Croatia men's national handball team

Croatia
Information
Nickname	Kauboji (Eng.: The Cowboys)
Association	Croatian Handball Federation
Coach	Željko Babić
Captain	Igor Vori
Most caps	Igor Vori (223)
Most goals	Mirza Džomba (667)
Colours
Home Away
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances	4 (first in 1996)
Best result	01 ! (1996, 2004)
World Championship
Appearances	11 (first in 1995)
Best result	01 ! (2003)
European Championship
Appearances	11 (first in 1994)
Best result	02 ! (2008, 2010)
Last updated on Unknown.

Croatia men's national handball team

Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Team
Gold	2004 Athens	Team
Bronze	2012 London	Team
World Championship
Gold	2003 Portugal	Team
Silver	1995 Iceland	Team
Silver	2005 Tunisia	Team
Silver	2009 Croatia	Team
Bronze	2013 Spain	Team
European Championship
Silver	2008 Norway	Team
Silver	2010 Austria	Team
Bronze	1994 Portugal	Team
Bronze	2012 Serbia	Team
Mediterranean Games
Gold	1993 Languedoc-Rousillon	Team
Gold	1997 Bari	Team
Gold	2001 Tunis	Team
Silver	2005 Almería	Team
Silver	2013 Mersin	Team

The Croatia men's national handball team is a handball team that represents Croatia in international men's team handball competitions and friendly matches. The team is controlled by the Croatian Handball Federation.

Results at international competitions

Prior to 1991 Croatia men's national handball team played as a part of Yugoslavia men's national handball team.

Croatia played its first match on 14 January 1991 against Japan which ended 23–23.

Summer Olympics

Competitive record at the Summer Olympics Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD 1992 Couldn't participate in qualification 1996 Final 01 ! 7 6 0 1 183 168 +15 2000 Did not qualify 2004 Final 01 ! 8 8 0 0 238 211 +27 2008 Semifinal 4th 8 4 0 4 218 199 +19 2012 Semifinal 03 ! 8 7 0 1 230 183 +47 2016 Qualification in progress 2020 Total Qualified: 4/5 31 25 0 6 869 761 +108 Including qualifying rounds 37 31 0 6 1071 898 +173

Record against other teams at the Summer Olympics National team Pld W D L PF PA PD Brazil 1 1 0 0 33 14 +19 China 1 1 0 0 33 22 +11 Denmark 2 2 0 0 58 45 +13 France 4 1 0 3 88 93 -5 Germany 1 1 0 0 26 24 +2 Greece 1 1 0 0 33 27 +6 Hungary 3 3 0 0 92 76 +16 Iceland 1 1 0 0 34 30 +4 Kuwait 1 1 0 0 31 22 +9 Poland 1 0 0 1 24 27 -3 Russia 2 2 0 0 51 49 +2 Serbia 1 1 0 0 31 23 +8 Slovenia 1 1 0 0 27 26 +1 South Korea 2 2 0 0 60 47 +13 Spain 4 2 0 2 120 111 +9 Sweden 2 1 0 1 45 53 -8 Switzerland 1 1 0 0 23 22 +1 Tunisia 1 1 0 0 25 23 +2 USA 1 1 0 0 35 27 +8 Total 19 teams Including qualifying rounds 22 teams

Competitive record in qualifying rounds Year Pld W D L GF GA GD Qual 1992 Couldn't qualify N/A 1996 2nd from the 1995 World Champ yes 2000 10th from the 1999 World Champ no 2004 1st from the 2003 World Champ yes 2008 3 3 0 0 100 72 +28 yes 2012 3 3 0 0 102 65 +37 yes 2016 Qualification in progress TBD 2020 TBD Total 6 6 0 0 202 137 +65 4/5

Record against other teams in qualifying rounds National team Pld W D L PF PA PD Algeria 1 1 0 0 37 26 +11 Chile 1 1 0 0 35 15 +20 Iceland 1 1 0 0 31 28 +3 Japan 2 2 0 0 73 44 +29 Russia 1 1 0 0 26 24 +2 Total 5 teams

