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Croatia men's national handball team

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Croatia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Information
NicknameKauboji (The Cowboys)
AssociationCroatian Handball Federation
CoachGoran Perkovac
Assistant coachBoris Dvoršek
CaptainDomagoj Duvnjak
Most capsIgor Vori (246)
Most goalsDomagoj Duvnjak (760)
Colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
1st
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
2nd
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances5 (First in 1996)
Best resultGold 1st (1996, 2004)
World Championship
Appearances15 (First in 1995)
Best resultGold 1st (2003)
European Championship
Appearances15 (First in 1994)
Best resultSilver 2nd (2008, 2010, 2020)
Last updated on Unknown.
Croatia men's national handball team
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Team
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2003 Portugal
Silver medal – second place 1995 Iceland
Silver medal – second place 2005 Tunisia
Silver medal – second place 2009 Croatia
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Spain
European Championship
Silver medal – second place 2008 Norway
Silver medal – second place 2010 Austria
Silver medal – second place 2020 Sweden/Austria/Norway
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Portugal
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Serbia
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Poland
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 1993 Languedoc-Rousillon
Gold medal – first place 1997 Bari
Gold medal – first place 2001 Tunis Team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Tarragona Team
Silver medal – second place 2005 Almería Team
Silver medal – second place 2013 Mersin Team

The Croatia national handball team (Croatian: Hrvatska rukometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international men's team handball competitions and friendly matches. The handball team is controlled by the Croatian Handball Federation (HRS).

Croatia has often been portrayed[1] as an international force in handball, having won two Olympic gold medals and one World Championship, but never winning the Euros, having lost three finals, one to rivals France, one to Denmark, and one to Spain. The Croatian national team that won the 1996 Olympic gold medal was often credited as the biggest upset in history of handball, with handball making its debut appearance.[2] The Croatian national team won a so-called "international double" after winning both the gold medal at the Olympics (2004) and the World Championship (2003), beating Germany in both finals.

Croatia's handball team has often been labelled[3] as a model for sport, often being the replacement for Romania in Europe's "Big three" in handball, alongside France and Denmark.[4] Some of their biggest rivals are neighbours Slovenia, Hungary and Serbia. Germany are also called rivals of the handball team, although matches between Germany and Croatia have been met with Croatian dominance, Germany only winning once in their nine meetings, and Croatia winning seven times. Mediterranean side Spain have also been called as close rivals, having played 23 games with them, the most out of any sides the Croatians have played within handball. However, the French are often remarked as Croatia's biggest-ever rival in handball, due to both countries' successes. In recent history though, Croatia often suffered eliminations at the hands of the French.[5]

History

Handball in Austria-Hungary (1904–1918)

The word handball in the Croatian region was first used by Franjo Bučar, describing the German game Schleuderball in the journal Sokol 1904. The earliest documented forms of playing handball in these areas appear in 1911 in the gymnasium of Pazin, which is among other things due to the fact that programs for education in Istria, as part of the then Austrian coast, coming from the education center in Graz. In Croatia, at the time handball was in high school programs closing ceremony. It was a kind of Czech handball extended from the Czech Republic, where it was adopted by the Osijek and Vukovar students from Prague.[6]

Between the two world wars (1918–1941)

In the early beginnings of the Croatian handball, venues played field handball and handball. Students were still more attracted to field handball, because the little handball were played on makeshift courts without the right door, as opposed to the field handball, which is played on the existing football fields.[7] During the Kingdom of Yugoslavia first public handball match in the Croatian region was played and in the wider neighborhood. It was played in a high school in Varaždin 29 May 1930 under the guidance of physical education teachers Zvonimir Šuligoj. Since that game, until 1950, in Croatia and Yugoslavia publicly played exclusively field handball, on the football field with eleven players on each side. In high school in Zagreb on 1 June 1935, opened the first handball courts in Yugoslavia.[8]

The establishment of Croatian Handball Federation and the first Croatian national team (1941–1945)

At the beginning of World War II Kingdom of Yugoslavia disintegrated. Most of the territory inhabited by Croats on 10 April 1941, it became part of the newly formed Independent State of Croatia (NDH). As part of the new state on 2 October 1941 in Zagreb for the first time in history the Croatian Handball Federation (HRS) was established.[9] The place of foundation is recorded to be at the Croatian Sports home in Jurišićeva, Zagreb. HRS is the umbrella organization of handball in the ISC coordinated the work of a dozen clubs and until 1944 organized national championships. In the state of NDH was established the first Croatian handball team. The first training for practice-match team NDH was held on 12 October 1941 between the two teams selected from the head coach Dragutin Pehe. His first and only international match this team played on 14 June 1942 with Hungary in Budapest where they lost 0:9. This field handball match was played in front of 30,000 spectators at the then NEP Stadium (since 2002 Ferenc Puskás Stadium) was a prelude meeting of the football teams of the same name.[10] The best handball player in the field was the goalkeeper Branko Kralj. Under the direction of the coach Ante Škrtić, the players for Croatia were Vlado Abramović, Irislav Dolenec, Žarko Galetović, Zvonko Leskovar, Todor Marinov, Viktor Medved, Krešo Pavlin, Vlado Šimanović Stjepan Širić, Josip Žitnik and reserve goalkeeper Zdenko Šurina. HRS stopped functioning in 1944 because of the war in World War II.[11]

Handball in SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1991)

When the 1945 World War II ended, the territory of the Independent State of Croatia was included in the newly established SFR Yugoslavia.

Immediately after that began the reconstruction of the war abandoned handball in Yugoslavia, and that same year founded the Committee for handball Gymnastics Association Croatian, and in May 1948 the Committee for handball Gymnastics Association of Yugoslavia. Operation HRS is restored on 19 December 1948, in which he, in accordance with the national policy of the new Yugoslav state, name changed in the Croatian Handball Association (RSH). Handball Federation of Yugoslavia (RSJ) was established on 17 December 1949 in Belgrade by pooling national and provincial associations, and it became a member of the International Handball Federation (IHF) in 1950.[12]

After the end of World War II, most field handball players of NDH completed courses and became instructors or referees in handball. Some of them have become members of the field handball national team of Yugoslavia and played in its first international match, played on 19 June 1950 at the stadium in Stadion Kranjčevićeva in Zagreb, against Belgium. Yugoslavia won 18:3 playing with nine players from Zagreb, one from Split and one from Sarajevo.[13]

Since the end of World War II until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, the best Croatian handball players in field and team handball played for the national team of Yugoslavia. With this national team Croatians have performed at 17 major competitions and won seven medals. These are two Olympic gold medals, the Olympic bronze, world gold, world silver and two bronze world. Among the other famous trophy, in this period they won 5 gold medals in five appearances at the Mediterranean Games (1967, 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1991), two gold and one bronze medal at the World Cups held in 1971, 1974 and 1984 in Sweden, 2 bronze medals at handball Super League held in 1981 and 1983 in Germany and silver at the 1990 goodwill Games in Seattle.

