The young Croatian volleyball players defeated Spain 3:1 and secured second place in Group C at the U-17 World Championship in Chile. Tonight, they face a crucial match against the Czech Republic for a spot among the world's top eight.
Croatia's U-17 women's volleyball team continues its impressive performances at the World Championship in Chile. On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, they defeated their Spanish counterparts 3:1 in sets (25:19, 25:15, 8:25, 25:22), thus securing second place in Group C.
In the group stage, our volleyball players played five matches, recording three wins and two losses. They triumphed over Spain, Argentina, and Brazil, while Japan and Poland proved to be better. This result is already a success, but a new opportunity to make history lies ahead.
Tonight at 11 PM Croatian time, the match against Czech Republic is scheduled. A victory in this game would take Croatia among the world's top eight teams, a significant step up from the 12th place achieved by the 2024 generation at the World Championship. The greatest success in this age category so far was at the 2023 European Championship in Belgrade, where Croatia won third place.
A special story in this team involves two girls whose fathers were professional athletes. Team captain Lana Drviš is the daughter of renowned Croatian boxer Stipe Drviš, who regularly follows her successes and shares them on social media.
"Remember her name!"
Stipe Drviš told his followers in his latest post. He also revealed how much his daughter means to him in a podcast: "I used to think, you know, I'm a Dalmatian. And then for me, it was a son; if not a son, then it's 'nothing.' But you know what? Now I wouldn't trade Lana for ten sons, no way. Now, even if I had another child, I'd want it to be a girl."
In addition to Lana Drviš, Emilie Stojić also comes from a sports family. Her father Mario was a professional basketball player who played for several Croatian clubs during his career, such as Rijeka, Zagreb, and Zadar. In 2003, after a season with Spain's CB Lucentum Alicante, he moved to Real Madrid, where he stayed until 2005. Throughout his rich career, he also won championship titles: with Treviso in Italy in the 2001/02 season and with Oostende in Belgium in the 2012/13 season.