World Championship

Competitive record at the World Championship Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD 1993 Couldn't participate in qualification 1995 Final 02 ! 9 7 0 2 246 211 +35 1997 Round of 16 13th 6 2 1 3 148 146 +2 1999 Round of 16 10th 6 3 1 2 141 145 -4 2001 Round of 16 9th 6 3 1 2 188 152 +36 2003 Final 01 ! 9 8 0 1 270 243 +27 2005 Final 02 ! 10 8 0 2 316 273 +43 2007 Quarterfinal 5th 10 9 0 1 308 246 +62 2009 Final 02 ! 10 9 0 1 298 228 +70 2011 Main Round 5th 9 6 1 2 271 213 +58 2013 Semifinal 03 ! 9 8 0 1 266 202 +64 2015 Quarterfinal 6th 9 7 0 2 258 224 +34 2017 Qualification in progress 2019 Total Qualified: 11/11 93 70 4 19 2710 2283 +427 Including qualifying rounds 101 77 4 20 2948 2485 +463

Record against other teams at the World Championship National team Pld W D L PF PA PD Algeria 2 2 0 0 57 35 +22 Argentina 3 2 0 1 101 71 +30 Australia 3 3 0 0 116 46 +70 Austria 1 1 0 0 32 30 +2 Belarus 1 1 0 0 33 24 +9 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 0 0 28 21 +7 Brazil 1 1 0 0 26 25 +1 China 1 1 0 0 34 21 +13 Cuba 3 2 1 0 95 70 +25 Czech Republic 2 1 0 1 56 56 0 Denmark 5 2 0 3 138 145 -7 Egypt 3 3 0 0 83 59 +24 France 7 4 0 3 166 164 +2 Germany 4 3 1 0 114 103 +11 Greenland 1 1 0 0 25 15 +10 Hungary 6 5 0 1 152 132 +20 Iceland 1 1 0 0 34 33 +1 Iran 1 1 0 0 41 22 +19 Japan 1 1 0 0 34 25 +9 Kuwait 2 2 0 0 65 40 +25 Macedonia 1 1 0 0 29 26 +3 Morocco 3 3 0 0 94 60 +34 Nigeria 1 1 0 0 27 25 +2 Norway 2 0 1 1 48 51 -3 Poland 3 2 0 1 79 71 +8 Romania 1 1 0 0 27 21 +6 Russia 6 4 0 2 162 158 +4 Saudi Arabia 1 1 0 0 25 18 +7 Serbia 1 0 1 0 24 24 0 Serbia and Montenegro 2 1 0 1 47 53 -6 Slovakia 1 1 0 0 31 25 +6 Slovenia 2 2 0 0 57 50 +7 South Korea 3 2 0 1 101 87 +14 Spain 9 7 0 2 286 268 +18 Sweden 4 3 0 1 111 107 +4 Tunisia 2 2 0 0 57 53 +4 Ukraine 1 0 0 1 34 37 -3 United States 1 1 0 0 41 12 +29 Total 37 teams Including qualifying rounds 37 teams

Competitive record in qualifying rounds Year Pld W D L GF GA GD Qual 1993 Couldn't qualify N/A 1995 3rd from the 1994 Euro yes 1997 5th from the 1996 Euro yes 1999 6 5 0 1 171 152 +19 yes 2001 6th from the 2000 Euro yes 2003 2 2 0 0 67 50 +17 yes 2005 defending champion yes 2007 4th from the 2006 Euro yes 2009 Qualified as host yes 2011 2nd from the 2010 Euro yes 2013 3rd from the 2012 Euro yes 2015 4th from the 2014 Euro yes 2017 Qualification in progress TBD 2019 TBD Total 8 7 0 1 238 202 +36 11/11

Record against other teams in qualifying rounds National team Pld W D L PF PA PD Austria 2 2 0 0 60 43 +17 Belarus 2 2 0 0 58 53 +5 Czech Republic 2 2 0 0 67 50 +17 Slovenia 2 1 0 1 53 56 -3 Total 4 teams