At the World Junior Championship in 1987 in Rijeka there was created a nucleus generation that will define the nineties and bring some of the most beautiful handball stories for the Croatian national team. Alvaro Načinović, Iztok Puc, Vladimir Jelčić and other predominantly have won this championship playing for Yugoslavia, and their talent and knowledge are later incorporated as seniors in the first Croatian success after independence of the country.[14]

Place Croatians in the team of Yugoslavia[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] Croatian head coaches
10th place at WC 1952 Irislav Dolenec (player) Ivan Snoj / Irislav Dolenec
5th place at WC 1955. Irislav Dolenec (player), Stjepan Korbar Ivan Snoj / Irislav Dolenec
8th place at WC 1958 Jerolim Karadža, Lovro Manestar, Božidar Peter, Zlatko Šimenc?, Ivan Špoljarić Ivan Snoj
9th place at SP 1961. Anton Bašić, Ivan Đuranec, Zvonko Jandroković, Jerolim Karadža, Božidar Peter,[36] Zlatko Šimenc? Ivan Snoj
6th place at WC 1964 Vojislav Bjegović, Vinko Dekaris, Ivan Đuranec, Lujo Györy, Jerolim Karadža, Zvonko Kocijan, Josip Milković, Vladimir Vićan, Albin Vidović, Zlatko Žagmešter Ivan Snoj
7th place at WC 1967 Vinko Dekaris, Ivan Đuranec, Hrvoje Horvat, Jerolim Karadža, Branko Klišanin, Josip Milković, Miroslav Pribanić, Dobrivoje Selec, Ninoslav Tomašić, Ivan Uremović,[37] Vladimir Vićan Ivan Snoj / Irislav Dolenec
Gold medal at MG 1967 Hrvoje Horvat, Miroslav Klišanin, Josip Milković, Ivan Uremović, Albin Vidović Ivan Snoj / Vlado Štencl
Bronze medal at WC 1970 Abas Arslanagić, Hrvoje Horvat, Marijan Jakšeković, Dragutin Mervar, Josip Milković, Miroslav Pribanić, Zlatko Žagmešter Ivan Snoj / Vlado Štencl
Gold medal at WC 1971 Ivan Snoj
Gold medal at OG 1972 Abas Arslanagić, Hrvoje Horvat, Zdravko Miljak, Miroslav Pribanić, Dobrivoje Selec, Albin Vidović, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj / Vlado Štencl
Bronze medal at WC 1974 Abas Arslanagić, Hrvoje Horvat, Zdravko Miljak, Željko Nimš, Zvonimir Serdarušić, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj / Josip Milković
Gold medal at WC 1974 Ivan Snoj
Gold medal at MG 1975 Abas Arslanagić, Zdravko Miljak, Željko Nimš, Miroslav Pribanić, Zvonimir Serdarušić, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj
5th place at OG 1976 Abas Arslanagić, Hrvoje Horvat, Zdravko Miljak, Željko Nimš, Zvonimir Serdarušić, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj / Pero Janjić
5th place at WC 1978[38] Hrvoje Horvat, Zdravko Miljak, Željko Nimš, Zvonimir Serdarušić,[39] Željko Vidaković, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj / Zdravko Malić
Gold medal at MG 1979 Pavle Jurina, Željko Vidaković, Zdravko Zovko, Željko Zovko
6th place OG 1980 Pavle Jurina, Stjepan Obran
Bronze medal SC 1981
Silver medal at WC 1982 Mirko Bašić, Pavle Jurina, Stjepan Obran, Zdravko Zovko
Bronze medal SC 1983
Gold medal at MG 1983 Mirko Bašić, Pavle Jurina, Stjepan Obran, Željko Vidaković, Zdravko Zovko
Bronze medal at SC 1984
Gold medal at OG 1984 Mirko Bašić, Pavle Jurina, Zdravko Zovko / Abas Arslanagić (GK coach)
Gold medal at WC 1986 Mirko Bašić, Zlatko Saračević / Abas Arslanagić (GK coach and fitness coach)
Bronze medal at OG 1988 Mirko Bašić, Boris Jarak, Alvaro Načinović, Goran Perkovac, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Irfan Smajlagić Abas Arslanagić
4th place at WC 1990[40][41] Mirko Bašić, Nenad Kljaić, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Irfan Smajlagić, Ratko Tomljanović
Silver medal at GG 1990[42][43] Patrik Ćavar, Bruno Gudelj, Nenad Kljaić
Gold medal at MG 1991 Tomislav Farkaš, Valter Matošević

Modern Croatia national handball team (1991–present)

Official formation and first competitions (1991–1996)

Croatia on 30 May 1990 began the process of creating the independent state, and soon established and modern Croatian handball team. The first international match of the Croatian handball team was played on 14 January 1991 in Zagreb, in Kutija Šibica. It was a friendly match with Japan which ended in a draw 23:23. The team was coached by Josip Milković with assistant coach Lino Červar and the players were Patrik Čavar, Tonči Peribonio, Vlado Šola, Ivica Obrvan, Nenad Kljaić, Iztok Puc, Ratko Tomljanović, Bruno Gudelj, Željko Zovko, Stjepan Obran, Tomislav Farkaš, Robert Ipša, Ivo Glavinić and Goran Stojanović.[44] The dissolution of Yugoslavia that followed, Croatia gained full independence on 8 October 1991 the Croatian Handball Association (RSH) in 1992 restored the original name of the Croatian Handball Federation (HRS), and on 10 April 1992 became a member of the International Handball Federation (IHF), and 23 July 1992 members of the European Handball Federation (EHF).[45]

Taking fourth place at the 1990 World Championship in Czechoslovakia the Yugoslav national team was placed among the nine best teams of the tournament, which acquired them the right to participate in the upcoming 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Because of the war and the disintegration of Yugoslavia, this team was disqualified, and should it was supposed to be specified who will replaced them in the games. Since the Croatian Olympic Committee (COC) was provisionally recognized on 17 January 1992 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and since Croatia had already on 22 May 1992 become a member of the United Nations, Croatian handball players had conditions to perform at the Olympic Games in 1992.[46] This unfortunately did not happen. Although Croatia in terms of game was handball superpower, it was decided that Yugoslavia would be replaced by Iceland at the games as they finished tenth at the 1990 World Championship.[47] Adverse effects of certain officials in the IOC prevented even the option of maintaining an additional qualifying tournament like the one held for the Croatian basketball players. Croatia also missed the 1993 World Championship in Sweden, because the World Championship in 1990 was an elimination tournament for this championship.

