Croatia celebrate main round berth with win against Romania

Xavier Pascual’s side go home after conceding three losses in three matches in their comeback after 28 years in the European premium competition, although they showed periods where they could compete with their opponents and demonstrated promise for the future.

GROUP B

Croatia vs Romania 31:25 (16:12)

• a 4:0 unanswered run to end the first half was the pivotal moment of the match, as Croatia prevented Romania from scoring for the last three minutes to jump to a 16:12 lead at the break
• replacing the injured Ivan Martinovic in the line-up, right back Luka Lovro Klarica was Croatia’s top scorer in the match, with seven goals and five assists on his way to the Grundfos Player of the Match award
• Croatia, the third best attack so far at the EHF EURO 2024, with 98 goals, have qualified for the main round of the EHF EURO for the 10th time in a row, missing out only once since the format was introduced in 2002
• centre back Domagoj Duvnjak entered on the court late in the second half, celebrating his 247th cap in the national team and becoming the player with the most appearances for Croatia
• Croatia have ensured a main round berth, but they will need to wait for the match between Spain and Austria to see how many points they carry over into the next phase

Turnovers issues plague Romania and lift Croatia to big win

In their 110th match at the EHF EURO, Croatia did not need to sweat a lot for securing their 65th win, as Romania could only go toe-to-toe with their opponents for 20 minutes. The first crucial moment was before the break, when Croatia rode a 4:0 run to create their largest lead, 16:12.

Then, Croatia took advantage of Romania’s tired legs, as the plethora of turnovers from Xavi Pascual’s side were an invitation for Croatia to score easy goals on the fast break, which they did without much of a problem.

While Croatia are heading to the main round, Romania are going home, having lost three out of three, with some strong lessons under their belt. Nevertheless, Pascual’s side will not finish last, as they have a better goal difference (-26) than Bosnia Herzegovina and Greece (both on -28).

Photo © Kolektiff Images