European Championship

Competitive record at the European Championship Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD 1994 Semifinal 03 ! 7 4 0 3 165 161 +4 1996 Preliminary Round 5th 6 4 0 2 154 150 +4 1998 Preliminary Round 8th 6 2 1 3 145 150 -5 2000 Preliminary Round 6th 6 3 1 2 146 139 +7 2002 Preliminary Round 16th 3 0 0 3 70 89 -19 2004 Semifinal 4th 8 4 2 2 222 221 +1 2006 Semifinal 4th 8 5 0 3 229 228 +1 2008 Final 02 ! 8 5 1 2 212 203 +9 2010 Final 02 ! 8 6 1 1 207 194 +13 2012 Semifinal 03 ! 8 5 1 2 216 201 +15 2014 Semifinal 4th 8 5 0 3 229 206 +23 2016 Qualification in progress 2018 Qualified 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2020 Qualification in progress Total Qualified: 12/12 74 42 7 25 1940 1887 +53 Including qualifying rounds 120 80 9 31 3262 2941 +321

Record against other teams at the European Championship National team Pld W D L PF PA PD Austria 1 1 0 0 26 23 +3 Belarus 2 2 0 0 62 43 +19 Czech Republic 2 2 0 0 60 50 +10 Denmark 9 4 0 5 229 247 -18 France 8 2 1 5 200 208 -8 Germany 4 3 0 1 92 89 +3 Hungary 3 1 1 1 81 79 +2 Iceland 3 2 1 0 86 83 +3 Macedonia 1 1 0 0 28 21 +7 Montenegro 2 2 0 0 61 48 +13 Norway 5 4 1 0 133 117 +16 Poland 3 3 0 0 87 76 +11 Portugal 2 1 1 0 56 53 +3 Romania 1 1 0 0 24 23 +1 Russia 7 2 1 4 169 185 -16 Serbia 1 0 0 1 22 26 -4 Serbia and Montenegro 3 1 0 2 80 91 -11 Slovenia 5 3 0 2 135 127 +8 Spain 6 2 1 3 151 154 -3 Sweden 3 2 0 1 74 74 0 Switzerland 1 1 0 0 30 27 +3 Ukraine 2 2 0 0 54 43 +11 Total 22 teams Including qualifying rounds 30 teams

Competitive record in qualifying rounds Year Pld W D L GF GA GD Qual 1994 8 6 1 1 214 166 +48 yes 1996 6 5 0 1 161 137 +24 yes 1998 6 4 0 2 166 145 +21 yes 2000 Qualified as host yes 2002 2 2 0 0 71 56 +15 yes 2004 2 1 1 0 62 52 +10 yes 2006 4th from the 2004 Euro yes 2008 4th from the 2006 Euro yes 2010 8 7 0 1 252 180 +72 yes 2012 6 6 0 0 168 137 +31 yes 2014 6 5 0 1 161 135 +26 yes 2016 2 2 0 0 67 46 +21 TBD 2018 Qualified as host yes 2020 Qualification in progress TBD Total 46 38 2 6 1322 1054 +268 12/12

Record against other teams in qualifying rounds National team Pld W D L PF PA PD Austria 2 2 0 0 56 45 +11 Belarus 4 2 2 0 112 99 +13 Bulgaria 2 2 0 0 55 36 +19 Finland 4 4 0 0 134 75 +59 Greece 2 2 0 0 61 44 +17 Hungary 4 2 0 2 102 101 +1 Iceland 2 1 0 1 48 42 +6 Latvia 2 2 0 0 56 47 +9 Lithuania 2 2 0 0 55 45 +10 Macedonia 2 1 0 1 66 58 +8 Netherlands 1 1 0 0 35 24 +11 Norway[1] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Portugal 2 1 0 1 46 44 +2 Romania 4 4 0 0 118 90 +28 Slovakia 4 4 0 0 121 89 +32 Slovenia 2 1 0 1 49 43 +6 Spain 2 2 0 0 49 45 +4 Turkey 5 5 0 0 159 127 +32 Total 18 teams