The following years, in spite of the short history of the country brought the Croatian team very significant results in important competitions. Croatia won its first official competition at the Mediterranean Games in 1993 in Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Croatia won gold. At the first ever European Championship in 1994 held in Portugal the team was led by Zdravko Zovko they won their first medal at this first major international competition. The group stage ended with Croatia finishing behind then powerful Russians, but in front of the French, led by the famous Jackson Richardson. In the semi-finals, the Swedes were better and Croatia played the third place match and won in a dramatic match against Denmark. Sweden won the tournament demolishing the Russians in the final with 13 points.[48] A year later at the 1995 World Championships in Iceland Croatia relatively went easily from group stage to the quarter final where there was brought a rarely seen drama. Tunisia was defeated after penalty shootout. Then the team beat Egypt in the quarter finals and Sweden men's national handball team in the semi-finals. In the final they the French were too big an obstacle for Zovko guys won their first Croatian World Championship silver medal.[49] Sweden won the bronze defeating Germany. The next year at the European Championship in 1996 in Spain, Croatia, was led by Abas Arslanagić. Croatia lost took fifth place with victory over the Czech Republic where the match was led by Vladimir Nekić because Arslanagić quit after Croatia failed to enter the semi-finals. The championship was won by Russia.[50]

Željko Kavran, the Chairman of the Croatian Handball Federation 1995–2008.

Gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics

On the second Olympics in which Croatian athletes performed under the banner of the Croatian flag and won their first gold medal. This was won by the athletes who were least expected to win it, handball players. They were sent off to Atlanta without hope, because at the European Championship in 1996 they had finished in a weak fifth place, and relations in the national team were bad. Coach Abas Arslanagić quit during the end of the European championship and the national handball selection was filled with confrontation and fights. 38 days before the Olympic Games, the team was taken over by coach Velimir Kljaić, whose statement: "Will go back swimming if we don't win a medal" no one took seriously.

Before the Olympics there were still problems. Preliminary matches didn't offer much optimism. A few days before the start of the handball tournament a friendly encounter with Algeria was not played to the end. The Croatian players left the court because the Algerians went too far with their abusive playing and hurt three players, Goran Perkovac, Slavko Goluža and Nenad Kljaić.[51]

The opening match of the Olympic games against Switzerland was tough. A victory was achieved in an already lost match. The Swiss led by as much as 6 goals, but then the goal was kept safe with a superb save from Venio Losert who just during the Olympic Games celebrated his 20th birthday. Making it a minimal victory, scoring in the 55th second before the end of the match, Patrik Ćavar brought a stellar victory.

The next two matches against Kuwait and hosts United States were easy victories. This was followed by the decisive encounter to enter the semi-finals, where there were only the two first-placed teams from each group.

The match with the then current Olympic and European champions Russia had a shocking finale. The Russians were leading by four points, but the Croats were arriving. The last minute was not for the faint of heart, but from the Russian roulette though the Croats came out as winners. One her of this triumph for the semi-finals was Valter Matošević. 40 seconds before the end of the match, when the result was 24:24, he defended a penalty shot from Torgovanov. Another hero was Božidar Jović, who just 3 seconds before the siren rang scored the winning goal.[52]

The last match in the group was with the Swedes. This was the one in which yoneou could choose an opponent in the semi-finals, but Kljun omitted Patrik Ćavar, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević and Irfan Smajlagić from the match. Croatia was defeated with nine goals difference, but without their poker aces there wasn't much to expect. The defeat did not have larger significance, except that it took to save face. In the semi-finals they waited for the French who were World Champions. Croatian handball showed the best possible way to respond to defeat in the final of the 1995 World Championship in Iceland. Engaged and disciplined, Croatian players did a great job and ensured the silver medal the same brightness as did the water polo team.[53]

In the grand finale again Croatia faced the Swedes. In the semi-finals they defeated Spain, who later won the bronze medal. It was a great generation that only needed an Olympic gold medal to complete their collection. They probably hoped that Croatia was not with those who were missing against Sweden would not much raise the quality that they could be threatened. In the end their plans were foiled, and the Vikings failed to win. After starting 0: 1 followed by a brilliant game from the players Kljaić chose and the series of 6:1. The defense was solid and impenetrable and the attack varied and deadly. Perkovac great led his boys and Božidar Jović was the revelation of the tournament. Worried only in the final Zlatko Saračević was not playing properly, but Kljaić brought the perfect replacement, Zoran Mikulić. Although the Croatians twice led with seven goals difference, the second half offered drama. Swedes switched to defense 4–2 which created big problems. Decreased the difference and 6:30 minutes before the end came at just hit behind. Croatian handball players still in those crucial minutes they had never trembled hands.[54]

Thirty seconds before the end of the line player Nenad Kljaić scored a crucial goal for the final 27:26 and brought a glorious victory. With the sound of sirens was created indescribable celebration and parquet Georgia Dome in front of 25,000 visitors in the hall and millions of TV viewers, which is today known caterpillar gold handball. It was the biggest win in the history of Croatian sport. The handball players were not yet aware of this gold they had placed around his neck President of the Croatian Olympic Committee Antun Vrdoljak, who previously predicted 6 Atlanta medal and otherwise announced "As running from the day he was born" at Zagreb's main square. Still not running, but the handball players after returning from Atlanta to thousands of fans being greeted at the airport and on Jelačić Square. And they did the famous caterpillar crawl.[55]

Position Players
Goalkeepers Valter Matošević, Venio Losert
Back players Zlatko Saračević, Goran Perkovac, Iztok Puc, Zoran Mikulić, Slavko Goluža, Bruno Gudelj, Valner Franković
Line players Nenad Kljaić, Alvaro Načinović, Božidar Jović
Wing players Irfan Smajlagić, Patrik Ćavar, Vladimir Šujster, Vladimir Jelčić
Coaching staff Velimir Kljaić (Head coach), Milan Rončević (assistant and fitness coach), Zdenko Zorko (GK coach), Stanislav Peharec (Somatoped), Damir Suman (kinesiotherapists), Vladimir Nekić (tehniko), Josip Guberina (director)

A series of poor results (1996–2002)

After winning the Olympic gold medal on 4 August 1996 it was followed by a slow decline in the Croatian national team and the change of generations in which the handball players were far from winning a medal. It started when Croatia was knocked-out in the round of 16 of the World Championships. In Japan in 1997, Croatia was knocked out by Spain 31:25 and was ranked in 13th place. In Egypt 1999 they were knocked-out by Yugoslavia 30:23 leaving Croatia in 10th place. In France 2001 the national team would lose in the next round after two extra time (4 × 5 minutes) stopped Ukraine 37:34 (29: 29/33: 33) finishing in 9th place. At the European Championships in 1998, 2000 and 2002 finished in 8th, 6th and 16th place. Croatia in 2000 hosted the European Championship, they had high expectations from this tournament but they weren't fulfilled. After the defeat from Slovenia in the match for fifth place Croatia took only 6th place and failed to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The national team is also lost its ability to defend the gold from Atlanta in Sydney.

