Croatia off to the Olympic Games after beating Germany
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Germany vs Croatia, Olympic Qualification Tournament 2, Hanover, Germany, 16.03.2024 (Photo credit © Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff)
The Croatian handball team has defeated Germany 33-30 in the 2nd round of the Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 in Hannover on Saturday.
The victory means Croatia has secured its spot at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. This was confirmed when Austria beat Algeria later in the day.
It has been a dream start for new Croatian coach Dagur Sigurdsson.
The 50-year-old former Iceland international took over the job as Croatia head coach before the Olympic Qualifiers and has now two victories in his first two matches.
His first game in charge was the opening Olympic Qualifier against Austria which Croatia won 35:29.
Sigurdsson made one change from that game for today, substituting Marko Mamić with Filip Vistorop.
(Photo credit © Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff)
Croatia dominated from the start, leading 4-0 in the 6th minute. Despite Germany’s efforts, Croatia maintained control, leading 16-10 at halftime.
In the second half, Germany narrowed the gap, but Croatia held on, securing a 33-30 victory.
(Photo credit © Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff)
Dominik Kuzmanović made 9 saves, and Ivan Martinović scored 8 goals. Croatian fans can now enjoy watching their team at the Olympic Games this summer in Paris.
Croatia has won two Olympic Games gold medals. They first won gold in 1996 and won their second eight years later in 2024.
Handball at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will take place from July 25 to August 11, 2024. Preliminary matches will take place at South Paris Arena 6, while the final phase will be held at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille.
The tournament format, unchanged since 2000 for men and 2008 for women, involves twelve teams split into two groups. They’ll compete in round-robin matches followed by knockout stages for the top eight teams, including quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals for gold and bronze medals.
