match starts at 6 pm.

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

August 23, 2019 - The Croatia women's volleyball team opens its appearance at the European Championships in Budapest at 3 pm on Friday.

In the first game, Italian expert Daniele Santarelli will lead Croatia against Azerbaijan, reports HRT.

“At the beginning, we started with little difficulty, however, with a little practice, the whole team has improved significantly, and I am delighted with the result of the first part of the summer. I am extremely proud, because in a short period we corrected a lot of mistakes, which were present at the beginning of our game. By playing in the Golden League, we were able to achieve very high and extremely good results, and this experience was essential for the whole team. After a short break in July, we started with small changes and well-established players,” said the 38-year-old Italian on the Croatia bench, and concluded that he was delighted with the work and progress of our national team players.

“We just finished the Gloria Cup, where we played three important matches, and it was great preparation for what awaited us. The first match at the European Championships in Budapest is against Azerbaijan, which is certainly not going to be easy, because the team is very strong and we have to show our best game. If we play the first difficult game, we will feel the strength and level of this competition, which is important for later matches. Although each match will be difficult, we hope for our best game and result,” he added.

Croatia plays in Group C of the competition, and alongside Azerbaijan, Croatia will face Estonia (August 24), the Netherlands (August 26), Romania (August 27) and Hungary (August 28). The top four teams will secure a spot in the Round of 16, to be played in Turkey and Poland. Group C intersects with Group A, which includes Serbia, Turkey, Bulgaria, France, Greece, and Finland.

In addition to Hungary, the hosts of the European Championships are Turkey (Ankara), Poland (Lodz) and Slovakia (Bratislava).

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