February 2, 2025 – Croatia takes the silver medal at the 2025 Men’s Handball World Championship!
Denmark beat Croatia 32:26 in the final of the 2025 Men’s Handball World Championship in Oslo on Sunday night. It was also the last game in the Croatia shirt for captain Domagoj Duvnjak and Igor Karačić.
Croatia recorded seven wins in this tournament and a loss to Egypt in the first round. In the semi-finals, Croatia defeated France at Arena Zagreb. Denmark had won all games in this competition, beating almost every team by ten goals.
Denmark was the favorite in this final match and thus defended their three consecutive World Championship titles tonight. Croatia last won the gold in 2003 in Portugal.
Croatia had played in nine finals at major competitions so far. They played their first final in 1995 at the World Championship, but were defeated by France 23:19. The first gold came just a year later when Croatia defeated Sweden in the final of the Olympic Games 27:26.
This started a series of three consecutive finals in which Croatia celebrated. In 2003, they won their first and only world gold, while a year later they became Olympic champions for the second time. In both finals, they were better than Germany. At the World Championship in Portugal, the score was 34:31, and at the Olympic Games in Athens, 26:24.
After that, Croatia lost five consecutive finals — three for European gold and two for World Championship gold. They lost twice to Spain and France, and once to Denmark.
Croatia now comes back home with a new medal around its neck, making the nation proud of its incredible achievements in this tournament. Well done to Croatia – the future is looking bright!