In the game of the co-organizers of the World Cup, the Croatian national team celebrated, and the results were very convincing with 3:0 (29, 20, 12). The Croatian national team did not lack motivation in this match, even though they play in a group from ninth to sixteenth place, which was certainly not their goal at the beginning of this competition. They wanted more, especially after going through the group without defeat, with five victories, but in the crucial match of the round of 16, they were outplayed by Turkey.
From the beginning of the first set, Serbia had a score advantage and held it until the first set-ball with a score of 24:22. However, the Croatian national team did not surrender lightly. With three points in a row, they won the set-ball at 25:24, and in the end, with only a difference, they won that set in their favor with 31:29. That set was crucial – in the second set, Serbia was tied only twice, at 1:1 and 2:2, and everything else went to our team, which won that part of the game with 25:20.
In the third set, our players stepped up, took an early lead with 11:4, then had 17:9, and with six points in a row ran up to 23:9 and finally won with 25:12. A big victory for the return of confidence.
Statistically, the dominance of the Croatian national team can also be seen: 42-29 points in the attack, 13-9 blocks, 7-1 ace serves, while the rivals had only slightly fewer errors (19 versus 22).
The Croatian U19 national team selector, Svetlana Ilić, said after the game:
Uncertain first set – it took us a long time to get into the rhythm, even though we were rested after a two-day break. We were a little confused at the beginning of that set, but from the moment we established the relationship between serve, block, and defense, we controlled Serbia until the end of the match. I think we are satisfied with what we did today, and the most joyful thing is the return of Francetić, who was injured, and the fact that we are complete again. Two more days remain – now we are waiting for the winner of the Mexico – Belgium match. We need to finish this. The World Cup is in a good rhythm. We are sorry for the match against Turkey, but we have done our job to the end, and we want to be the team we have been creating for the past month and a half. I congratulate everyone in the team – everyone gave their maximum contribution
