Croatia edge Slovenia in derby to keep semi-final push on track

GROUP II

SLOVENIA VS CROATIA 25:29 (11:14)

H2H: 6-0-10
Top scorers: Domen Makuc 6/10, Domen Novak 6/6 (SLO); Tin Lučin 7/9 (CRO)
Goalkeepers: Jože Baznik 5/21, Miljan Vujović 5/16 (SLO); Dominik Kuzmanović 4/13, Matej Mandić 6/22 (CRO)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Matej Mandić (CRO)

• a good defensive opening from both sides left the score at 0:0 for three minutes — the first to get a break was Croatia, setting an early 2:0 run with 5-1 defence being fruitful
• Slovenia scored their first goal from seven metres in the seventh minute and had to wait for their first positional play goal until minute 11 when Tilen Kodrin scored for 2:5
• Croatia's goalkeeper Matej Mandić stamped his return in style, posting a fierce 43 per cent save rate in just 15 minutes to keep Croatia in a lead
• Slovenia had a chance to narrow it down to one, but seven turnovers and risky play without a goalkeeper hampered their progress in the first 30 minutes
• goalkeeper Miljan Vujović had a strong start to the second half, stopping Croatia's five attempts at 56 per cent save efficiency, and helped his side to level in the 42nd minute
• Croatians made a new break with crucial Dominik Kuzmanović saves in the closing moments and secured a win, although their advantage never stretched more than four goals
• even though he will not remember the game as a successful one, Borut Mačkovšek became Slovenia's most-capped EHF EURO player with 42 matches played

Perfect 10 for Croatia

Croatia and Slovenia share a long-standing rivalry shaped by frequent meetings in both friendly matches and major competitions. Their encounters have consistently delivered intense battles, dramatic finishes and key moments in medal races, with Croatia holding the overall edge in victories. And they just celebrated their 10th victory against Slovenia, an important one for a spot in the semi-finals.

At the Men's EHF EURO, the neighbours had met five times prior to this clash, with Croatia winning in 1996, 2008 and 2012 — the most recent meeting at the European championship. Since then, both sides have claimed one victory each in world championship bronze medal matches, while their latest encounter came at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship in Croatia, where the hosts prevailed 29:26 on their way to silver.

With margins usually narrow — often two or three goals, twice by five, and only once a clear 30:21 win for Croatia back in 1995 — another tight battle was always expected. Croatia once again proved decisive in the closing stages, edging Slovenia by 29:25 in another hard-fought derby that lived up to the rivalry's reputation. Two key figures were goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanović who picked up where Matej Mandić left off with on-time saves in the dying moments, and Tin Lučin who led Croatia with seven goals total.

Photos © kolektiff images