Mediterranean Games

Year	Round	Position	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1993	Final	01 !	unknown
1997	Final	01 !	4	0	1	121	115	+6
2001	Final	01 !	unknown
2005	Final	02 !	3	0	1	107	103	+4
2009	Did not compete
2013	Final	02 !	4	0	2	166	158	+8
2017	Decision on participating is still to be made

List of cities in which the games were played

City	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Aarhus	3	2	0	1	89	80	+9
Almada	5	3	0	2	120	114	+6
Ankara	2	2	0	0	64	48	+16
Athens	2	2	0	0	59	55	+4
Atlanta	7	6	0	1	183	168	+15
Baia Mare	1	1	0	0	25	22	+3
Barcelona	2	1	0	1	55	56	-1
Beijing	8	4	0	4	218	199	+17
Belgrade	2	1	0	1	53	53	0
Bern	3	2	0	1	85	79	+6
Besançon	5	3	1	1	154	115	+39
Bolzano	2	0	0	2	41	57	-16
Braga	1	0	0	1	18	19	-1
Bratislava	1	1	0	0	32	21	+11
Brøndby	3	3	0	0	85	68	+17
Bruck an der Mur	2	2	0	0	59	46	+13
Celje	3	2	1	0	82	77	+5
Ciudad Real	5	5	0	0	135	119	+16
Cologne	3	2	0	1	87	73	+14
Čakovec	1	1	0	0	39	30	+9
Dobele	1	1	0	0	30	23	+7
Doha	8	7	0	1	234	196	+38
Drobeta-Turnu Severin	1	1	0	0	30	25	+5
Graz	3	3	0	0	83	76	+7
Hafnarfjörður	7	6	0	1	192	159	+33
Helsinki	1	1	0	0	31	26	+5
Herning	2	0	0	2	55	58	-3
Hlohovec	1	1	0	0	30	26	+4
Ismaïlia	6	3	1	2	141	145	-4
Jönköping	3	0	0	3	70	89	-19
Karlovac	3	3	0	0	103	77	+26
Karviná	1	1	0	0	32	26	+6
Komotini	1	1	0	0	29	24	+5
Kópavogur	1	1	0	0	29	28	+1
Koprivnica	1	1	0	0	35	24	+11
Kumamoto	1	0	0	1	25	31	-6
Kutina	2	2	0	0	59	42	+17
Labin	2	2	0	0	57	38	+19
Lillehammer	2	1	0	1	44	47	-3
Lisbon	2	2	0	0	73	68	+5
London	8	7	0	1	230	183	+47
Lund	2	2	0	0	62	33	+29
Lusail	1	0	0	1	24	28	-4
Ljubljana	7	2	1	4	184	197	-13
Madeira	5	4	0	1	135	125	+10
Madrid	5	5	0	0	148	99	+49
Malmö	7	4	1	2	209	180	+29
Mannheim	4	4	0	0	113	101	+12
Marseille	1	0	0	1	34	37	-3
Merano	3	2	1	0	76	63	+13
Metković	1	1	0	0	29	26	+3
Minsk	3	1	2	0	81	80	+1
Nabeul	3	2	0	1	78	77	+1
Novi Sad	3	1	1	1	75	70	+5
Osijek	2	2	0	0	57	41	+16
Palaio Faliro	6	6	0	0	179	156	+23
Poreč	1	1	0	0	34	26	+8
Porto	2	1	0	1	45	47	-2
Pula	1	1	0	0	28	19	+9
Radès	2	1	0	1	69	72	-3
Reykjavík	2	1	0	1	47	48	-1
Rijeka	3	2	1	0	80	69	+11
Rio Maior	2	2	0	0	62	50	+12
Seville	2	0	0	2	45	55	-10
Sfax	5	5	0	0	169	124	+45
Skopje	1	0	0	1	29	31	-2
Split	6	6	0	0	193	136	+57
St. Gallen	3	3	0	0	94	88	+6
Stavanger	6	4	1	1	168	156	+12
Stuttgart	3	3	0	0	108	72	+36
Trabzon	1	1	0	0	27	23	+4
Umag	1	1	0	0	26	24	+2
Vantaa	1	1	0	0	34	14	+20
Varaždin	3	3	0	0	102	65	+37
Veszprém	2	0	0	2	46	50	-4
Vienna	3	2	1	0	124	118	+6
Vilnius	1	1	0	0	21	19	+2
Vršac	3	3	0	0	88	78	+10
Yatsushiro	5	2	1	2	123	115	+8
Zadar	5	5	0	0	160	118	+42
Zagreb	18	15	0	3	494	396	+98
Zaragoza	2	2	0	0	63	47	+16
Zürich	2	0	0	2	50	61	-11

