July 15, 2019 - On July 15, 2018, the Croatia national football team achieved the greatest success of any sports team in the history of the country. On July 15, 2018, Croatia became World Cup finalists.

Like most Croatians around the world, I’ll never forget July 15th - and the emotions that come with remembering that date one year on are just as overwhelming. 

However, also like many Croatians around the world, I initially presumed that a shot at the World Cup final was impossible. For starters, while we’re always full of pride, Croatian fans are also shockingly realistic. Recall, this squad was constantly plagued by poor coaches and lousy luck - curses that not even Luka Modrić could reverse. And at this World Cup, we had to overcome Argentina (and Lionel Messi) to get out of our group. Impossible. 

But that summer in Russia carried a different aura. We had a new coach that Croatians could relate to, even though we knew nothing about him before he was called to lead the team through the biggest tournament in four years.  After an atrocious year under Ante Čačić which killed our dreams of advancing to the World Cup at all, Zlatko Dalić restored our faith in the simple fact that he knew tactics and where to position our players who fought for the biggest football clubs in the world. But most of all, Dalić revived a team that was dull, disoriented, and disheartened from the failures experienced before, and returned a wave of positivity to the squad that had been missing since Croatia’s World Cup bronze in 1998. Croatia under Dalić had a spark in their eye - and one that ultimately lit the way for the country’s first ever World Cup final. 

Croatia’s road to the final really showed its legs once they tragically topped Argentina 3:0 in the group stage - a result that is still hard to believe one year later. Croatia finished at the top of their group, and fans around the world gained faith in the fact that if Croatia continued to play like this for the remainder of the tournament, they could upset anyone. 

But as all things Croatian require a splash of drama, this team took the long road to the final, one that came with twists, turns, and numerous bouts of nausea. In the round of 16, Croatia met Denmark. While Denmark was a team that shouldn't have been underestimated, considering they flaunt Tottenham superstar Christian Erikson in their ranks, Croatia was expected to pass without too much difficulty - though that quickly changed after Jorgensen scored for Denmark in the first minute of the game. Croatia was lucky to equalize from a Mandžukić goal three minutes later, but their wearied bodies on the pitch denied them another goal, and the game went to extra time. Croatia had the chance to seal the deal after Ante Rebić was fouled in the penalty area, though captain Luka Modrić missed - and Croatian fans began familiarizing themselves with that fatal fact that it just wouldn’t be their year. However, heroics from goalkeeper Danijel Subašić saved the day in the penalty shootout - and Croatia secured a spot in the quarter-final against Russia.

Another grueling 90 minutes against the host nation that ended in a tied result pushed Croatia to another extra time, another draw, and another penalty shootout. Croatia’s spark had to fizzle now, I thought. But they were fearless. After fortunately failed penalties from Russia, Ivan Rakitić stepped up last and sent Croatia to their second World Cup semi-final ever. 

Croatia met England in the semi-final, a team also riding a wave of zeal and self-confidence as their fans thought they'd win it all. It was England’s first World Cup semi-final in 28 years. On the eve of the semi-final, journalists around the world questioned if Croatia had the stamina to surpass England, a nation who thought it was their year to bring football home, and who had an advantage over Croatia because their last two games didn’t move to penalties. Croatia was said to be mentally and physically exhausted after brutal battles against Denmark and Russia, and the legs on their fairytale were destined to buckle. 

Many of us worried that the media’s prophecy would be true after Trippier scored for England just five minutes into that historic semi-final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Croatia’s fatigue hardly carried them through the first half, which ended at 0:1 for England. Even the biggest believers in Croatia questioned if football really was going home to England that year. 

But Croatia’s second wind carried them through the second half, and Ivan Perišić scored the equalizer in the 68th minute. As the clock ticked to the final minute, time stopped for Croatian fans who feared they didn’t have a nerve left to spare to get them through another grueling extra time - especially one that decided their fate in the World Cup final. But with 10 minutes to go, Mario Mandžukić confirmed just why he is our Super Mario - and scored the goal that assured Croatia’s first ever World Cup final. The country erupted into madness. 

I remember the day of the World Cup final clear as day and as a total blur - like a dream you wake up wondering if it actually happened. The nation was more united than ever, we were honored, full of spirit, and football fans around the world had jumped on the Croatia bandwagon to watch the happy ending of our fairytale unfold. And in the end, it didn’t matter that the outcome wasn’t in Croatia’s favor. 

