January. 5, 2019 – In the final match of the Croatia Cup 2020 on Sunday, the Croatia handball team defeated Qatar 33:28 and thus won the tournament in Porec.
HRT reports that Qatar beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 30:27 on Friday, and because Croatia played 33:33 against BiH on Saturday, this was a direct fight for first place.
Again, there were many ups and downs in Croatia’s game, but the victory was still great encouragement ahead of the start of the European Championship.
“We played a lot harder, more responsible, and it was definitely a better show and that is the path we should actually follow. In the first half, our defense was not very good, at 5-1, we received some easy goals, so the weaker part of the game was in the first half. We created chances in the attack but missed a lot of shots. There was a major change in the second half in the sense that our defense became much more solid. Fifteen minutes later, we found the key to the defense and that was decisive in this match,” said coach Lino Cervar after the match.
The best for Croatia was certainly Luka Cindric, who scored eight goals from nine shots. Luka Stepancic was also among the top scorers with five goals, while Frankis Marzo was the best for Qatar with eight goals.
“We expected a tough match, a fight, but on the other hand, they also have a Spanish coach, so they could also outsmart us tactically. However, I think that the coach saw what he could do better in these two games, what was good, what else we should work on and I am pleased that we won this Cup again and that we are going with that win to the Euros, so there will be a positive atmosphere,” said Luka Stepancic.
The European Championship is scheduled for January 9-26, and Croatia will play in Graz with Montenegro, Belarus and Serbia in the first round.
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