December 20, 2020 - The Croatia women's handball team topped Denmark in the bronze medal fight at the European Championships in Denmark! 

The Croatia women's handball team played their last match of the European Championships against the host of the tournament, Denmark, at 15:30 on Sunday. 

Croatia lost in the semi-final to the powerful France, which dominated every part of the game and celebrated 30:19.

Denmark offered much more resistance in the semi-final match to Norway but eventually lost 27:24. Denmark was the favorite for the bronze. 

Croatia v. Denmark Recap

Croatia scored the first goal of the match with a seven-meter shot for 1:0. Croatia scored for 2:0 in the 3rd minute and 3:0 in the 4th. Denmark scored their first goal in the 6th minute for 3:1 and came back for 3:2 in the 8th minute.

Debelic increased Croatia's lead to 4:2 moments later. Denmark equalized for 4:4 in the 10th.

Denmark took the lead for the first time of the match in the 12th minute - 4:5.  Denmark was up by two in the 14th - 4:6.

Debelic brought Croatia back to -2 in the 19th minute - 5:7, and a stellar Pijevic save stopped Denmark's next attack. Jezic scored for -1 in the 21st - 6:7.

Croatia equaled the score for 7:7 in the 23rd - and Posavec put Croatia back in the lead one minute later -  8:7!

Denmark took back the lead in the 26th - 8:9, but Croatia equalized seconds later. 

With three minutes to go in the first half, it was 10:10.  With two to go, Posavec gave Croatia the lead again for 11:0. 

The first half ended at 11:11. 

Croatia opened the first half with a goal for 12:11. Posavec scored for 14:12 in the 33rd. 

Croatia maintained the lead for the minutes that followed and were up by four in the 48th minute for 21:18. In the 50th minute, Posavec scored for 22:18! 

Simara scored for +5 with just over five minutes to go - 23:18 Croatia! Pijevic remained spectacular in goal. 

Croatia was up by 6 goals with just over three minutes to go, and it was 25:19 in the 57th.

Pijevic gave Denmark no hope - and Croatia held their 25:19 lead until the end! Katarina Jezic was named the player of the match.

This is the first medal in the history of the Croatia women's handball team! 

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

December 16, 2020 - The Croatian women's handball team advanced to the semi-final of the European Championships with a victory against Germany on Tuesday. The semi-final duel between Croatia and France will be played on Friday at 6 pm.

Gol.hr reports that France and Norway are the biggest favorites for gold at the Euros. France came to the Championship as the current European champion, and this will be no easy task for Nenad Šoštarić's team.

Reputable Lequipe presented the Croatia national team, and the journalists of the most widely read French sports newspaper pointed out the advantages of Croatia in the clash for the final.

"France, as first in the group, will meet Croatia in the semi-final, unexpectedly, as this is Croatia's first semifinal in history," begins Lequipe about Croatia.

"Croatia has never played a semi-final in its history, and since 2013, it has been known as a second-class handball team. They were constantly eliminated in the first round of big competitions, even at home in 2014," the French journalist points out.

"Ćamila Mičijević, a left-winger from Metz, is the fourth-best scorer of the competition with 30 goals, five on average. Goalkeeper Tea Pijević reigns in front of the goal, defending 37% on average. Her catching the ball with one hand will be remembered as one of the cult scenes of the Euro."

Lequipe points out that France is a big favorite but says they have to be careful because Croatia is experiencing euphoria, and there is no pressure for the medal. 

The last match between Croatia and France was back in 2007, and France celebrated 28:26.

France did not record a single defeat in the Euros, and only Russia managed to snatch a point from them.

In the first group stage, they defeated the host and the second semifinalist, Denmark, then Montenegro, and Slovenia. In the second round, apart from drawing against Russia, they defeated Spain and Sweden. Although this part of the draw was stronger, it should be noted that France recorded two victories only by one goal, against Montenegro and Spain, which gives Croatia hope. 

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

December 15, 2020 - The Croatia women's handball team topped Germany in a decisive match for a spot in their first-ever European Championship semi-final! 

Coach Nenad Šoštarić's side achieved historical placement in the semi-final of the European Championships in Denmark on Tuesday, which also automatically secures them a spot at the World Championships, which will be played in December next year in Spain.

Croatia could advance to the semi-final in three scenarios tonight - with a win, draw, and even defeat, but not by more than one goal. 

Croatia and Germany were equal at the start of the match, with a 4:4 score by the 10th and 8:8 in the 20th. 

