PHOTO: Croatia Reminiscent Of Gold From Portugal

The youthful Hungarian team does not stand a chance against Croatia, because we beat them before, Sola said.

The first round of the World Handball Championship is over, and Croatia is undefeated with ten points. Croats successfully jumped the last step, the Swedish team, which fell easier than expected. Sweden was a threat in the first 20 minutes when they were a goal or two behind, but Cervar`s lads changed gears and showed once again that they can play against the first team which is physically stronger.

- The thing I am most happy about the team`s game is the collective spirit and the fight for every ball. They really remind me of Portugal – said Vlado Sola, remembering Croatia`s golden medal at that World Handball Championship.

Defence is confident

The defence acted confident, especially in the 3-2-1 formation, to which the Swedes did not have an answer. The surprise of the match was young Josip Gojun who, one might say, rudely stole balls from the Swedes and scored his first goal. Gojun, otherwise a Siscia player, was an excellent sub for Anusic, who watched the match from the stands, just like Goran Sprem.

There is no good defence without a good goalkeeper, while Mirko Alilovic has been more than good lately.

- Alilovic had excellent catches and proved to be a real goalkeeper. His quality is unquestionable and if he keeps it up, he is in for a great career – Sola praised Alilovic.

Venio Losert was also excellent who got the opportunity in the second part of the match and justified the coach`s trust  by catching some balls from the 7-metre line.

Ivan Cupic was again the best scorer of the match with fantastic eight goals, but what is most thrilling about him is that he scores many goals from counter-attacks, which increase Croatia`s lead. Mateo Hrvatin played a solid match, but missed shots from the wing might be dear in the future. The worst thing is that Hrvatin kept missing when the score was even. His misses might be a chance for Goran Sprem, who ended up on the stands for the second time, instead of the court. Perhaps this is Lino Cervar`s tactic, who wants to hide his aces up his sleeve or Hrvatin is simply better than Sprem at practice.

- Differences between them are very small and only minor details decide who will be playing at a certain point. The coach chooses who ever suits him at the moment – Vlado Sola said.

Take a look at the photo galleries: Colourful Fans Cheer Their Teams On and Croatian Fans Cheer Their Team On In Split.

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PHOTO: Croatia Enters Second Round Undefeated