Junior Women Crush Mexico
Croatia's junior women's national team defeated Mexico 37:18 at the start of the President Cup in Romania, with a decisive match against Czech Republic awaiting them tomorrow.
Croatia's junior women's national team defeated Mexico 37:18 at the start of the President Cup in Romania, with a decisive match against Czech Republic awaiting them tomorrow.
Croatia's junior women's national team got off to a convincing start in their bid for first place in the President Cup at the World Championship in Romania. In the first match of this stage of the competition, the team led by coach Ivan Jerković defeated Mexico 37:18.
The match, as expected, was marked by complete Croatian dominance. Mexico entered the President Cup without a single point and with a negative goal difference of -26, having suffered three convincing defeats in the first round of the competition. They were beaten by Czech Republic (42:16), Denmark (10:47), and South Korea (40:17).
Although the Croatian coach rested some of his key players for the upcoming challenges, Mexico managed to take advantage only at the very end of the first half, when the score was leveled at 5:5. Croatia then went on a run of six consecutive goals to take an 11:5 lead. By halftime, with another streak of four straight goals, the lead had grown to eleven goals (19:8).
The second half opened with a few goals from both sides (4:3), but then came a true Croatian hurricane. A run of seven consecutive goals pushed the score to 30:11, putting the outcome beyond doubt. Ivan Jerković had already rotated the entire squad earlier, and in those moments he had the opportunity for additional combinations. Croatia's largest lead was plus 24 goals.
In the final five minutes, Mexico scored three goals in a row, their longest streak of the match, for a final score of 37:18. Croatian goalkeepers made 11 saves. Among 11 different scorers for Croatia, Tena Jurlina was the most efficient with six goals, while Maja Košćec added five. For Mexico, goalkeeper Hanna Juarez Castillo stood out with 11 saves, while Daniela Lopez de la Rosa, Maria Munoz Sosa, and Abril Anguiano Lopez each scored three goals.
Croatia faces a decisive match for first place in the group tomorrow. The game against Czech Republic kicks off at 15:15.