First Červar era (2002–2010)

Once the team reached bottom with their results, being ranked last or in 16th place at the 2002 European Championship, in March 2002 the Federation entrusted Lino Červar and with him the team that suffered a seven-year drought medal in two years was created into the world champions and Olympic winners. In the period between these two gold medals Croatia is still ranked 4th place at the European Championships in 2004 in Slovenia. With Červar in charge Croatia would be at the top of the handball world.[56]

Position Players
Goalkeepers Vlado Šola, Valter Matošević, Mario Kelentrić
Back players Petar Metličić, Ivano Balić, Blaženko Lacković, Slavko Goluža, Tonči Valčić
Line players Božidar Jović, Renato Sulić, Igor Vori
Wing players Mirza Džomba, Nikša Kaleb, Vedran Zrnić, Goran Šprem, Vlado Metličić
Defensive players Denis Špoljarić, Davor Dominiković
Coaching staff[57] Lino Červar (Head coach), Irfan Smajlagić (Assistant coach), Mirko Bašić (GK coach), Josip Feldbauer (Doctor), Milorad Sakradžija (Fizioterapist), Antun Arić (Fizioterapist), Ivica Udovičić (tehniko), Ratko Balenović (Director)

With the arrival of Lino Červar and a maturing exceptionally talented new generation including a young Ivano Balić, the revival of the national team culminated at the 2003 World Championship. The start of the competition was disastrous. Croatia lost in their first match to Argentina who was at the time a punching for serious national teams in official competitions. Although the first half led with 5 goals, but 14 minutes before the end of the match conceded 6 goals. At the end of the match, Croatian handball players fired five successive attacks, and Mirza Džomba 20 seconds before the end missed the equalizer. How Croatian players badly played that match was proven by the fact they missed 6 penalty shots. During halftime of the second match against another underdog Saudi Arabia Croatia was losing with 2 differences and was playing desperately. Yet the team found strength to win this match.[58] The turning point was marvelous – the group's dramatic victories in the end against giants Russia, France and Hungary securing first place to the second part where the Croats were convincing against Egypt and Denmark. In semi-finals the match went into overtime (4 × 5 minutes) defeating the Spaniards 39:37 (26: 26/31: 31) and in the grand final they outscored Germany 34:31 and won their first title of world champions and wrote surely one of the most beautiful story's in the history of Croatian sport.[59]

In January 2004 Croatia played at the 2004 European Championship in Slovenia. They got to the semi-finals where they were knocked out by the hosts 25:27. They finished in fourth place losing the third place match to Denmark 27:31.

In Summer 2004 the Olympics were held in Athens. The national team continued its dominating play and were undefeated in all eight matches played. They defeated Iceland, Slovenia, South Korea, Russia, Spain, Greece and Hungary before getting to the final. In a dramatic final Croatia defeated Germany 26–24 and with the title of world champions they won the Olympic gold. In the last 5 minutes of the match went a goal ahead for Croatia, and then Nikša Kaleb who had not scored no goal with 3 consecutive goals sealed a great victory. The gold was an even greater success considering the fact that Croatia traveled to Athens without their best line player Renato Sulić who was recovering from a car accident, without important defense player Tonči Valčić and without Patrik Ćavar who was ill.[60]

Position Players
Goalkeepers Vlado Šola, Venio Losert, Valter Matošević
Back players Petar Metličić, Ivano Balić, Blaženko Lacković, Slavko Goluža, Drago Vuković
Line players Igor Vori
Wing players Mirza Džomba, Nikša Kaleb, Vedran Zrnić, Goran Šprem
Defensive players Denis Špoljarić, Davor Dominiković
Coaching staff[61] Lino Červar (Head coach), Irfan Smajlagić (Assistant coach), Zdenko Zorko (GK coach), Miljenko Rak (Fitness coach), Milorad Sakradžija (Fizioterapist), Josip Feldbauer (Doctor), Stanislav Peharec (Somatoped), Davor Urek (Tehniko), Ivica Udovičić (Director)

Rivalries

Croatia has developed several handball rivalries. Their most played rivalry is against France, which is often considered to be one of the biggest modern handball rivalries since the end of the Cold War, since Croatia, Denmark, Spain and France are the most successful nations in handball both in Europe and worldwide. Their second biggest rivalry is with neighbors Slovenia, whom they played 14 times, winning 9 games and losing 5. In recent years, a rivalry with Spain has also developed, sometimes called the Mediterranean derby. Other rivalries include Denmark, Poland, Germany, Serbia and Hungary.

The 2009 World Men's Handball Championship, hosted in Croatia, was remembered in Croatia[62] for constant refereeing mistakes, through which France ultimately won the final against Croatia. The final was memorable[63] for starting the "curse of Arena Zagreb", in which many Croatian sports teams had lost finals in the Arena. Many had questioned the appointment of Danish referee Olesen Pedersen, who was remarked for his constant mistakes against several Croatian handball players, through which France won the final. After the final, the rivalry sparked more in Croatia, but later became a famous French phenomenon.

Results at international competitions

Prior to 1991, Croatia men's national handball team played as a part of Yugoslavia men's national handball team.

Croatia played its first match on 14 January 1991 in Zagreb. Team's first opponent was Japan and the match ended tied 23–23.