Three minutes before the end of the half, Croatia goalkeeper Pijevic was brilliant in goal for 10:10 in the 27th minute. The first half ended at 12:12. 

Croatia led by two goals two minutes into the second half for 14:12 in the 32nd. Pijevic followed with a save in Germany's next attack. 

In the 35th minute, Croatia reached the biggest advantage of the match - 15:12, and up by four in the 37th (16:12)! Croatia was on fire - reaching a 5-goal advantage a minute later! 

In the 44th minute, Croatia led by 6 goals for 19:13. With under 10 minutes to go, Croatia maintained a 5-goal advantage - 22:17 in the 52nd. 

With two minutes to go, Croatia led 22:20, and with one minute - 23:20!

Croatia defended Germany's final attack to end the game 23:20! 

Croatia entered the Euros as the ultimate underdog, and coach Šoštarić had many problems with injuries and the selection of players before they left for Denmark. However, even with a weakened squad, Croatia shocked favorite Hungary in the first round, then the world champions the Netherlands and Serbia in the remaining group stage games.

Croatia opened the second round with a victory against another favorite, Romania, and then suffered their first defeat against a mighty Norway last Saturday. 

Croatia’s best result at the Euros thus far is fifth place in 1994.

To read more about Croatian handball, follow the Federation's official website.

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

December 10, 2020 - The Croatia women's handball team defeated Romania in the second round of the European Championship on Thursday, bringing them one step closer to the semifinals. 

The Croatia women's handball team began the second round of the European Championship against Romania in Kolding, Denmark on Tuesday after three incredible victories in the group stage against Hungary, the Netherlands, and Serbia.

While Croatia was behind for the first 20 minutes of the match, they equalized at 8:8 in the 21st minute and only went up from there. By the 27th minute, it was 12:9 for Croatia, and the first half ended with them up by 4 (14:10)!

Croatia's momentum continued in the second half, with brilliant saves by Tea Pijevic in goal. It was 15:11 for Croatia in the 34th minute, and 17:12 just three minutes later! In the 41st minute, Croatia still had a 5-goal advantage -  and in the 44th minute, it was 19:15. 

Romania reduced their lead to 19:17 in the 48th minute, forcing Croatia to call a timeout. 

A goal moments later put Croatia back up to +3, and with just over 10 minutes to go, it was crucial for the girls to hold onto this advantage. 

In the 52nd minute, it was 21:17 for Croatia, and in the 54th minute, 22:18. Tea Pijevic was stellar in goal with another save in the 56th minute, and with three minutes to go, it was 23:19 for Croatia. A five-goal advantage for Croatia with two minutes to go nearly sealed their victory, though they remained solid in the defense to avoid a dramatic finish. 

With less than one minute to go, Romania's final attack failed. Croatia scored the final goal of the match for the 25:20 victory! 

With this victory, Croatia writes another beautiful page in handball history, because they have never achieved four consecutive wins at the European Championship. Croatian had never defeated Romania at the European Championships either, and in four games played before this, Romania won each time.

Romania is a national team with an extremely rich tradition and three world champion titles, though it was a long time ago - in 1956, 1960, and 1962. They also have two silver medals from the World Championship. Romania's last medals were won in Denmark - bronze from the European Championship in 2010 (then Norway was also a co-host) and bronze from the World Championship in 2015.

To read more about Croatia handball, follow the official website of the Croatian Handball Federation.

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

December 6, 2020 - More great news from the 2020 Women's European Handball Championships in Denmark, as Croatia surprises the Netherlands 27:25!

The Croatia women's handball team surprised us yet again at the European Championships in Denmark. In the 2nd round match, Croatia defeated the world champions, the Netherlands, 27:25.

After defeating favorite Hungary in the first round, this is another excellent result for Croatian handball. 

In the first half, Nenad Šoštarić's team had a three-goal advantage three times (4:1, 9:6, 11:8), but the Netherlands left at halftime with a minimal advantage (14:13). In the second half, both teams took turns in the lead, and Croatia gained a two-goal advantage in the last minutes.

Thus, the national team that no one believed in before the tournament showed incredible perspective and talent and proved that they can play against any national team in the world.

With this victory, Croatia has secured the second round in which the three best teams from each group advance, and on Monday at 18:15 in Kolding, they will play against Serbia for first place in the group.

The Netherlands, the current world champion, a team that has won five medals and one fourth place in the last six major world competitions (Olympic Games, World and European Championships), was the absolute favorite ahead of this match.

More soon..

Source: Index.hr

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