THE SPORTS GROUND: CROATIA OPENS THE SECOND ROUND WITH A VICTORY

CROATIA – CAPE VERDE 44:24
Croatia: D. Kuzmanović -/-, I. Pešić 15/38, M. Šoštarić 9/9, L. L. Klarica 4/7, J. Šimić 3/3, Z. Srna 1/2, I. Pavlović 2/3, I. Karačić -/-, M. Maraš 6/6, M. Mamić -/-, T. Lučin 4/6, I. Martinović -/-, L. Šušnja -/-, M. Šipić 5/6, F. Glavaš 5/5, M. Jelinić 5/6, Coach: Dagur Sigurdsson (ISL)
Cape Verde: E. Fernandes 1/12, E. Goncalves 3/35, E. G. Ribeiro 0/1, D. Pina 9/18, I. Santos -/-, E. Araujo 1/2, L. Semedo 1/5, H.R. Rocha 2/2, B. Landim 1/4, A. Furtado 1/2, P. Moreno 7/8, A. Pereira 2/2, G. Correia -/-, A. Andrade 0/3, G. Furtado 0/6 Coach: Jorge Rito (POR)

The Croatian men’s senior national team convincingly defeated Cape Verde 44:24 in the first round of the second round of the 29th World Championship and thus continued the fight for the quarterfinals. This is our national team’s third victory in Zagreb, and it is also a record because we have never scored 44 goals in a single match at the World Championships. The previous record was 43 goals against Bahrain in the last championship.

About the meeting with Egypt, the Croatian coach changed one player in the lineup. Veron Načinović moved to the stands, and Josip Šimić got a place in the team. Our starting line-up was as follows – Ivan Pešić was at the door. Marin Jelinić on the left and Filip Glavaš on the right covered the wing positions. Marin Šipić was on the line, and Zvonimir Srna, Igor Karačić, and Mateo Maraš were on the outer positions. We made one usual substitution, Leon Sušnja in defense and Marin Jelinić in attack.

We started to meet at a slightly slower pace. The defense was not particularly active and aggressive at the beginning, so nine goals were scored in less than seven minutes (6:3). Marin Šipić had the most space at the beginning and quickly hit the opponent’s net three times in that period.

The moment we increased our mobility and solidity in defense, the lovable islanders found themselves in big trouble. After ten minutes of play, Mateo Maraš had a significant attacking role, piercing Edmilson Goncalves’ net with long-range missiles. In the 13th minute, Croatia was already within five points (11:6), so the coach from Zelenorta had to call a minute of rest to try to disrupt our rhythm.

He seemed to succeed because the guests scored two goals in a row, and we squandered two attacks. But everything soon returned to normal as Ivan Pešić started the Croatian players with two defenses. With a series of four goals in a row at the beginning of the last ten minutes of the first half, Croatia escaped to a plus-eight (16:8).

With such a difference, the coach started with rotations, so Josip Šimić entered on the line and Ivano Pavlović in the middle. A little later, Luka Lovre Klarica also got his first minutes at the World Championship. Our opponent fell into a black hole because he didn’t give us a goal for ten minutes. And our series continued, so in the 23rd minute, we had a streak of eight goals in a row (19:8).

There was some soloing in the finale, so the selector quickly calmed it down with a minute’s break. At the end of the half, we reached a 13-point difference (24:11) and could be delighted. We had 83 percent realization, seven out of seven counters, and seven defenses by Ivan Pešić.

At the beginning of the second half, Mario Šoštarić had a blast. He quickly scored five goals from as many attempts and broke the hearts of the fans in the Arena a little more. In the 40th minute, the scoreboard was plus 14 for our boys.

Our lead kept growing. As time passed, the lovable representatives of Africa made more and more mistakes because they were tired, so in the middle of the half, it was a question of how much difference we would see them off. Namely, entering the last quarter of the match, Croatia had a huge 17-goal advantage (34:16).

Ivan Pešić seems to have decided to mark the full minutes that Dagur Sigurdsson gave him. His defense drove the opponents crazy, confirming we are well covered in the goalkeeping position. He made 14 saves. They kept their seriousness until the end and deservedly won a convincing victory by 20 points. In doing so, they scored 44 goals, a new record in one game of the World Championships.

With nine goals from nine shots, Mario Šoštarić was our most efficient player and only played the second half. Mateo Maraš was also great, with six from as many attempts. Five each were given by Filip Glavaš, Marin Šipić and Marin Jelinić. Delcio Pina is the best for the Cape Verde Islands, with nine goals from as many as 18 attempts.

By the way, in the first match of the day, Slovenia easily beat Argentina 34:23, the last game of the day. However, Iceland defeated Egypt 27:24 and is now at the top of the table with six points. Croatia, Slovenia, and Egypt have four points each and are certainly in the game for the quarterfinals. Iceland will be Croatian next opponent on Friday, January 24, at 8.30 pm.

SOURCE: Croatian Handball Federation