Overview of achievements at major international competitions

Year Summer Olympics World Championship European Championship
1994 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
1995 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
1996 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5th
1997 13th
1998 8th
1999 10th
2000 did not participate 6th
2001 9th
2002 16th
2003 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2004 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4th
2005 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2006 4th
2007 5th
2008 4th 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2009 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2010 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2011 5th
2012 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2013 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2014 4th
2015 6th
2016 5th 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2017 4th
2018 5th
2019 6th
2020 did not participate 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2021 15th
2022 8th
2023 9th

Medal count (major competitions)

Updated after 2021 World Handball Championship

Competition 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total
Olympic Games 2 0 1 3
World Championship 1 3 1 5
European Championship 0 3 3 6
Total 3 6 5 14

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

Competitive record (major competitions)

Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
Olympic Games (5 times) 37 29 0 8 1043 925 +118
World Championship (16 times) 123 89 6 28 3577 3065 +512
European Championship (15 times) 107 63 9 35 2861 2734 +127
Total 267 181 15 71 7481 6724 +757

Summer Olympics

Competitive record at the Summer Olympics

Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Spain 1992 Couldn't participate in qualification
United States 1996 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 6 0 1 183 168 +15
Australia 2000 did not qualify
Greece 2004 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 8 0 0 238 211 +27
China 2008 Semi-final 4th 8 4 0 4 218 199 +19
United Kingdom 2012 Semi-final 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 7 0 1 230 183 +47
Brazil 2016 Quarterfinal 5th 6 4 0 2 174 164 +10
Japan 2020 did not qualify
France 2024 To be determined
United States 2028
Total Qualified: 6/8 37 29 0 8 1043 925 +118
Including qualifying rounds 46 37 0 9 1329 1133 +196

Competitive record in qualifying rounds

Year Pld W D L GF GA GD Qual
Spain 1992 Couldn't qualify N/A
United States 1996 2nd at the 1995 World Champ yes
Australia 2000 10th at the 1999 World Champ no
Greece 2004 1st at the 2003 World Champ yes
China 2008 3 3 0 0 100 72 +28 yes
United Kingdom 2012 3 3 0 0 102 65 +37 yes
Brazil 2016 3 2 0 1 84 71 +13 yes
Japan 2020 3 2 0 1 81 81 0 no
France 2024 to be determined
United States 2028
Total 12 10 0 2 367 289 +78 4/6

World Championship

Competitive record at the World Championship

Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Sweden 1993 Couldn't participate in qualification
Iceland 1995 Final 2nd 9 7 0 2 246 211 +35
Japan 1997 Round of 16 13th 6 2 1 3 148 146 +2
Egypt 1999 Round of 16 10th 6 3 1 2 141 145 −4
France 2001 Round of 16 9th 6 3 1 2 188 152 +36
Portugal 2003 Final 1st 9 8 0 1 270 243 +27
Tunisia 2005 Final 2nd 10 8 0 2 316 273 +43
Germany 2007 Quarterfinal 5th 10 9 0 1 308 246 +62
Croatia 2009 Final 2nd 10 9 0 1 298 228 +70
Sweden 2011 Main Round 5th 9 6 1 2 271 213 +58
Spain 2013 Semi-final 3rd 9 8 0 1 266 202 +64
Qatar 2015 Quarterfinal 6th 9 7 0 2 258 224 +34
France 2017 Semi-final 4th 9 6 0 3 254 233 +21
DenmarkGermany 2019 Main Round 6th 9 6 0 3 250 220 +30
Egypt 2021 Main Round 15th 6 3 1 2 156 122 +4
PolandSweden 2023 Main Round 9th 6 4 1 1 207 167 +40
CroatiaDenmarkNorway 2025 Qualified as co-host
Germany 2027 To be determined
Total Qualified: 16/18 123 89 6 28 3577 3065 +512
Including qualifying rounds 127 93 5 29 3681 3151 +520

Competitive record in qualifying rounds

Year Pld W D L GF GA GD Qual
Sweden 1993 Couldn't qualify N/A
Iceland 1995 3rd at the 1994 Euro yes
Japan 1997 5th at the 1996 Euro yes
Egypt 1999 6 5 0 1 171 152 +19 yes
France 2001 6th at the 2000 Euro yes
Portugal 2003 2 2 0 0 67 50 +17 yes
Tunisia 2005 defending champion yes
Germany 2007 4th at the 2006 Euro yes
Croatia 2009 Qualified as host yes
Sweden 2011 2nd at the 2010 Euro yes
Spain 2013 3rd at the 2012 Euro yes
Qatar 2015 4th at the 2014 Euro yes
France 2017 3rd at the 2016 Euro yes
DenmarkGermany 2019 2 1 0 1 63 51 +12 yes
Egypt 2021 Top four at the 2020 Euro yes
PolandSweden 2023 2 2 0 0 70 43 +27 yes
CroatiaDenmarkNorway 2025 Qualified as co-host yes
Germany 2027 To be determined
Total 12 105 0 2 371 296 +75 4/4

European Championship

Competitive record at the European Championship

Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Portugal 1994 Semi-final 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 4 0 3 165 161 +4
Spain 1996 Preliminary Round 5th 6 4 0 2 154 150 +4
Italy 1998 Preliminary Round 8th 6 2 1 3 145 150 −5
Croatia 2000 Preliminary Round 6th 6 3 1 2 146 139 +7
Sweden 2002 Preliminary Round 16th 3 0 0 3 70 89 −19
Slovenia 2004 Semi-final 4th 8 4 2 2 222 221 +1
Switzerland 2006 Semi-final 4th 8 5 0 3 229 228 +1
Norway 2008 Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8 5 1 2 212 203 +9
Austria 2010 Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8 6 1 1 207 194 +13
Serbia 2012 Semi-final 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 5 1 2 216 201 +15
Denmark 2014 Semi-final 4th 8 5 0 3 229 206 +23
Poland 2016 Semi-final 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 5 0 3 250 219 +31
Croatia 2018 Fifth place match 5th 7 5 0 2 204 187 +17
AustriaNorwaySweden 2020 Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 7 1 1 227 205 +22
HungarySlovakia 2022 Main Round 8th 7 3 1 3 185 181 +4
Germany 2024 Qualified
DenmarkNorwaySweden 2026 To be determined
PortugalSpainSwitzerland 2028
Total Qualified: 16/18 107 63 9 35 2861 2734 +127
Including qualifying rounds 163 109 12 42 4481 4038 +443

Competitive record in qualifying rounds

Year Pld W D L GF GA GD Qual
Portugal 1994 8 6 1 1 214 166 +48 yes
Spain 1996 6 5 0 1 161 137 +24 yes
Italy 1998 6 4 0 2 166 145 +21 yes
Croatia 2000 Qualified as host yes
Sweden 2002 2 2 0 0 71 56 +15 yes
Slovenia 2004 2 1 1 0 62 52 +10 yes
Switzerland 2006 4th at the 2004 Euro yes
Norway 2008 4th at the 2006 Euro yes
Austria 2010 8 7 0 1 252 180 +72 yes
Serbia 2012 6 6 0 0 168 137 +31 yes
Denmark 2014 6 5 0 1 161 135 +26 yes
Poland 2016 6 5 0 1 191 148 +43 yes
Croatia 2018 Qualified as host yes
AustriaNorwaySweden 2020 6 5 1 0 174 148 +26 yes
HungarySlovakia 2022 2nd at the 2020 Euro yes
Germany 2024 To be determined
DenmarkNorwaySweden 2026
PortugalSpainSwitzerland 2028
Total 56 46 3 7 1620 1304 +316 10/10