Team

Current squad

This is the squad for the 2015 World Men's Handball Championship.^[2]

Head coach: Vacant

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club 5 CB Domagoj Duvnjak (1988-06-01) 1 June 1988 1.97 m 136 435 THW Kiel 7 RB Luka Stepančić (1990-11-20) 20 November 1990 2.03 m 16 26 Zagreb 8 RB Marko Kopljar (1986-02-12) 12 February 1986 2.10 m 109 210 Paris Saint-Germain 9 P Igor Vori (c) (1980-09-20) 20 September 1980 2.03 m 223 562 Paris Saint-Germain 10 LB Jakov Gojun (1986-04-18) 18 April 1986 2.04 m 108 66 Paris Saint-Germain 13 RW Zlatko Horvat (1984-09-25) 25 September 1984 1.79 m 98 246 Zagreb 16 GK Filip Ivić (1992-08-30) 30 August 1992 1.95 m 17 0 Zagreb 18 CB Igor Karačić (1988-11-02) 2 November 1988 1.89 m 10 37 Vardar 20 LB Damir Bičanić (1985-06-29) 29 June 1985 1.94 m 78 153 Chambéry 25 GK Mirko Alilović (1985-09-15) 15 September 1985 2.00 m 137 0 MKB Veszprém 26 LW Manuel Štrlek (1988-12-01) 1 December 1988 1.81 m 82 259 Vive Targi Kielce 27 RW Ivan Čupić (1986-03-27) 27 March 1986 1.78 m 97 378 Vive Targi Kielce 28 P Željko Musa (1986-01-08) 8 January 1986 2.00 m 73 48 Vive Targi Kielce 29 LW Ivan Ninčević (1981-10-27) 27 October 1981 1.84 m 65 96 Beşiktaş 32 LB Ivan Slišković (1991-10-23) 23 October 1991 1.97 m 20 49 Celje 34 P Ilija Brozović (1991-05-26) 26 May 1991 1.95 m 0 0 Zagreb

Head coaches

• Zdravko Zovko (1994-1995)
• Abas Arslanagić (1995-1996)
• Velimir Kljaić (1996-2000)
• Josip Milković (2000-2002)
• Lino Červar (2002-2010)
• Slavko Goluža (2010-2015)
• Željko Babić (2015–)

Other competitions

Youth World Championship

Year	Round	Position	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
2005	Semifinal	03 !	4	0	2	184	175	+9
2007	Final	02 !	5	1	1	215	174	+41
2009	Final	01 !	7	0	0	244	168	+76
2011	Quarterfinal	8th	2	1	4	186	189	-3
2013	Final	02 !	7	0	2	276	234	+42

Junior World Championship

Year	Round	Position	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1993	Did not qualify
1995
1997	Round of 16	10th	4	0	1	137	116	+21
1999	Round of 16	11th	2	0	5	169	175	-6
2001	Round of 16	9th	4	0	4	217	222	-5
2003	Quarterfinal	5th	5	2	1	232	209	+23
2005	Did not qualify
2007	Semifinal	4th	6	1	2	269	229	+40
2009	Did not qualify
2011
2013	Semifinal	4th	6	0	3	242	211	+31
2015	Qualification in progress

European Youth Championship

Year	Round	Position	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1994	Did not qualify
1997
1999	Preliminary Round	7th	3	0	3	152	151	+1
2001	Preliminary Round	9th	2	1	3	170	167	+3
2003	Preliminary Round	11th	1	0	5	145	167	-22
2004	Final	02 !	5	0	2	185	185	0
2006	Final	01 !	7	0	0	226	173	+53
2008	Main Round	5th	4	0	3	186	199	-13
2010	Final	01 !	6	0	1	183	165	+18
2012	Main Round	7th	3	1	3	215	204	+11
2014	Qualification in progress