Slobodan Kadić

Croatia and the powerhouse that is France met in the World Cup final on July 15, 2018, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Decked out in their classic red and white checkers, Croatia came out playing the best football they had all tournament. An unlucky own goal by Mario Mandžukić put France in the lead in the 18th minute, though a left-footed rocket from Ivan Perišić made it 1:1 ten minutes later. 

A dreadful and quite questionable penalty was awarded to France after the referee consulted VAR - and Antonine Griezmann scored for 2:1 at the half. 

Croatia’s chances dimmed after Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe scored in the 59th and 65th minute for 4:1, though Croatia wouldn’t let the negative result stop them from tenaciously fighting through their first World Cup final. Mandžukić managed one more for Croatia in the 69th minute for 4:2, and France ultimately won the World Cup title. 

Though Croatia was defeated by a result that didn’t correctly reflect their heroics on the pitch, they had just achieved the greatest sporting success in the history of their country. 

While Croatia failed to become World Champions, their team did feature the best player of the World Cup, Luka Modrić.

"I'm sad because we lost, but I'm proud of everything we did in Russia. The feelings are mixed, but surely when the time passes, we will become aware of the incredible success we’ve achieved,” Modrić said a year ago, and went on to win every individual football award that season. 

Slobodan Kadić

And thanks to Croatia’s hero's welcome in Zagreb which continued throughout the country for weeks, you’d think Croatia won it all.

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

July 15, 2019 - The Croatia water polo team kicked off their World Championship campaign in Gwangju,  South Korea against Australia in Group B. 

After a month of preparations and tournaments, from Zagreb to Belgrade, Šibenik to Split, and Seoul to Gwangju, Croatia water polo finally began their World Championships on Monday at 12:30 pm Gwangju time (5:30 am in Croatia).

The 18th FINA World Championships are also of particular importance to Croatia - not only are they on a mission to secure a spot at the Tokyo Olympics next summer, but they’re determined to defend the title from Budapest in 2017, and, at the very least, win a medal (which would be their seventh consecutive at the World Champs). 

Thus, on Monday morning, Croatia met Australia, the strongest rival in Group B, and considered one of the toughest non-European teams who have a chance at winning a medal this tournament. Recall, just last month, Australia finished third in the World League finals in Belgrade, just after Croatia in second. They are coached by Croatian Elvis Fatović, after all. 

However, Croatia didn’t have much difficulty getting the result they wanted today. 

The first quarter ended 4:1 for Croatia, while the second finished 2:1 for a 6:2 Croatia lead at the half. Croatia’s dominance and superb defense showed especially in the third quarter, where they managed four goals and allowed Australia none. The fourth quarter ended 4:2 for Croatia, for a final score of 14:4. We must tip our hats to Croatia’s 28-year-old goalkeeper Marko Bijač, who was brilliant for the entirety of the match. 

Apart from Australia, Croatia plays in Group B against the United States and Kazakhstan. The United States and Kazakhstan met in the game before Croatia and Australia where the US won 16:7. 

The Croatia water polo team will play the US next in two days on July 17th at 9:50 am Gwangju time (2:50 am Croatia time). Croatia's final group game is against Kazakhstan on Friday, July 19th, at 8:30 pm Gwangju time (1:30 Croatia time). 

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

Fans of the Croatia national football team will be able to catch them in Rijeka and Pula this November. 

On Thursday, the 15th session of the Executive Committee of the Croatian Football Federation was held in Zagreb, chaired by president Davor Šuker, announced HNS. 

At the meeting, the HNS Executive Committee decided where the last two home matches of the Croatia national team will be played this calendar year. Thus, Croatia will host the final qualifying match for Euro 2020 against Slovakia on November 16 at 20:45, at the stadium of HNK Rijeka - Rujevica. 

Three days later, Croatia will meet in a friendly against Georgia at the Aldo Drosina Stadium in Pula, the Federation announced. 

Furthermore, the Executive Committee adopted all the decisions needed for the First and Second Croatian Leagues in the competitive 2019/20 season.

Recall,  Hajduk, the City of Split, and HNS held a historic meeting at Poljud last month to discuss, among a laundry list of items, the Croatia national team’s arrival in Split for the first time since 2015, and just the third time in 20 years. 