Mediterranean Games

Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
France 1993 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) unknown
Italy 1997 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 4 0 1 121 115 +6
Tunisia 2001 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 5 0 0 149 127 +22
Spain 2005 Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 3 0 1 107 103 +4
Italy 2009 did not compete
Turkey 2013 Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 4 0 2 166 158 +8
Spain 2018 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 5 0 0 139 120 +19
Algeria 2021 To be determined
Italy 2026
Total Qualified: 6/7 25 21 0 4 682 623 +59

Team

Current squad

Squad for the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship.[64][65]

Head coach: Hrvoje Horvat

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
2 LW Lovro Mihić (1994-08-25) 25 August 1994 (age 30) 1.81 m 40 52 Poland Orlen Wisła Płock
5 CB Domagoj Duvnjak (1988-06-01) 1 June 1988 (age 36) 1.97 m 229 731 Germany THW Kiel
10 LB Jakov Gojun (1986-04-18) 18 April 1986 (age 38) 2.03 m 166 80 Croatia PPD Zagreb
14 RW Paolo Kraljević (2001-03-31) 31 March 2001 (age 23) 1.87 m 0 0 Croatia PPD Zagreb
17 LB Josip Šarac (1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 26) 2.01 m 20 9 Germany Frisch Auf Göppingen
18 CB Igor Karačić (1988-11-02) 2 November 1988 (age 36) 1.91 m 98 236 Poland Industria Kielce
28 P Željko Musa (1986-01-08) 8 January 1986 (age 38) 2.00 m 146 118 Croatia PPD Zagreb
31 RB Luka Šebetić (1994-05-26) 26 May 1994 (age 30) 1.98 m 40 35 Germany GWD Minden
33 CB Luka Cindrić (1993-07-05) 5 July 1993 (age 31) 1.83 m 86 229 Spain Barça
35 GK Mate Šunjić (1987-03-18) 18 March 1987 (age 37) 1.95 m 26 1 France US Ivry Handball
40 P Nikola Grahovac (1998-12-14) 14 December 1998 (age 25) 2.01 m 8 3 Croatia PPD Zagreb
43 GK Dino Slavić (1992-12-04) 4 December 1992 (age 31) 1.85 m 2 0 Croatia PPD Zagreb
48 GK Dominik Kuzmanović (2002-08-15) 15 August 2002 (age 22) 1.91 m 3 0 Croatia RK Nexe Našice
51 RB Ivan Martinović (1998-01-06) 6 January 1998 (age 26) 1.94 m 27 107 Germany MT Melsungen
52 P Leon Šušnja (1993-08-05) 5 August 1993 (age 31) 2.04 m 15 21 Poland Orlen Wisła Płock
53 P Marin Šipić (1996-04-29) 29 April 1996 (age 28) 1.90 m 44 84 Switzerland HC Kriens Luzern
57 RW Filip Glavaš (1997-05-06) 6 May 1997 (age 27) 1.84 m 13 31 Slovenia RK Trimo Trebnje
58 LB Zvonimir Srna (1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 (age 26) 2.02 m 8 6 Croatia PPD Zagreb
62 LW Marin Jelinić (1996-12-07) 7 December 1996 (age 27) 1.94 m 12 28 Croatia RK Nexe

Coaching staff

As of 8 April 2021
Role Name
Head coach Croatia Goran Perkovac
Assistant coach Croatia Boris Dvoršek
Goalkeeping coach Croatia Valter Matošević
Conditioning coaches Croatia Miljenko Rak
Croatia Danijel Brajković
Physiotherapists Croatia Goran Krušelj
Croatia Matija Rajnović
Team manager Croatia Ivica Maraš
Sporting director Croatia Igor Vori
Technique Croatia Zdravko Mirilović

Head coaches

Captains

Squads

Major tournaments

Minor tournaments

Medal-winning squads

Notable players

Domagoj Duvnjak, the current national team captain

Statistics

Most appearances

Name Matches Position Years
Igor Vori 246 LP 2001–2018
Domagoj Duvnjak 229 CB 2006–present
Venio Losert 211 GK 1995–2015
Slavko Goluža 204 CB, LP 1991–2006
Ivano Balić 198 CB 2001–2012
Blaženko Lacković 195 OB 2001–2013
Zlatko Horvat 191 W 2005–present
Valter Matošević 191 GK 1992–2004
Goran Perkovac 190 LB 1992–2000
Vedran Zrnić 189 W 2001–2010
Mirza Džomba 185 W 1997–2008
Petar Metličić 175 OB 1997–2009
Davor Dominiković 174 D, OB 1997–2008
Manuel Štrlek 173 W 2010–present
Jakov Gojun 166 D 2008–
Mirko Alilović 164 GK 2006–2018
Drago Vuković 157 CB/OB, D 2004–2014
Ivan Čupić 156 W 2005–present
Mirko Alilović 152 GK 2006–2018
Božidar Jović 151 LP 1995–2003
Zvonimir Bilić 147 OB 1995–2002
Nenad Kljaić 145 LP 1991–2001
Tonči Valčić 144 OB 1999–2010
Marko Kopljar 137 OB 2008–2018
Vlado Šola 132 GK 1991–2006
Denis Špoljarić 131 D 2003–2009
Denis Buntić 131 OB 2005–2018
Patrik Ćavar 120 W 1991–2003
Goran Šprem 109 W 1999–2009
Alvaro Načinović 105 LP 1992–2000
Renato Sulić 100 LP 2001–2008