Junior European Championship

Year	Round	Position	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1996	Preliminary Round	5th	4	0	2	148	143	+5
1998	Preliminary Round	6th	4	0	2	158	156	+2
2000	Preliminary Round	8th	1	3	2	173	180	-7
2002	Preliminary Round	11th	2	0	4	151	167	-16
2004	Did not qualify
2006	Main Round	7th	4	1	2	196	178	+18
2008	Preliminary Round	16th	1	1	5	187	212	-25
2010	Preliminary Round	11th	3	0	4	192	190	+2
2012	Final	02 !	5	0	2	180	153	+27
2014	Did not qualify

Medal-winning squads

• Gold medal at the 1993 Mediterranean Games: Tonči Peribonio, Mirko Bašić, Goran Perkovac, Alvaro Načinović, Ivica Obrvan, Bruno Gudelj, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Ratko Tomljanović, Vlado Šola, Vladimir Jelčić, Patrik Ćavar, Irfan Smajlagić, Nenad Kljajić
  • coach: Zdravko Zovko
• Bronze medal at the 1994 European Championship: Zvonimir Bilić, Patrik Ćavar, Darko Franović, Bruno Gudelj, Vladimir Jelčić, Nenad Kljajić, Ivica Obrvan, Tonči Peribonio, Goran Perkovac, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Irfan Smajlagić, Vlado Šola, Ratko Tomljanović
  • coach: Zdravko Zovko
• Silver medal at the 1995 World Championship: Goran Perkovac, Irfan Smajlagić, Alvaro Načinović, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Patrik Ćavar, Ratko Tomljanović, Vlado Šola, Valter Matošević, Zvonimir Bilić, Slavko Goluža, Božidar Jović, Venio Losert, Boris Jarak, Tomislav Farkaš, Mirza Šarić
  • coach: Zdravko Zovko
• Gold medal at the 1996 Olympics: Patrik Ćavar, Valner Franković, Slavko Goluža, Bruno Gudelj, Vladimir Jelčić, Božidar Jović, Nenad Kljajić, Venio Losert, Valter Matošević, Zoran Mikulić, Alvaro Načinović, Goran Perkovac, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Irfan Smajlagić, Vladimir Šujster
  • coach: Velimir Kljaić
• Gold medal at the 1997 Mediterranean Games: Goran Perkovac, Valter Matošević, Valner Franković, Božidar Jović, Miro Barišić, Mario Bjeliš, Goran Jerković, Mirza Džomba, Enes Halkić, Davor Dominiković, Silvio Ivandija, Igor Kos, Dragan Jerković, Neno Boban, Mario Kelentrić, Mladen Prskalo
  • coach: Velimir Kljaić
• Gold medal at the 2001 Mediterranean Games: Ivano Balić, Tihomir Baltić, Zvonimir Bilić, Davor Dominiković, Mirza Džomba, Slavko Goluža, Božidar Jović, Mario Kelentrić, Igor Kos, Blaženko Lacković, Valter Matošević, Diego Modrušan, Goran Šprem, Renato Sulić, Vedran Zrnić
  • coach: Josip Milković
• Gold medal at the 2003 World Championship: Ivano Balić, Davor Dominiković, Mirza Džomba, Slavko Goluža, Božidar Jović, Nikša Kaleb, Mario Kelentrić, Blaženko Lacković, Valter Matošević, Petar Metličić, Vlado Šola, Denis Špoljarić, Goran Šprem, Renato Sulić, Tonči Valčić, Igor Vori, Vedran Zrnić
  • coach: Lino Červar
• Gold medal at the 2004 Olympics: Ivano Balić, Davor Dominiković, Mirza Džomba, Slavko Goluža, Nikša Kaleb, Blaženko Lacković, Venio Losert, Valter Matošević, Petar Metličić, Vlado Šola, Denis Špoljarić, Goran Šprem, Igor Vori, Drago Vuković, Vedran Zrnić