The outcome of the meeting revealed that Croatia would play their Euro 2020 qualifier against Hungary at Poljud Stadium in Split on October 10, 2019, at 20:45. Hajduk will not participate in the organization of the match and will join once they see that the Federation is working to improve their relationship. 

Thus, fans of Croatian football will be able to catch the 2018 World Cup finalists in Split, Rijeka, and Pula this year.

Croatia currently stands in third place of Group E for the UEFA Euro qualifiers. With wins against Azerbaijan and Wales, and one loss to Hungary,  Croatia has 6 points and is behind Slovakia in second place which has a better goal differential. Hungary tops the group with three wins and 9 points. 

Croatia will play Slovakia away on September 6, followed by Azerbaijan away on September 9, 2019. 

The European Championship next year will be held in 12 cities in 12 European countries from 12 June to 12 July 2020.

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

July 11, 2019 - July 11th is a historic day for Croatian football. On July 11, 1998, Croatia defeated Holland to secure the bronze medal at the World Cup in France. And on July 11, 2018, Croatia beat England for a spot in their first ever World Cup final. 

I’m not sure any summer can top the summer of 2018 in Croatia, which we’ve been reminded of especially over the last few days as we mark one year since Croatia’s historic World Cup campaign. 

My morning was met with a social media feed full of videos reminiscing about Croatia’s win against England in the semi-final of the World Cup in Russia. The streets were lined with red and white checkers, bodies were propped on the tops of cars, and Croatian flags waved with glory in the hot summer air. The sky glowed pink from flares, the sounds of car horns and loudspeakers blasting Croatia’s favorite patriotic songs filled every public square across the country, and the nation, for the first time in a long time, came together as one. 

On July 11, 2018, Croatia achieved its best ever result in football history, though not many believed they could. On the eve of the semi-final, journalists around the world questioned if Croatia had the stamina to surpass England, a nation who thought it was their year to bring football home, and who had an advantage over Croatia because their last two games didn’t move to penalties. Croatia was said to be mentally and physically exhausted after brutal battles against Denmark and Russia, and the legs on their fairytale were destined to buckle. 

Slobodan Kadić

Many of us worried that the media’s prophecy would be true after Trippier scored for England just five minutes into that historic semi-final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Croatia’s fatigue hardly carried them through the first half, which ended at 0:1 for England. Even the biggest believers in Croatia questioned if football really was going home to England that year. 

But Croatia’s second wind carried them through the second half, and Ivan Perišić scored the equalizer in the 68th minute. As the clock ticked to the final minute, time stopped for Croatian fans who feared they didn’t have a nerve left to spare to get them through another grueling extra time - especially one that decided their fate in the World Cup final. But with 10 minutes to go, Mario Mandžukić confirmed just why he is our Super Mario - and scored the goal that assured Croatia’s first ever World Cup final. The country erupted into madness. 

“How did I feel at that moment?” said Mandžukić. “I don’t know… I can’t find the words. I can’t; it was indescribable.” 

Slobodan Kadić

Which is a fair assessment to what most Croatians would say when looking back on that day. And I'd agree - it was indescribable. 

HNS

Thus, on July 11th, in the space of exactly twenty years ago, Croatia incredibly won two of the most important victories in its football history. 

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

Croatia's second NBA Summer League game against the Brooklyn Nets ended 58:74, though the result isn't entirely reflective of Croatia, who, similarly to the first match against Detroit, managed to hold their own, reports Sportske Novosti on July 8, 2019. 

Croatia even seemed better at times than two days ago, like at the start of the second half after Antonio Vranković scored for 39:37. Although the Nets had good rhythm, Croatia figured out their flow by halftime and found a solution for the aggressive Gray and Kurucs.

The entire third quarter, unlike against Detroit, was equal, though the problems began at the beginning of the last quarter. The Nets used their speed, which Croatia was unable to follow. But even with their high intensity, Croatia looked better on the court than they did on Friday. The Nets are also competing with two players who had serious playing time in the NBA last season -  Jarrett Allen and the Latvian Rodions Kurucs. The team also features Džanan Musa, who scored 15 points.

Željko Šakić achieved a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and one assist.

