Croatia were superior in the first half as their defence made Hungary desperate. Vlagyimir Golovin's team scored their first goal only in the 12th minute of the match and their struggle continued throughout all 60 minutes. A comeback attempt from Hungary was too little, too late.
GROUP A
Croatia vs Hungary 21:18 (10:7)
- it was a slow start for both teams but Croatia finally broke the ice four minutes in, and added four more unanswered goals over the next eight minutes
- Hungary had a lot of problems with the attack: either was it lost balls or the magical Tea Pijevic reminiscing the EHF EURO 2020; Petra Vamos in the 12th minute was the first Hungarian scorer
- Croatia could have a wider gap at half-time, however, the problem from the Norway game appeared again as they were making too many mistakes in the attack
- Vlagyimir Golovin's team could not wake up from the slow rhythm, not being able to score or capitalise on Croatia's mistakes, ending the day with an attack efficiency below 35%
- this is the second time Hungary scored less than 19 goals at the EHF EURO
- Tea Pijevic was named Player of the Match, while Valentina Blazevic was Croatia's top scorer, netting nine times
Tea Pijevic's magic
Croatia were a nightmare one more time for Hungary as the neighbouring country failed to get their revenge after the 24:22 defeat at the start of the EHF EURO 2020. Even though the young Hungarian side was not giving up and tried to catch up with their opponents, who were making a lot of mistakes in the attack, Tea Pijevic said: "You shall not pass."
Reminiscing EHF EURO 2020, Pijevic built a wall and with her trademark style stopped 14 Hungarian shots. The 30-year-old goalkeeper from Stablina ended the night at a 47% save efficiency and was named Player of the Match. At an earlier point in the match, she was even at 80% save efficiency.