  • coach: Lino Červar
• Silver medal at the 2005 World Championship: Venio Losert, Nikša Kaleb, Ivano Balić, Blaženko Lacković, Vedran Zrnić, Igor Vori, Davor Dominiković, Mirza Džomba, Vlado Šola, Zoran Jeftić, Slavko Goluža, Nikola Blažičko, Goran Šprem, Denis Špoljarić, Petar Metličić, Denis Buntić
  • coach: Lino Červar
• Silver medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games: Damir Bičanić, Nikola Blažičko, Denis Buntić, Josip Čale, Ivan Čupić, Zlatko Horvat, Tomislav Huljina, Krešimir Ivanković, Marin Knez, Branimir Koloper, Mario Obad, Vladimir Ostarčević, Ivan Pongračić, Vjenceslav Somić, Ljubo Vukić, Drago Vuković
  • coach: Lino Červar
• Silver medal at the 2008 European Championship: Nikša Kaleb, Renato Sulić, Ivano Balić, Domagoj Duvnjak, Blaženko Lacković, Igor Vori, Davor Dominiković, Vjenceslav Somić, Zlatko Horvat, Drago Vuković, Dragan Jerković, Denis Špoljarić, Petar Metličić, Josip Valčić, Ljubo Vukić, Tonči Valčić, Mirko Alilović, Ivan Čupić
  • coach: Lino Červar
• Silver medal at the 2009 World Championship: Venio Losert, Mateo Hrvatin, Ivano Balić, Domagoj Duvnjak, Blaženko Lacković, Vedran Zrnić, Marko Kopljar, Igor Vori, Jakov Gojun, Zlatko Horvat, Ivan Pešić, Goran Šprem, Denis Špoljarić, Petar Metličić, Denis Buntić, Josip Valčić, Tonči Valčić, Mirko Alilović, Ivan Čupić, Dalibor Anušić, Ivan Ninčević
  • coach: Lino Červar
• Silver medal at the 2010 European Championship: Ivano Balić, Domagoj Duvnjak, Blaženko Lacković, Vedran Zrnić, Marko Kopljar, Igor Vori, Jakov Gojun, Goran Čarapina, Drago Vuković, Vedran Mataija, Damir Bičanić, Denis Buntić, Tonči Valčić, Mirko Alilović, Manuel Štrlek, Ivan Čupić, Željko Musa
  • coach: Lino Červar
• Bronze medal at the 2012 European Championship: Ivano Balić, Domagoj Duvnjak, Blaženko Lacković, Marko Kopljar, Igor Vori, Jakov Gojun, Venio Losert, Zlatko Horvat, Drago Vuković, Damir Bičanić, Denis Buntić, Mirko Alilović, Manuel Štrlek, Ivan Čupić, Željko Musa, Ivan Ninčević
  • coach: Slavko Goluža
• Bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics: Venio Losert, Ivano Balić, Domagoj Duvnjak, Blaženko Lacković, Marko Kopljar, Igor Vori, Jakov Gojun, Zlatko Horvat, Drago Vuković, Damir Bičanić, Denis Buntić, Mirko Alilović, Manuel Štrlek, Ivan Čupić, Ivan Ninčević
  • coach: Slavko Goluža
• Bronze medal at the 2013 World Championship: Marko Alilović, Filip Ivić, Ivan Čupić, Zlatko Horvat, Manuel Štrlek, Lovro Šprem, Marko Kopljar, Luka Stepančić, Domagoj Duvnjak, Jakov Gojun, Damir Bičanić, Drago Vuković, Stipe Mandalinić, Blaženko Lacković, Igor Vori, Marino Marić, Ivan Ninčević
  • coach: Slavko Goluža
• Silver medal at the 2013 Mediterranean Games: Ivan Pešić, Ivan Stevanović, Hrvoje Batinović, Lovro Šprem, Jerko Matulić, Nik Dominik Tominec, Marino Marić, Filip Gavranović, Ivan Slišković, Stefan Vujić, Marko Matić, Luka Stepančić, Robert Markotić, Igor Karačić, Damir Batinović, Josip Vidović
  • coach: Slavko Goluža

