A last-gasp goal from right back Ivan Martinovic decided the match between Croatia and Japan, with the European side clinching a 30:29 win.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP A
Japan vs Croatia 30:29 (13:18)

When Dagur Sigurdsson got the call to be coach of the Croatia men’s national team, the dilemma was if he should leave Japan, a team which he has been leading since 2017, to take up another challenge.

The answer was yes and Sigurdsson managed to secure the Olympic ticket for Croatia with three wins against Germany, Austria and Algeria in March, finally making look a talented team really consistent. But as fate has it, Sigurdsson, who also qualified Japan for Paris 2024, had to beat his creation to enjoy a winning start at this edition of the Olympics.

And while on the surface it might have looked like an easier task than to face Sweden or Germany, this proved to be a daunting one, especially as Japan bounced back and signed Barcelona coach Antonio Carlos Ortega, the mastermind behind the title-winning campaign of the Spanish giants in the EHF Champions League Men this season.

Created by Sigurdsson and polished by Ortega, Japan were relentless. Despite winning only two matches against European teams at the Olympics, both by a single goal, against Iceland at Munich 1972 and against Portugal at Tokyo 2020, Japan played without pressure, had a fantastic free-flowing attack and an outstanding goalkeeper Daisuke Okamoto, who saved 50% of the shots he faced until the 43rd minute.

In attack, centre back Kosuke Yasuhira was unstoppable, dishing assists and scoring goals, while Croatia always missed something, the special ingredient, which could have made them stop Japan’s advances. Therefore, when the Asian side led by five goals at the break, 18:13, nobody would have said that Ortega’s team does not have a well-deserved advantage.

It went from bad to worse for Croatia, as turnovers started to mount and their attack was also left lacking in the first part of the second half, with Japan comfortably controlling the match, 23:17, with 17 minutes to go. But after Sigurdsson changed his defence from a basic 6-0 to a more aggressive 5-1, Japan started to struggle.

Yasuhira started making mistakes, turnovers started to pile on and Croatia used a seven-on-six attack to improve their performance. Sigurdsson’s gamble proved to be successful, as a 5:0 run morphed into a 9:1 one, with wings Mario Sostaric and Lovro Mihic shining, with the European side finally taking their first lead of the match, 25:24, with eight minutes and 35 seconds to go. 

But Japan never backed down. Croatia continued to use their seven-on-six tactic, but their efficiency came crashing down, scoring only twice in the last four minutes and 15 seconds of the match, as the Asian side’s defence adapted to the situation. That meant that Sigurdsson’s side never had a two-goal lead and Japan could stay close.

In the end, Japan missed twice in one-on-one situations, with Jin Watanabe and Shuichi Yoshida being denied by goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanovic and the post respectively. In possession with 14 seconds to go, Croatia took their time and with two seconds to go, right back Ivan Martinovic scored the winning goal, 30:29, gifting his side two points and leaving Japan heartbroken.