January 26, 2019 - The Croatia handball team met Sweden for the 5th place game of the World Handball Championship on Saturday. 

January 24, 2019 - In the semi-final of the World Handball Championship, Germany will play Norway and Denmark will play France on Friday in Hamburg. The Croatia handball team will play for fifth place against Sweden in Herning on Saturday. 

January 23, 2019 - The Croatia handball team met France for the last game of the main round of the World Championship in Germany and Denmark.

After two defeats in the first two games against Brazil and Germany in the main round, the Croatian ‘Cowboys’ were no longer fighting for a medal in the tournament. 

However, Lino Červar's team still had an end goal in mind at the competition, and that was a place in the qualifications for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In order to do that, Croatia needed to finish among the top 7 teams at the World Championship - and they needed to beat France. 

Croatia and France, great rivals, met at 6 pm in Cologne. 

Croatia started with the attack in the game, though it didn’t result in a goal. Šego made an incredible save, and Štrlek missed. There was no goal for either side in the first three minutes of the game. 

France ultimately scored for 1:0 at 3:15, though Horvat scored to equalize from a 7-meters throw. France retook the lead in the 5th minute for 2:1. Štrlek scored not long after with a long ball from Šego in the 6th minute. 

France retook the lead in the 8th minute for 3:2. Musa equalized for 3:3 in the 10th.

Horvat finally put Croatia ahead 3:4 just moments before the 11th minute - and then Horvat scored again in an open goal for 3:5 Croatia! 

Musa scored in the 12th minute for 4:6, and the brilliant Horvat lobbed the ball into the goal again for 5:7 in the 15th minute! 

Vranković scored in the 21st minute for 8:10, though France came back for 9:10 moments later. France equalized in the 24th and retook the lead in the 25th for 11:10. 

Croatia and France ended 11:11 at the half. 

Croatia was first to score in the second half with a 7-meters throw by Zlatko Horvat, though France equalized moments later for 12:12. In the 36th minute, it was 13:13. 

A quick Croatia counter-attack gave them the lead for 13:14, and again for 13:15! Duvnjak scored for Croatia’s 16th and Mandić for the 17th. 

Vranković scored int he 47th for 16:18, and Mandić scored for Croatia’s biggest lead yet - 16:19! 

In the 49th minute, Croatia got a throw from 7-meters which Horvat nailed for a new lead - 16:20. 

In the 54th minute, it was 19:21 for Croatia - and in the 56th minute, Štrlek scored for 19:22!

Vida scored in the 59th minute to secure the game. The final score was 20:23 for Croatia and Marin Šego was named the player of the game! 

Croatia has thus secured placement in the qualifications for the 2020 Olympic Games and will fight for the 5th place at the World Championship. 

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

January 21, 2019 - The Croatia handball team and Germany met for the second game of the World Handball Championship's main round on Monday in Cologne.

January 20, 2019 - The Croatia handball team met Brazil in the main round of the World Handball Championship on Sunday. 

January 17, 2019 - The Croatia handball team met Spain for the decisive game of Group B on Thursday evening, which ultimately decided the winner of their group. 

January 16, 2019 - After three wins in the World Handball Championship against Iceland, Japan and Macedonia, the Croatia handball team met Bahrain in their fourth game of Group B on Wednesday.

The least crucial game for Croatia in the tournament so far, Lino Červar decided to rest some of the team’s best players before they meet Spain on Thursday. 

Croatia was the first to score with a goal by Kozina for 1:0 in the first minute. Bičanić made it 2:0 in the third. 

All fans welcomed the return of Luka Cindrić in today’s meeting, who was rested for two games - and he scored for 3:1 Croatia in the 5th minute. 

With the help of Štrlek and Vida, Croatia was up 7:3 in the 10th, giving them their most significant advantage yet. And they continued with strength, to be up five goals in the 14th minute. 

Manuel Štrlek scored his fourth goal in the 21st minute for 13:6, and it was clear that this game would be a walk in the park for the Croatian side. 

With five minutes to go, Croatia was up by 8, and the first half ended 19:9. 

Croatia started the second half strong, and Damir Bičanić scored for Croatia in the first attack. Štrlek scored his fifth goal in the 32nd minute, Mandić scored his first in the game in the 34th, and in the 39th minute, Croatia was up by 9 in the 40th (23:14). By the 45th minute, it was 25:14 for Croatia.

In the 52nd minute, Štrlek scored his 10th goal of the game, and it was 28:18 for Croatia. 

A brilliant Croatia ended the game with a final result of 32:20, and Manuel Štrlek was named the player of the game. 

Croatia will play Spain for the biggest game of Group B on Thursday at 8:30 pm. 

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

January 14, 2019 - The Croatia handball team met Macedonia in the World Championship on Monday. 

The Croatia handball team met Japan in their second game of Group B at the World Championship in Munich, reports Gol.hr on January 13, 2019. 

After the Croatia men’s handball team opened the 2019 World Handball Championship with a major victory against Iceland, they faced Japan at 16:30 on Sunday. 

Croatia entered the game as the favorite over Japan, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Already by the 5th minute, Croatia was up 3:1, though Šego did have to make some good saves in goal. 

It was Vranković and Štrlek to break Japan for 6:1 in the 8th minute and Duvnjak lobbed one across the entire court for 7:1. 

Japan finally got their second goal in the 13th minute and continued with a series of goals for 10:6 in the 15th. 

With Šego’s excellent goalkeeping, Japan really wasn’t able to do much - Horvat scored for 13:7 and Karačić scored for 14:7. Japan, however, was finally able to come back to -5. 

Bičanić and Karačić scored for 18:12 in the 30th minute, and at the half, the score was 18:13 for Croatia. 

Croatia continued strong in the second half, and by the 40th minute, Croatia was up by 10 - and better yet, with the help of Mandić, Croatia was up by 11 in the 49th minute. 

Croatia did not fail to keep the big advantage in the remaining 10 minutes and ended the game with a final result of 35:27. Croatia has thus secured their second win in Group B of the World Championship. Zlatko Horvat was named the player of the match. 

Croatia will play Macedonia on Monday, January 14th, for their third game of Group B, followed by Bahrain on the 16th and Spain to finish off the group on January 17th.

Bravo, Croatia!

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