Notable players

• Irfan Smajlagić
  • part of the all-star team of the 1995 World Championship as the best right wing
  • part of the all-star team of the 1996 Olympic tournament as the best right wing
• Patrik Ćavar
  • top scorer and part of the all-star team of the 1996 Olympic tournament as the best left wing
• Ivano Balić
  • IHF World Player of the Year 2003 and 2006
  • Croatian Sportsman of the Year 2007
  • part of the all-star team of the 2004 Olympic tournament as the best central back
  • MVP and part of the all-star team of the 2005 World Championship as the best central back
  • top scorer and part of the all-star team of the 2006 European Championship as the best central back
  • MVP of the 2007 World Championship
  • top scorer and part of the all-star team of the 2008 European Championship as the best central back
• Mirza Džomba
  • part of the all-star team of the 2003 World Championship as the best right wing
  • MVP and top scorer of the 2004 European Championship
  • part of the all-star team of the 2004 Olympic tournament as the best right wing
  • part of the all-star team of the 2005 World Championship as the best right wing
• Igor Vori
  • best defence player of the 2008 European Championship
  • MVP and part of the all-star team of the 2009 World Championship as the best pivot
  • part of the all-star team of the 2010 European Championship as the best pivot
• Ivan Čupić
  • part of the all-star team of the 2009 World Championship as the best right wing
  • part of the all-star team of the 2012 Olympic tournament as the best right wing
• Blaženko Lacković
  • part of the all-star team of the 2009 World Championship as the best left back
• Jakov Gojun
  • best defence player of the 2010 European Championship
• Manuel Štrlek
  • part of the all-star team of the 2010 European Championship as the best left wing
• Vedran Zrnić
  • part of the all-star team of the 2011 World Championship as the best right wing
• Marko Kopljar
  • part of the all-star team of the 2012 European Championship as the best right back
• Domagoj Duvnjak
  • IHF World Player of the Year 2013
  • part of the all-star team of the 2013 World Championship as the best playmaker
  • part of the all-star team of the 2014 European Championship as the best centre back
• Ante Tokić
  • part of the all-star team of the 2013 Men's Junior World Championship as the best right wing
• Lovro Mihić
  • part of the all-star team of the 2013 Men's Youth World Championship as the best left wing
• Marko Mamić
  • part of the all-star team of the 2013 Men's Youth World Championship as the best left back

Biggest Wins

Double digit goal difference

World Championship +29 vs. USA (41-12) 2001 +27 vs. Australia (42-15) 2011 +23 vs. Australia (36-13) 2013 +21 vs. Cuba (41-20) 2009 +20 vs. Australia (38-18) 2005 +20 vs. Argentina (38-18) 2011 +19 vs. Kuwait (40-21) 2009 +19 vs. Iran (41-22) 2015 +18 vs. South Korea (41-23) 2007 +14 vs. Egypt (30-16) 1995 +13 vs. China (34-21) 1997 +13 vs. Argentina (36-23) 2005 +13 vs. Marocco (35-22) 2007 +12 vs. Marocco (33-21) 1995 +11 vs. Algeria (31-20) 2013 +10 vs. Spain (32-22) 2009

Olympic Games +19 vs. Brasil (33-14) 2008 +11 vs. China (33-22) 2008 +11 vs. Denmark (32-21) 2012 +10 vs. South Korea (31-21) 2012 European Championship +11 vs. Belarus (33-22) 2014 Mediterranean Games +8 vs. Greece (33-25) 2005

Biggest Loses

World Championship -11 vs. Russia (20-31) 1997 Olympic Games -9 vs. Sweden (18-27 ) 1996 -6 vs. Spain (29-35) 2008

European championship -15 vs. Russia (14-29) 1998 -12 vs. Yougoslavia (22–34) 2002 -10 vs. Denmark (20–30) 2008 Mediterranean Games -7 vs. Spain (21-28) 2005

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Croatia national handball team.

• Official website
• IHF profile

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