“It was the same as in the first game, we did well, but we had a black hole at the beginning of the last quarter. I think we are presenting ourselves in a good light here and playing well. This is a challenge, we have young players, but in these two games, a lot was good. As far as I'm concerned, I do not feel too much of a difference except in physical strength, because I have never played a physically demanding game, but I am grateful to the coach that I'm here, I’m living the dream,” said Željko Šakić, the oldest in the team and the captain of Croatia in Las Vegas. 

Croatia's top scorer on Sunday was Antonio Vranković, who scored 12 points, and collected eight rebounds, assist and two blocks.

“We went into the game worse, but we woke and were better. The coach set up a zone, and we did our job. We were much better than in the first game; we looked better as a team, we were able to handle the game more energetically. I hope we get at least one victory here,” said Antonio Vranković.

“The attack was better on Friday, but we showed a lot of good things now. In the last 35 minutes, they only scored 56 points. We are showing from game to game that we can match up with these guys and that deserves a positive rating,” said coach Veljko Mršić.

Ermal Kuqo, a scout for the Clippers, concluded.

“The arrival of Croatia in Las Vegas is the best thing that could happen for Croatian basketball. Just look at how the players are cheering for each other, jumping from the bench. This did not happen in your team before.”

Ivica Zubac and his girlfriend Kristina could also be seen in the crowd against the Nets. Recall, Zubac just signed a $28 million contract with the LA Clippers.

“I am surprised, I watched the first game on TV, and after watching it live the guys are really holding their own.”

Croatia will play their third match of the NBA Summer League on Tuesday at 9:30 pm against Oklahoma City. According to what both teams have shown so far, this could be the first real opportunity for Croatia to get an NBA win. 

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

On July 7, 2018, Croatia and Russia met in front of 40,000 fans for the quarterfinal of the World Cup in Sochi. The stadium shook like an earthquake. 

It was rumored that Vladimir Putin, the KGB, and special units helped Russia reach this stage of the competition, though nothing could help the host nation that night in Sochi. Croatia won on penalties and thus secured a spot in the World Cup semi-final, reports 24 Sata on July 7, 2019.

Judging by the game against Denmark, after Russia, it was clear the entire country needed psychiatric help, or pills to pop to get them through over 120 brutal minutes. This quarter-final was not for the faint of heart.

It was a game where Danijel Subašić fought through the pain to magically save a penalty with one foot, 

“During the warm-up, I felt pain in my muscle. I massaged my leg and saw that I could continue. The pain came again later, but I did not want to give up, I knew that the coach needed another substitution because many of them complained about problems,” said Subašić.

However, Suba became a hero, a hero of the nation, who eliminated Russia and Denmark.

Many players could barely stand on their feet during the game and looked at the bench after any hope a change could be made. 

"I do not know where they gathered their strength, they made a miracle," coach Zlatko Dalić said.

“During the break, masseuses quickly served the players, as in a Formula 1 box. I had a small edema, but I survived, as we survived the entire tournament,” said Subašić.

After 90 minutes, the game was 1:1, and after 120 minutes - 2:2. Croatia's fate would be decided by penalties for the second consecutive game.

But after the team and Croatians across the world spent all of their nerves against Denmark, how would anyone survive this drama again?

“How did I survive through penalties? Here, my stomach is still shaking. Horror, but who cares, we have entered the top four in the world,” said Mario Mandžukić.

Just as against Denmark, the last penalty came down to Ivan Rakitić - and the world stopped. Rakitić scored, and Croatia was off to the World Cup semi-final. 

The Croatian players sprinted from the half towards Rakitić, jumped on Zlatko Dalić and embraced Ivica Olić.

And there were tears. 

“I cried. No words can describe that feeling at that point, especially when it's over,” says Rakitić.

Before the game, Rakitić said he watched ‘Rocky’, the cult classic with Sylvester Stallone, as a motivator. 

Slobodan Kadić

"I watched Rocky fight against Ivan Drago and he wondered if we could do something like that because the Russians were strong, aggresive and tall. But we have come to the victory tonight, like Rocky,” said Rakitić after the game.

Before the game, defender Vedran Ćorluka was certain Croatia would move on.

“They do not have a chance. I know them very well and we are better in all positions, just about all,” said Ćorluka of the Russia team.

"I am experiencing all of the emotions, there is a lump in my throat, I’m crying on the bench, I'm overwhelmed, I could not stop. I was not able to stop the tears, so much happened. The players ran to the penalty box, where they went for Rakitić,” Dalić wrote in his book" Russia of Our Dreams ".