Top scorers

Name Goals Average Position Years
Domagoj Duvnjak 731 3.19 CB 2006–present
Mirza Džomba 719 3.89 W 1997–2008
Patrik Ćavar 639 5.33 W 1991–2003
Manuel Štrlek 600 3.16 W 2010–present
Zlatko Horvat 590 2.51 W 2008–present
Igor Vori 590 P 2001–2018
Ivan Čupić 577 3.90 W 2005–present
Blaženko Lacković 571 2.93 OB 2001–2013
Vedran Zrnić 571 2.03 W 2001–2010
Slavko Goluža 545 CB, LB 1991–2006
Ivano Balić 535 2.70 CB 2001–2012
Zvonimir Bilić 500 OB 1995–2002
Petar Metličić 471 2.83 OB 1997–2009
Iztok Puc 325 2.23 OB 1991–1998
Marko Kopljar 322 RB 2005–2018
Denis Buntić 293 RB 2005–2018
Irfan Smajlagić 290 W 1991–2000
Goran Šprem 277 W 1999–2009
Zlatko Saračević 244 OB 1992–2000
Luka Stepančić 241 OB 2013–
Igor Karačić 236 2.41 CB 2013–
Luka Cindrić 229 2.66 CB 2014–
Tonči Valčić 226 OB 1999–2010
Renato Sulić 221 P 2001–2008
Drago Vuković 210 OB 2004–2014
Davor Dominiković 205 OB 1997–2008
Damir Bičanić 176 OB 2005–2020
Alvaro Načinović 165 P 1992–2000
Nikša Kaleb 152 W 1999–2010
Ivan Slišković 140 OB 2013–
Zeljko Musa 118 0,81 W 2017–
Ivan Martinović 107 3.96 OB 2019–
Božidar Jović 100 P 1995–2003

Players that played for Croatian National Handball Team after the breakup of Yugoslavia and
collected 100+ caps combined for Yugoslavian and Croatian National Handball Teams.

Name Matches Position Years
Nenad Kljaić 214 OB 1987–2001
Valter Matošević 213 GK 1989–2004
Goran Perkovac 202 OB 1988–2000
Zlatko Saračević 181 OB 1981–2000
Mirko Bašić 180 GK 1979–2000
Iztok Puc 147 OB 1988–1998
Alvaro Načinović 144 P 1988–2000
Tonči Peribonio 139 GK 1986–1994
Patrik Ćavar 135 W 1989–2004
Irfan Smajlagić 123 W 1987–2001
Zoran Mikulić 62 OB 1989–2001
Boris Jarak 40 1988–1996

Record against other teams

As of 20 March 2021

Key
Positive total balance (more wins)
Neutral total balance (equal W/L ratio)
Negative total balance (more losses)
National team Total Olympic Games World Championship European Championship Mediterranean Games Qualifications
Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L

Algeria Algeria 4 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
Angola Angola 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Argentina Argentina 5 3 0 2 1 1 0 0 4 2 0 2 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Australia Australia 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Austria Austria 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — 4 4 0 0
Bahrain Bahrain 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — — — — — 1 1 0 0
Belgium Belgium 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — — — — 2 2 0 0
Belarus Belarus 12 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 3 0 0 — — — — 6 4 2 0
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and
Herzegovina 		2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brazil Brazil 3 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Bulgaria Bulgaria 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Chile Chile 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 1 1 0 0
China China 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Cuba Cuba 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Czech Republic Czech Republic 7 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Denmark Denmark 20 9 1 11 3 3 0 0 6 2 0 4 10 4 0 6 — — — — 1 0 0 1
Egypt Egypt 7 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 — — — — 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0
Finland Finland 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 4 4 0 0
France France 25 10 1 14 5 2 0 3 7 4 0 3 11 2 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Germany Germany 15 8 1 6 1 1 0 0 5 3 1 1 4 3 0 1 — — — — 0 0 0 0
Greece Greece 6 6 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 2 2 0 0
Greenland Greenland 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Hungary Hungary 18 13 1 4 3 3 0 0 7 6 0 1 4 2 1 1 — — — — 4 2 0 2
Iceland Iceland 8 7 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 3 1 0 — — — — 3 2 0 1
Iran Iran 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Italy Italy 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Japan Japan 5 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 — — — — — — — — 2 2 0 0
Kuwait Kuwait 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Latvia Latvia 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Lithuania Lithuania 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
North Macedonia Macedonia 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1
Montenegro Montenegro 9 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Morocco Morocco 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Netherlands Netherlands 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Nigeria Nigeria 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Norway Norway 18 11 2 5 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 8 6 1 1 — — — — 3 2 0 1
Poland Poland 9 7 0 2 2 1 0 1 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
Portugal Portugal 5 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 — — — — 2 1 0 1
Qatar Qatar 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Romania Romania 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — 4 4 0 0
Russia Russia 16 9 1 6 2 2 0 0 6 4 0 2 7 2 1 4 — — — — 1 1 0 0
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Serbia Serbia * 14 8 2 4 1 1 0 0 3 1 1 1 6 3 0 3 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 0
Slovakia Slovakia 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 4 4 0 0
Slovenia Slovenia 15 9 0 6 1 1 0 0 3 2 0 1 5 3 0 2 2 1 0 1 4 2 0 2
South Korea South Korea 5 4 0 1 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 1 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Spain Spain 28 17 2 9 4 3 0 1 10 8 0 2 11 4 2 5 1 0 0 1 3 3 0 0
Sweden Sweden 14 7 1 6 2 1 0 1 4 3 0 1 3 2 0 1 — — — — 0 0 0 0
Switzerland Switzerland 4 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Tunisia Tunisia 9 9 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0
Turkey Turkey 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 0 0
Ukraine Ukraine 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
United States United States 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Total (53) 359 259 18 82
* includes games against Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro

Biggest wins

Double digit goal difference

Olympic Games World Championship European Championship Mediterranean Games Qualifications
  • +19 vs. Brasil (33–14) 2008
  • +11 vs. China (33–22) 2008
  • +11 vs. Denmark (32–21) 2012
  • +10 vs. South Korea (31–21) 2012
  • +29 vs. USA (41–12) 2001
  • +27 vs. Australia (42–15) 2011
  • +23 vs. Australia (36–13) 2013
  • +21 vs. Cuba (41–20) 2009
  • +20 vs. Argentina (38–18) 2011
  • +20 vs. Australia (38–18) 2005
  • +19 vs. Iran (41–22) 2015
  • +19 vs. Kuwait (40–21) 2009
  • +18 vs. South Korea (41–23) 2007
  • +15 vs. Chile (37–22) 2017
  • +14 vs. Egypt (30–16) 1995
  • +13 vs. Argentina (36–23) 2005
  • +13 vs. China (34–21) 1997
  • +13 vs. Marocco (35–22) 2007
  • +12 vs. Marocco (33–21) 1995
  • +11 vs. Algeria (31–20) 2013
  • +10 vs. Spain (32–22) 2009
  • +14 vs. Poland (37–23) 2016
  • +11 vs. Belarus (33–22) 2014
  • +10 vs. Macedonia (34–24) 2016
  • +10 vs. Serbia (32–22) 2018
  • +8 vs. Greece (33–25) 2005
  • +20 vs. Chile (35–15) 2012
  • +20 vs. Finland (34–14) 2010
  • +19 vs. Finland (39–20) 2010
  • +15 vs. Japan (37–22) 2008
  • +14 vs. Japan (36–22) 2012
  • +14 vs. Turkey (40–26) 2016
  • +13 vs. Slovakia (34–21) 2010
  • +12 vs. Greece (32–20) 2010
  • +12 vs. Romania (34–22) 2012
  • +11 vs. Algeria (37–26) 2008
  • +11 vs. Netherlands (35–24) 2016
  • +11 vs. Slovakia (32–21) 2014
  • +10 vs. Bahrain (32–22) 2016
  • +10 vs. Turkey (32–22) 2016

