Croatia (CRO)
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Croatia qualified for their 16th EHF EURO in a row after exciting matches in qualification group 5. Croatians secured second place after two strong victories against Greece and Belgium and two well-fought duels against the Netherlands, ending in a draw and a defeat.
Croatia have never missed the EHF EURO and after three bronze and silver medals, they are still dreaming about the only gold missing in their collection. Finishing eighth at the EHF EURO 2022 and ninth at the 2023 IHF Men's World Championship prompted new coaching changes.
Hrvoje Horvat was replaced by former Croatian player Goran Perkovac, who was part of the squad that won a bronze medal at their first-ever appearance at the EHF EURO 1994. Perkovac introduced new additional young players to the team with an expansion of the base while keeping the core the same – the backcourt line of Domagoj Duvnjak, Igor Karacic and Luka Cindric.
Croatia hope to present a new style while bringing back their famous 3-2-1 defence into the mix and two young goalkeepers Matej Mandic and Dominik Kuzmanovic will welcome their first major competition in the main role.
Looking for another solid performance, with the first goal set to be in the main round, Croatia will try to overcome Spain at the start of the competition and later beat Austria and Romania. However, the hopes are high as the last EHF EURO 2022 marked their worst placement in 20 years.
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# | Player | MP | Goals | Shots | % | 7m | YC | RC | 2 Min | TP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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TOTAL | {{totalGoals}} | {{totalShots}} | {{totalShotsEfficiency}} | {{total7mGoals}}/{{total7mShots}} | {{totalWarnings}} | {{totalDisqualifications}} | {{totalTwoMinPenalties}} |
# | Goalkeeper | MP | Saves | Shots | % | 7m |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
{{item.playerInfo.shirtNumber}} | {{item.playerInfo.person.lastName}}, {{item.playerInfo.person.firstName}} | {{item.statistics.matchesPlayed}} | {{item.statistics.goalKeeperSaves}} | {{item.statistics.goalKeeperShotsReceived}} | {{item.statistics.goalKeeperSavesEfficiency}} | {{item.statistics.goalKeeperSaves7M}}/{{item.statistics.goalKeeperReceivedShots7M}} |
TOTAL | {{totalSaves}} | {{totalShotReceives}} | {{totalSaveEfficiency}} | {{total7mSaves}}/{{total7mShotsReceives}} |
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EHF Competition History
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
































































































































































































































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
















EURO CUP
2022 - 2nd place
ECh Beach Handball
2021 - 2nd place
European Championship
2020 - 2nd place
ECh Beach Handball
2017 - 3rd place
European Championship
2016 - 3rd place
ECh Beach Handball
2015 - Champion
ECh Beach Handball
2013 - Champion
European Championship
2012 - 3rd place
ECh Beach Handball
2011 - Champion
European Championship
2010 - 2nd place
ECh Beach Handball
2009 - Champion
European Championship
2008 - 2nd place
ECh Beach Handball
2007 - 2nd place
World Championship
2005 - 2nd place
Olympic Games
2004 - Champion
World Championship
2003 - Champion
Olympic Games
1996 - Champion
World Championship
1995 - 2nd place
European Championship
1994 - 3rd place
Key Players

At the age of 35, Domagoj Duvnjak remains a key player for Croatia and is by far the most-capped Croatian player at EHF EURO 2024, with 242 international matches and 747 goals under his belt at the start of the tournament. Duvnjak was an All-star Team member at EHF EURO 2014 and the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, and MVP at EHF EURO 2020. He has won three EHF EURO silver medals (in 2008, 2010 and 2020) and two bronzes (2012 and 2016), in addition to bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games, World Championship silver in 2009 and bronze in 2013. Duvnjak was named IHF World Handball Player of the Year in 2013 and best Bundesliga player in 2012/13. His club career has been spent entirely at THW Kiel since 2014, when he joined the club after five seasons in Hamburg; he recently announced a contract extension until 2025.

Ivan Martinovic made his debut for the Croatian national team in qualification for the EHF EURO 2020, and is fast-becoming a star for the squad - scoring 154 goals in just 35 matches for Croatia so far. Martinovic was born in Vienna, and started playing handball at Fivers. He joined MT Melsungen from TSV Hannover-Burgdorf in 2022. Martinovic’s role models are Ivano Balic and team captain Domagoj Duvnjak, and his brother Marin and sister Kristina are also handball players playing for Austria.
Head Coach

Goran Perkovac took over as the Croatia head coach in February 2023, replacing Hrvoje Horvat. Perkovac previously led the Swiss and Greek national teams, and has also coached Pfadi Winterthur, Kadetten Schaffhausen, GWD Minded, TuS N-Lübbecke and Kriens Luzern at club level. Although Perkovac spent most of his playing and coaching career in Switzerland, he was the team captain of Croatia when they won gold at the Atland 1996 Olympic Games; he also won silver at the 1995 IHF Men's World Championship with Croatia, and bronze at the 1988 Olympic Games with Yugoslavia.