Denmark dominated Croatia throughout the whole 60 minutes in the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, 35:24, joining Romania in the main round, as both teams are now on four points,

GROUP A
Croatia vs Denmark 24:35 (10:16)

One 3:0 unanswered run, followed by another 4:0 unanswered run defined the start of the match between Croatia and Denmark, one which signed, sealed and delivered the Scandinavian side’s challenge for a main round berth.

However, the start was far from a walk in the park for Denmark, as Croatia took a 3:2 lead and tied the score, 5:5, just minutes later, but the bronze medallist from the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship was simply too strong in attack for their opponents.

Right wing Andrea Aagot Hansen, left back Julie Scaglione and left wing Elma Halilcevic each had six goals by the 45th minute, as Denmark powered past Croatia, opening a six-goal lead at the break, 16:10, a gap fuelled by the large gap in efficiency between the two teams, 79% to 55%.

While Croatia’s goalkeepers had a saving percentage under 20% for most of the match, Denmark continued to pounce, as their average duration of the attack was a full 12 seconds lower than Croatia, with a big difference in approach between the two sides.

With the match against Romania looming, Helle Thomsen shuffled her squad giving time to all players on the court, but that did not prevent Denmark to improve their lead, with 11 different outfield players scored at least one goal.

By the 38th minute, Denmark had already increased the gap to double-digits, but Croatia, which also used this match to give meaningful time on the court to all players, getting ready for their decider against Japan, managed to keep it under control. Eventually, Denmark secured a 35:24 win, their second double-digit win in a row.

Denmark and Romania are now through to the main round of the competition, with two points each, with their mutual meeting on Monday deciding which team will take the maximum number of points into the next phase of the competition.

After two consecutive losses, Croatia are due to meet Japan in the last match, with the winner of that match progressing to the next phase, as Croatia need at least a draw to progress, thanks to a better goal difference than Japan, by a single goal (-20 to -21).

hummel Player of the Match: Elma Halilcevic (Denmark)