The dressing room celebration lasted for three hours. The team belted “Moja domovina”, “Nije u šoldima sve”, and “Dome moj”.

Croatia finally left without voices, with exhaustion swept across their faces. But who cared. After twenty years, they had repeated Croatia's greatest success and secured a spot in the World Cup semi-final. 

And their World Cup fairytale continued. 

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

The Croatia basketball team kicked off the first day of the NBA Summer League against the Detroit Pistons. While Croatia held their own for a mostly equal match and even managed to lead by 8 points, it was Detroit to win in the end, reports HKS on July 6, 2019.

Three minutes until the end of the third quarter, coach Veljko Mršić's squad still held their own at 55:55, but the Detroit club slowly pushed their way ahead in the last quarter as Croatia grew weaker to achieve a final score of 96:80.

In any case, Croatia showed their potential and played a solid game with a strong defense. Croatia’s next game is already on July 7 at 22:00 Croatia time against the Brooklyn Nets.

The best Croatia player was Željko Šakić with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Luka Babić scored 10 points with 4 assists, Roko Badžim 9 (with 2 rebounds and 2 assists), and Marjan Čakarun and Domagoj Vuković each secured 8 points.

The most famous Detroit player and former Cedevita player Will Cherry received 13 minutes on the court,  though he did not score a single point and only managed one steal.

"It was really great, given that this was our first game here and that this league is really good. I personally thought it would be worse, but I think the first half was great. In the second half, we fell a bit, but that's the glamour and charm of all this,” Željko Šakić said immediately after the end of the game.

Coach Veljko Mršić was also pleased: "The first game after 15 days of training is behind us. In the first half, we seemed strong. Two minutes until the end of the fourth quarter, it was still equal, but after that, it was hard to maintain their better physical abilities and athleticism. However, since this was the first match and I noticed a few things during this game, I think the score is satisfactory. This is a school tour where we will see which players can respond to this game and hope that everyone will profit and in the future be better players."

Recall the NBA Summer League features all 30 NBA teams along with the national teams of Croatia and China. The preliminary round runs from July 5-11, after which the top eight teams play in a single-elimination tournament from July 13-15. The remaining 24 teams will play a consolation game on July 12 or 13. All games are held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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

Croatia water polo coach Ivica Tucak announced a list of 13 players who will represent Croatia at the FINA World Championships from July 14 to 27 in Gwangju, South Korea. Croatia will try to defend the World Championship title, which they won in 2017, and secure their spot at the Tokyo Olympics next summer, reports Gol.hr on July 3, 2019. 

Tucak stressed that it was challenging to pick just 13 players out of the 20 who participated in the preparations in Šibenik, though he decided on goalkeepers Marko Bijač and Ivan Marcelić, defenders Andro Bušlje, Hrvoje Benić and Marko Macan, centers Luka Lončar and Josip Vrlić, and drivers Loren Fatović, Maro Joković, Javier Garcia, Ante Vukičević, Lovro Miloš and Anđelo Šetka.

"We have another dilemma, that is, a little problem with defender Marko Macan who broke his hand a few weeks ago and will be initially among the 13 players, but we have the right to make a change before the start, depending on the medical prognosis. The 14th player is Ivan Buljubašić. I want to thank this wonderful guy and top professional who has marked the last ten years of Croatian water polo, and it was not easy for him to travel and wait to see what the situation would be. This is proof of the cohesion in the team because it is not easy to accept such a decision,” Tucak said, pointing out that the ambitions of the World Championships are great because not only do they want to defend the title but it is crucial to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. 

HVS Vice-President and Executive Director Perica Bukić pointed out that going to the World Championships is the crown of the season, where Croatia has won six won medals, of which two are gold. 

"No other team in history has been able to achieve this. A medal in South Korea would be the seventh consecutive medal at the World Championships. The first goal, of course, is to defend the gold, and we will do everything to get to the final,” said Bukić.

"There are two spots for Tokyo at the World Championships, so the priority is to enter the final. I'm sure that we can and we also have quality, and the atmosphere in the team is superb. I hope we will come back with good results,” said captain Bušlje.

The World Championships is scheduled for July 14 to July 27. Croatia opens the tournament on July 15 against Australia. In the second round, on July 17, Croatia plays against the USA, and in the final duel of the group stage, on July 19, Croatia plays Kazakhstan. 

