Croatian team will be missing some key players, but the spirit is high, according to reports from France
Croatian handball fans are used to spend a couple of weeks in January to watch the national team playing a big tournament. This year, it is time for the World Championships which kicked off in France earlier this week. The Croatian team plays its first match in Rouen January 13, 2017, and the opponent is Saudi Arabia, so “The Cowboys” should surely to be considered favorites in the game.
The team arrived in France missing quite a few key players, as Kopljar, Slišković, Čupić and Marić are on the injury list and are out of the team. The trouble for the coach Babić does not end there, as Duvnjak, Stepančić, Mandalinić and Mamić have minor injuries too, although they are on the team.
Four injured players will probably not spend much time on the court tonight, as it is expected from them to play more important roles in the later stages of the tournament.
Croatia is in the group C with Belarus, Chile, Germany, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia. Today’s opponent, as well as Belarus and Chile, are considered to be the outsiders, so Croatia is expected to compete with Hungary and Germany for the top place of the group.
Overall expectations for the team should not be too high, as there are a lot of injuries affecting the team, and also, it should be mentioned that the main goal set for the team is the next European Championships which will be staged in Croatia next year.
The match Vs. Saudi Arabia kicks off 20.45 CET in Kindarena Rouen. TCN will bring you the match reports and all the news about the Croatian team in France throughout the tournament.
