They won the Balkan duel and became big favorites to qualify for the semifinals of the European men's handball
Article by Adrian Jitea – Published Tuesday, January 27, 2026 9:40 p.m. / Updated Tuesday, January 27, 2026 9:45 p.m.
Croatia defeated Slovenia 29-25 to become favorites to qualify for the semi-finals European men's handball championship. The Croatians are in their hands ahead of the decisive round, with victory against Hungary being enough.
The semi-final qualification calculations were very confused before the last two rounds. Four teams were tied, with 4 points each.
Iceland's misstep, draw 38-38 against Switzerlandopened the corridor for the two Balkan national teams in the group.
Croatia prevailed in the Balkan duel
Croatia, with the Mandic “clan” in a day of grace, broke away to 5-1 after the first 10 minutes. Goalkeeper Matej had already blocked 3 balls, cousin David didn't miss anything offensively. The 2025 world vice-champion entered the break with a 14-11 advantage.
Suddenly, from 18-14 it became 18-18. Except that the selector Dagur Sigurdsson still had an ace up his sleeve. goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanovic he entered exactly when he needed to, contributed with 4 “parades” and calmed the end, triumph 29-25.
Croatia's top scorers were Tin Lucin (7 goals) and David Mandic (6). From the Slovenian camp, the two Domen, Makuc and Novak stood out, each with 6 successes.
Video summary of Croatia's win over Slovenia
Thanks to this victory, Croatia is in the race for the semi-finals. A victory on Wednesday, against Hungary, a national team out of the calculations, is equivalent to access to the ace box.
Provisional ranking, before Sweden – Hungary:
|
Team |
puncture |
goal difference |
|
1. Croatia |
6 |
112-111 |
|
2. Iceland |
5 |
126-118 |
|
3. Sweden |
4 |
95-91 |
|
4. Slovenia |
4 |
129-131 |
|
5. Switzerland |
2 |
126-133 |
|
6. Hungary |
1 |
84-88 |
The first two places will qualify for the semi-finals.
The first tie-breaking criterion is that of direct matches.
On Wednesday, in the last round, the matches Slovenia – Iceland (16:30), Croatia – Hungary (19:00) and Switzerland – Sweden (21:30) are scheduled in the hall in Malmo.
The defense made the difference! In the first half we defended very high, we didn't give them the chance of shots from comfortable positions. After the break, a few mistakes appeared and Slovenia came back. We showed character, we didn't lose our temper, and now we have an important chance to reach the semi-finals. We were feeling the pressure, it was a shame to waste such a chance. Tomorrow we return to the gym, we must rest and definitely beat Hungary. In this phase, all matches are balanced. Everything looks like a final. If you only play at 80% capacity, you lose
– Matej Mandic, Croatia goalkeeper
