Young Cowboys Take on Denmark in Euro Semifinal at 7:30 PM
Croatia's youth junior national team has secured a spot in the quarterfinals in Belgrade, with Virovitica native Ivan Vrbančić on the coaching staff.
Croatia's youth junior national team has secured a spot in the quarterfinals in Belgrade, with Virovitica native Ivan Vrbančić on the coaching staff.
Croatia's youth junior handball team will attempt to secure a place in the semifinals of the European Championship tonight in Belgrade. In the quarterfinal clash starting at 7:30 PM, the Young Cowboys will face Denmark at the Dr. Branislav Pokrajac Sports Center in Banjica.
Coach Branimir Kutnjak's squad secured their spot among the top eight European teams as one of the two best third-placed teams. The points earned in the preliminary group, where Croatia defeated Israel and Portugal, proved crucial.
"The first two matches in the preliminary group, against Israel and Portugal, were very demanding and tough, but we managed to win. In the third group match, we already knew we had advanced with two points, so we rested quite a few players," said coach Kutnjak for Sportske novosti.
In the main round, Croatia first lost to Iceland, a tournament favorite, by eight goals. A loss to Hungary followed, 32:37 (16:14), at UVC Šumice in front of only about a hundred spectators. Despite leading at halftime, the second half brought too many technical errors and conceded goals.
"Iceland is among the tournament favorites. We played well for 15 minutes, but then we went into a bad stretch and couldn't recover, eventually losing by eight goals. Against Hungary, we played an excellent first half, but the second was terrible. We conceded too many goals and made too many technical errors, but fortunately, we still advanced," Kutnjak analyzed.
In that match, Croatia was led by Bajan with six goals, while Kujundžić and Barišić each scored five. Our players were flawless from the penalty line (6/6), while the Hungarians missed two of six attempts.
The coach emphasized that the primary goal was to secure a spot at the World Championship. "Above all, we wanted to secure the World Championship, that is, to be among the top 15, and we succeeded. Now we are among the top eight in Europe, which is a reward for the boys' effort and fight, and also a great success. I hope for another win or two..." he said.
Tonight's opponent, Denmark, is still undefeated at the championship. "They are very good, very good, from what we've managed to see, as they were in the other half of the draw. We're still analyzing them, but we'll try to prepare as best we can, match them with great fight, and play a good game. Our team has potential; these players need to keep working well in their clubs, and I believe this can be a good story," Kutnjak concluded.
Virovitica native Ivan Vrbančić is also on the Croatian team's coaching staff, serving as the fitness coach. The winner of the match against Denmark will face the better team from the Slovenia-Hungary clash in the semifinals, while the loser will continue in the placement matches for fifth through eighth place.
The other quarterfinal pairings are Iceland vs. Germany and Spain vs. France, with both matches starting at 5 PM. The Denmark-Croatia match will be broadcast live on Zona Sport TV.
