Croatia secure 10th semi-final berth as medal dream stays alive

EHF / Danijela Vekić

28 January 2026, 19:55

The 2025 IHF World Championship runners-up Croatia delivered when it mattered the most and won the tightest contest against Hungary 27:25 to book their Men's EHF EURO 2026 semi-final ticket. It was a late push from the Croatians, but they survived Hungary's challenge helped by Dominik Kuzmanović's saves.

With Croatia joining Iceland on their way to Herning and the semi-finals, co-hosts and EHF EURO 2022 champions Sweden are out of the medal race, but will play the 5/6 placement match.

GROUP II

CROATIA vs HUNGARY 27:25 (13:15)

H2H: 15-1-6
Top scorers: Mario Šoštarić 4/4, Luka Lovre Klarica 4/5, David Mandić 4/4, Tin Lučin 4/4 (CRO); Bence Imre 7/10 (HUN)
Goalkeepers: Dominik Kuzmanović 9/27, Matej Mandić 0/5 (CRO); László Bartucz 7/27, Kristóf Palasics 3/8 (HUN)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Dominik Kuzmanović (CRO)

Hungary were off to a great start, having a four-goal lead (6:2) in the eighth minute, leaving Croatia scoreless for four minutes
Croatia were struggling in attack, having their shot efficiency at 58 per cent in the opening 15 minutes, and were still waiting on their first save — Dominik Kuzmanović saved his first shot in the 20th minute and was at 28.57 per cent save rate at the break
the Hungarians used a seven-against-six play to try and keep their lead until half-time, while scoring through fast breaks; Croatia narrowed the gap through Tin Lučin — however, their total attempts of outfield goals was at four out of 11
a better defensive approach allowed Croatia to mount a comeback in the second half — Mario Šoštarić netted the equaliser goal in the 44th minute, and two minutes later Veron Načinović brought Croatia's first lead (21:20)
in a tight battle until the end, Croatia prevailed when David Mandić scored a decisive goal with just four seconds left on the clock

Late push for the 10th semi-final

Croatia underlined their status as medal contenders at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 with a commanding 27:25 victory over Hungary, after surviving a slow start to the game. Fresh from claiming silver at the 2025 IHF World Championship, the Croatians once again showed the blend of experience and hunger that was driving them throughout the years, and with fresh energy they made a turnaround in the second half, with goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanović once again rising to the occasion.

With their most recent European silver medal coming in 2020 and the elusive EHF EURO gold still missing from their trophy cabinet, Croatia’s performance reinforced their determination to complete the set — and they remain firmly on course for another podium finish. Their 10th semi-final appearance at the EHF EURO came after only their second win against Hungary in five matches played at the European Championship, and the first one after 1996.

It was a really difficult game, Hungary played good, especially in the beginning of the game. Our defence and our goalkeepers didn’t find the fit, so we were always behind. We had to be very patient, we couldn’t make so many mistakes. So it was difficult, really difficult game, but step by step we came back in the second half, our goalkeepers started to put pressure on them and we got some fast break also, so it turned a lot.

Dagur Sigurdsson

Head coach, Croatia

It’s European Championship, every point lost or every game lost, in the end it means that you cannot reach your goal. Of course, we’re expecting more, I think, as a team, and we wanted to achieve something great together, but as I said, it’s European Championship and we cannot have 30-minute breaks when the game is not working because every team here in Europe is capable of amazing things.

Kristóf Palasics

Goalkeeper, Hungary