Biggest losses

Olympic Games World Championship European Championship Mediterranean Games Qualifications
  • -9 vs. Sweden (18–27) 1996
  • -7 vs. Qatar (23–30) 2016
  • -6 vs. Spain (29–35) 2008
  • -12 vs. Denmark (26–38) 2021
  • -11 vs. Russia (20–31) 1997
  • -15 vs. Russia (14–29) 1998
  • -12 vs. FR Yugoslavia (22–34) 2002
  • -10 vs. Denmark (20–30) 2008
  • -7 vs. Spain (21–28) 2005

Awards

The Croatia national handball team has received numerous award throughout the years.

Senior squad

U-19 squad

See also

References

  1. ^ "CROATIA SEEK CONSISTENCY ON THEIR WAY TO THE TOP". eurohandball.com. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Dokumentarac o povijesnom uspjehu kada su Hrvati šokirali sportski svijet". tportal.hr. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Rukometna reprezentacija perjanica je hrvatskog sporta, a London je nova prilika za povijest". sportnet.hr. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Kladionice Francuska i Danska opaki favoriti Hrvatska visoko". 24 sata. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Handball: France beat Croatia to advance to European championship semis". 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Povijest rukometa". hrs.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 6 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Razvoj rukometa". hrs.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Povijest rukometa". rkhd.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Počeci djelovanja Hrvatskog rukometnog saveza". issuu.com (in Croatian).
  10. ^ "Prije 70 godina odigrana prva rukometna utakmica u Zagrebu". issuu.com (in Croatian).
  11. ^ "ZNAČAJNIH 80 GODINA RUKOMETA". hr-rukomet.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  12. ^ "International Handball Federation". IHF.
  13. ^ "Uspeh rukometašica". vreme.com (in Serbian).
  14. ^ "Od Od Rijeke do Herninga: Kako je Hrvatska postala pretplaćena na rukometne". index.hr (in Croatian).
  15. ^ Olimpijski Komitet Srbije(1)
  16. ^ Olimpijski Komitet Srbije(2)
  17. ^ Hrvatski Olimpijski Odbor
  18. ^ Olimp(MI)
  19. ^ MI 1979.
  20. ^ Olimpijska Odličja
  21. ^ "Olimpijski Treneri". Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  22. ^ Rukometne Medalje
  23. ^ Svjetske Medalje
  24. ^ Todor Arhiv
  25. ^ Njemački Arhiv
  26. ^ Enciklopedija Fizičke Kulture
  27. ^ Irislav Dolenec
  28. ^ Jezdimir Stanković
  29. ^ Branislav Pokrajac
  30. ^ Ivan Snoj
  31. ^ Pero Janjić(1)
  32. ^ Pero Janjić(2)
  33. ^ Zdravko Malić(1) Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ Zdravko Malić(2)
  35. ^ Josip Milković SP 1974.
  36. ^ "Božo Peter SP 1961". Archived from the original on 22 August 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  37. ^ Ivan Uremović SP 1967.
  38. ^ Sastav SP 1978.
  39. ^ Serdarušić SP 1978.
  40. ^ Jugoslavija-Island
  41. ^ Jugoslavija-DDR
  42. ^ Jugoslavija-Španjolska
  43. ^ Jugoslavija-SSSR
  44. ^ "Protiv Japana: Na današnji su dan prvi put zaigrali "kauboji"". 24 sata (in Croatian).
  45. ^ "Povijest". hrs.hr (in Croatian).
  46. ^ "Na današnji dan MOO je priznao Hrvatski olimpijski odbor". sportnet.rtl.hr/ (in Croatian).
  47. ^ "Na današnji dan MOO je priznao Hrvatski olimpijski odbor". http://sportnet.rtl.hr/ (in Croatian).
  48. ^ "Men Handball I European Championship 1994 Portugal". todor66.com.
  49. ^ "Men Handball XIV World Championship 1995 Iceland". todor66.com.
  50. ^ "Men Handball II European Championship 1996 Spain". todor66.com.
  51. ^ "OLIMPIJSKE IGRE U ATLANTI 1996. GODINE: NAJVEĆI USPJEH U POVIJESTI HRVATSKOG SPORTA". arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian).
  52. ^ "Atlanta 1996". sportnet.hr (in Croatian).
  53. ^ "Nije se ponovila Atlanta 1996 i put preko Francuza do prvog olimpijskog zlata za Hrvatsku". index.hr (in Croatian).
  54. ^ "Povijesne Igre u SAD-u: Zbog rukometaša smo prvi put čuli 'Lijepu našu'". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian).
  55. ^ "SPOMENAR: Gdje su danas pripadnici slavne generacije iz Atlante?". germanijak.hr (in Croatian).
  56. ^ "Čarobnjak iz Umaga: Lino Červar". hrvatskareprezentacija.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  57. ^ Struka Na SP 2003.
  58. ^ "Hrvatska – Saudijska Arabija: U nastavku osigurana pobjeda". sportnet.rtl.hr (in Croatian).
  59. ^ "Hrvatska prvak svijeta!". index.hr (in Croatian).
  60. ^ "Atena 2004. Novo zlato za rukomet i najveća berba medalja do tada". gol.dnevnik.hr/ (in Croatian).
  61. ^ Struka Na OI 2004.
  62. ^ "Hrvatska srebrna; Metličić: Suci nam nisu dozvolili igrati, dali smo sve od sebe". slobodnadalmacija.com. February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  63. ^ "Francuzi najbolji, Hrvatska druga na svijetu!". sportnet.hr. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  64. ^ "Seniori: Popis igrača za završnu fazu priprema uoči Svjetskog prvenstva" (in Croatian). hrs.hr. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  65. ^ "Team Roster Croatia" (PDF). ihf.info. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
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