January 25, 2020 – The Croatia handball team will play its 100th game ever in the European Championship on Sunday in Stockholm, which also happens to be final. A look at the celebrations of Croatian fans who have carried the team this far.
It’s fair to say that Croatian fans are emotionally exhausted after that semifinal match between Croatia and Norway on Friday night. And for the .01% of you who missed the thriller in Stockholm, Croatia defeated Norway in the final 8 seconds of the 2nd overtime to win 29:28 and secured a spot in the European Championship final on Sunday against Spain.
Phew.
Duvnjak was the player of the game, with eight goals scored for Croatia on Friday.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate my teammates and the professional staff in an epic fight. I have never played a match like this in my life. We showed Croatian character, we continued to play when we lost our footing. I think we deserved to win,” Duvnjak said, adding:
“There were cramps, but at that moment, you don’t think about it. I don’t remember half of what happened in the overtime. You only look at the traffic light and shut off. We lost to them in France and now we’re back. I want to congratulate Zeljko, he has a good national team spirit, and that comes back to us,” Duvnjak said.
The “Zeljko” Duvnjak is talking about is Zeljko Musa, the other Croatian hero of the game who scored in the final seconds for the victory.
“’We have to take responsibility, carry on to the end. We will sleep with a medal tomorrow, but we are not happy. We came to win every next game. And this next one is for gold. Domagoj is a national hero. The whole team needs to tip their hats. It was for Croatia, the fans, for all of us, it is certain that we will not stop there. This is one great success,” Musa said immediately after the game.
The Croatian fans in the stands have been particularly exceptional during this championship – and we’ve seen them go through every emotion thus far. Even tears during the nail biter on Friday.
They celebrated in the Arena after the game.
Along the streets of Stockholm.
They celebrated in Belek, Turkey.
And back in Split.
The team deservedly celebrated in the dressing room after the game.
And on the bus ride home.
Today, we are especially proud to be Croatian.
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