HANDBALL

CROATIA LEAVES A GOAL DIFFERENCE AND MISSES THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

tsg_news April 13, 2025

SPAIN – CROATIA 23:17 (9:7)
Spain: Wiggins, Castellanos; Vegue, Erauskin, Gassama, Delgado, Campos, Mbengue, Guttierez, Tchapchet, Fernandez, Arcos, Arroyo, Loidi, O’Mulloney, Somaza
Croatia: Besen, Marinovic; Šimara, Burić, Ježić, Barišić, Milosavljević, Birtić, P. Posavec, Kragulj, Brkić, Debelić, Prkačin, Bule, Zrilić, Pavlović

The Croatian women’s handball team lost to Spain in Algeciras by 6 points, thus losing the opportunity to participate in the Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Germany and the Netherlands in December this year. This is the eighth time since 2021 the World Cup was played in Spain, and Croatia will not participate in this prestigious competition. The last time our handball players were not at the World Championship was in 2019 in Japan. On the other hand, Spain secured their tenth consecutive appearance at the World Cup.

Croatia arrived in Algeciras with a one-goal advantage from the first game and was aware they had a real chance of qualifying for the World Cup. Nevertheless, the match was tough, one of the most demanding in a long time. Three things were key: a good defense, a great goalkeeper, and an effective attack. The defense worked solidly, and the goalkeeper Lucija Bešen excelled, with as many as 11 saves in the first 30 minutes. However, the attack was extremely weak – slow, stiff, and ineffective, with only six field goals scored in the first half. Despite this, Croatia was only two goals behind at halftime (-2), which left hope for a turnaround. Unfortunately, the injury of the captain dealt an additional blow, Katarina Ježić, who had to leave the field in the seventh minute due to a knee problem.

We started the game without Barišić, the best scorer in the first game in Koprivnica. Instead, Prkačin got the chance, while Burić took a place on the wing instead of Mamić. The defense with Debelić as the key player in the 6-0 formation was excellent; The Spanish women had a hard time getting scoring opportunities. But the attack was problematic – two missed seven-pointers and a series of loose balls prevented Croatia from maintaining a tie after the first 30 minutes. The attacks were mainly directed towards the middle of the Spanish defense, where Gassama and Tchapchet dominated, which proved to be an unsuccessful tactic.

Spain relied on Delgado’s quick play and outside shots, which were key to their advantage. Croatia did not score a single goal from the line or the wing during the first half – a fact that best illustrates the problems of our attack.

The second half began badly for Croatia; Spain quickly extended their lead to -5 within four minutes of play, forcing coach Obrvan to call for a time-out. The defense was no longer at the same level as in the first part, and Bešen could not stop the opponent’s shots either. Although she briefly returned to form with several saves, three simultaneous exclusions of our players and lost balls made the situation even more difficult.

Despite a great fighting spirit and several chances to reduce the deficit to -3, Croatia failed to turn the game around. Ten minutes before the end, the score was -6, which marked the end of hope for a comeback. Delgado dominated the field and was the difference-maker for Spain.

Croatia fought until the end and showed character, but they failed to realize the opportunities that presented themselves. In the end, Spain went through despite not necessarily being the better team, which was evident during the match itself. It remains regrettable that the return match was not with us because the home field might have brought a different outcome to this match.