This year’s handball tournament will be remembered by fans and athletes for a long time. This is not only due to sometimes even bizarre pandemic restrictions and a huge number of tests, but also to surprising decisions. After the group stage, even the Hungarians were eliminated. Now Croatia will almost certainly fall out.
Croatia lost to the revelation of the European Championships
The runners-up of the Old Continent three years ago started the Hungarian-Slovak tournament with a defeat with France (22:27). In the next group games, the Croats were already defeating Serbia (23:20) and Ukraine (38:25). In the first game of the second round of games they hit. And there was even a sensation.
The eighteenth representation of the previous edition of the event quickly took the lead and scored goals regularly. He scored 7 hits, for example, from Łomża Vive Kielce. And after the first half, everything indicated a sensation, because Montenegro was leading 15: 9. After the change of sides, the Montenegrins did not allow the Croatians to make up for the losses and won 32:26, thus scoring the first points in the basic phase.
– Montenegrins completely beat us in all segments of the game. We were slow and not strong enough in defense and without imagination in the attack, write shocked rtl.hr journalists. The media also pay attention to Nebojs Simić, who was doing great in the goal, who showed off 14 defenses.
Croatia has run into quite a bit of trouble, as it remains without points in the basic phase. There are three more matches ahead of the team, which has been in the top four since 2004, but the chances of reaching the semi-finals are only theoretical. Montenegro, on the other hand, is becoming one of the greatest revelations of this championship. So far, she has only lost the match against Denmark. Then she won successively with North Macedonia, Slovenia and now Croatia.
Situation in group I of the second phase of ME:
- 1. France – 2 games, 4 points (goal balance +15)
- 2. Denmark – 2 games, 4 points (goal balance +13)
- 3. Iceland – 2 games 2 points (goal balance -3)
- 4. Montenegro – 2 matches, 2 points (balance of goals -3)
- 5. Netherlands – 2 games, 0 points (goal balance -11)
- 6. Croatia – 2 matches, 0 points (goal balance -11)
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
