A two-time gold medal winner at the Olympic Games, Croatia have been plotting their return to the competition after missing out at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, finishing third in an Olympic Qualification Tournament which saw Croatia leapfrogged by France and Portugal three years ago.

Croatia had always been a powerhouse in world handball, yet the last results saw a dip in their form, with the 15th place at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship being their worst-ever in history. Croatia did improve at Poland/Sweden 2023, when they ended up on the ninth place, but the see-saw form continued in 2024.

At the EHF EURO 2024, Croatia ended up on the 11th position, their worst since 2002 in the continental competition, as a new change came on the bench. Goran Perkovac was let go after the disappointing finish and a new coach, the first-ever foreign coach in Croatia’s history, was appointed.

Dagur Sigurdsson, who will face two of the former sides he led, Germany and Austria, in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #2 was the pick, as he left Japan men’s national team after seven successful years, to come back to Europe and try to instil new life in a Croatia squad which looked bland over the past years.

The high-risk, high-reward experiment will throw off in a high-pressure environment, as Croatia are looking for their sixth berth for the Olympic Games, as they will be favoured against Algeria and Austria, especially due to their experience and motivation of the squad, with left back Domagoj Duvnjak having, arguably, the last chance to represent his country at the Olympic Games.

"I was looking for a challenge and an adventure, something with passion. Everything came together. This is definitely a big challenge for me. I'm looking forward to it. We have two challenging weeks ahead of us with a lot of work. I watched Croatia at the European Championship. There are a lot of young but experienced players. The challenge is to find a balance between them. I'm ambitious and enthusiastic. We have a lot of work to do, but I think I'll do a good job," said Sigurdsson during a press conference in Zagreb, after his appointment has been made official.

Key players: Domagoj Duvnjak (left back), Luka Cindric (centre back), Ivan Martinovic (right back)
History at the Olympic Games: 1996: Winners, 2004: Winners, 2008: 4th, 2012: Bronze medal, 2016: 5th  
Olympic Qualification Tournament #2 (in Hanover, Germany): Germany, Croatia, Algeria, Austria