The first team in each of the four groups will go directly to the quarter-finals, and the second and third place teams will play for the remaining top 8 positions. 

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

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli expressed satisfaction with the tourism results in Croatia, where during the first half of the year, there have been 6.5 million arrivals and 26 million overnight stays, which is in line with expectations, reports Novi List on July 1, 2019.

"We have the results after the first six months, and we have executed what we had predicted. With a small imbalance in May due to the weather, everything else has gone to plan. At this time we have realized about 26 million overnights and about 6.5 million tourist arrivals.

Thus, everything is in line with our predictions, both in Istria and in other parts of the Adriatic,” Cappelli told reporters at the expert meeting “Investment Potential of Tourist Land” in Funtana. 

According to last year's statistics from the Croatian National Tourist Board, in the first six months of 2018, Croatia saw 6.4 million arrivals and 25.4 million overnight stays.

The minister also said that it is imperative that in the first half of this year that neither German nor British tourists are in the minus, as was predicted.

Cappelli emphasised once again that everything was going to plan and is accounted for by the growth of physical tourism indicators this year of about two to three percent.

Minister Cappelli is in Funtana participating in a meeting on the investment potential of tourism land, in which a draft bill of unreported construction land was presented, which is in public debate.

Before the meeting, the minister attended the opening ceremony of city beach Materada, for which the Ministry of Tourism granted Poreč almost half a million kuna through the tender from the Tourism Development Fund, while the Poreč Tourist Board invested an additional 1.5 million kuna.

The settlement included a coastal area stretching between the Špadići and Materada settlements in the length of 400 meters or 2.834 square meters, which will become the largest beach to be renovated in Poreč this year. The project paid special attention to persons with disabilities.

In other words, the City of Poreč has invested nearly 20 million kuna in the town's beaches over the past four years.

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

Croatia is bringing home eight medals from the European Games in Minsk, held from June 21 to 30, 2019.

After exactly ten competitive days at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk, the second European Games came to an end, reports HRT on June 30, 2019.

Our Croatian representatives are returning home with eight medals, of which two are gold, one is silver and five are bronze.

Croatia’s last chance to win a medal came from wrestler Ivan Huklek, who unfortunately remained one step away from the podium. 

Namely, Huklek was stopped in his last hurdle to a medal. After losing in the semifinal on Saturday to Azerbaijani Islam Abbasov in the 87kg category, he lost the third-place fight on Sunday to Hungarian Viktor Lorincz with a score of 7-1.

Thus, the Croatian delegation returns from Minsk with eight medals won. Croatia’s two gold medals were won by Lucija Babić in the sambo and Ivan Kvesić in the 84 kg category in karate. Ivan's brother Anđelo won the silver in the heavyweight category. Croatia's bronze medals were won by boxers Marko Milun and Toni Filipi, judoist Barbara Matić, table tennis player Tomislav Pucar, and shooter Mario Vavro.

With eight medals, Croatia took 28th place at the European Games this summer. 

The most successful athletes in Mink were from Russia who counted 109 medals - with 44 gold, 23 silver, and 42 bronze medals. Second place was secured by Belarus, who won 24 gold and a total of 69 medals, while in third is Ukraine who won 15 gold medals and 50 medals in total. 

HOO

The closing ceremony on Sunday featured all of the athletic participants, and martial artist Ivan Kvesić, who won one of Croatia's gold medals, proudly carried the Croatian flag.

Medals by Country

1. Russia 44 23 42 109 

2. Belarus 24 16 29 69

3. Ukraine 15 17 18 50 

4. Italy 12 15 13 40 

5. The Netherlands 9 13 7 29 

6. Germany 7 6 12 26 

7. Georgia 6 10 14 30 

8. France 6 9 13 28 

9. United Kingdom 6 9 8 23 

10. Azerbaijan 5 9 13 27 

11. Armenia 5 3 3 11 

12. Spain 5 2 6 13 

13. Hungary 4 6 9 19 

14. Slovenia 4 1 1 6 

14. Belgium 4 1 1 6 

16. Bulgaria 3 7 8 18 

17 Portugal 3 6 6 15 

18. Switzerland 3 3 4 10 

19. Israel 3 3 1 7 

20 Greece 3 2 4 9 

28 CROATIA 2 1 5 8

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