Croatia confirmed their main round spot by beating Morocco after a slow start. The African side was keeping up with the Croats in the first half but did not have enough strength to keep up the same level for the whole 60 minutes. By defeating Morocco, Croatia sent the United States of America to the main round Group IV and the Moroccans to the President's Cup Group II.

Group G

Croatia vs Morocco 36:24 (15:13)

Morocco were the first side to score a goal, but Croatia soon made a two-goal run for 2:1. However, in a matter of seconds, Morocco turned the tide and forced the Croats to make turnovers. As a result, the Moroccan side cruised to an easy 5:2 lead.

Croatia kept having trouble in attack, not responding well to different Moroccan defences moving from 6-0 to 3-3. Mohamed Amine Bentaleb led Morocco to 9:4 in the 14th minute. It was only then that Croatia started to wake up slowly and, with the help of Luka Cindrić, they narrowed the gap down to 7:9 after a first save by Dino Slavić. Cindrić spent only seven minutes on the court up until the 19th minute and did not miss on all four attempts.

The African side started to act nervous on the court; making mistakes in succession and being man-down did not help either. Croatia rebounded with a 4-0 goal run coming to 8:9, which forced head coach Noureddine Bouhdioui to call for a time-out.

Croatia started to play more with ease, good defence and transition, making their game quicker, which was hard for Morocco to keep up with. Filip Glavaš was precise from seven meters, bringing the equalizer to Croatia.

Three minutes later, Slavić put on a show between the posts with a double save, allowing a blistering attack for the first Croatian lead in the match (12:11). In 12 minutes, Morocco scored only three goals, with more technical faults and missed shots setting a 15:13 result at the break.

In the first six minutes of the second half, Croatia stepped up a gear and went on a six-goal break after another fast break by Ivan Martinović. Bad habits displayed in the first 15 minutes of the second half reared Morocco's head again, now trailing by seven.

Hrvoje Horvat's team faltered for a moment in both directions, making new turnovers and allowing their opponents to cut the lead to 19:24 as the clock hit the 45th minute. Croatia were on course for victory as all 16 players got enrolled on the court. 

Morocco, on the other side, also gave an opportunity to players who have not been playing much to gain valuable experience in the last ten minutes of the match. Rezzouki Reida and Hicham El Hakimy shone for Morocco with five goals. Luka Cindrić was unstoppable, netting nine times out of nine attempts.

Croatia will join Egypt and the United States of America in the main round Group IV in Malmö, taking two points. They will face Denmark, Bahrain and Belgium. Morocco move to Poland, to Plock, where they will play in President's Cup Group II against Tunisia, Algeria and North Macedonia.

"We messed things up against Egypt for our chances to reach the quarter-finals. The USA and Morocco are not at a high level like Denmark, who follow next. The most important thing is that we won today. We gained confidence and our team spirit is much stronger now. Denmark is a top team and it is up to us to fight hard. We still have not given up, and as long as there is a chance to reach the quarter-finals, we will make a run for it", said Croatia's right back Luka Šebetić.

hummel Player of the Match: Luka Cindrić (Croatia)