Croatia loses to Germany in semis, will play for bronze at EHF Championship

The Croatian men’s handball team failed to reach the final of the European Championship in Herning, Denmark, after losing 31–28 (17–15) to Germany in Friday’s semi-final.

Croatia will now play for the bronze medal against the loser of the other semi-final between Denmark and Iceland. The winner of that match will face Germany in Sunday’s final.

Germany was once again led by outstanding goalkeeper Andreas Wolff, who recorded 13 saves, while Lukas Zerbe was the team’s top scorer with six goals.

For Croatia, Tin Lučin led the scoring with six goals. Luka Lovre Klarica and Ivan Martinović added five each. Goalkeepers Dominik Kuzmanović had seven saves, while Matej Mandić stopped one seven-metre throw.

Dagur Sigurdsson’s team held the lead for most of the first half, but Germany turned the game around late and went into the break up by two. Croatia cut the deficit to one early in the second half, but Germany responded with a decisive 5–0 run and built a seven-goal lead that proved too much to overcome.

Croatia narrowed the gap to two goals in the final minute, but the comeback fell short.

With the loss, Croatia once again missed out on the only major medal still missing from its collection—European Championship gold. On Sunday, however, the team will have a chance to claim its fourth European Championship bronze medal.