The Croatia men’s handball team opened its European Championship campaign with a 32–29 win over Georgia in Group E in Malmö, Sweden. It was a far tougher night than expected for the favorites, as Georgia led several times and stayed in contention until the final minutes.
Mario Šoštarić led Croatia with eight goals, followed by Luka Cindrić with six. For Georgia, Giorgi Chovrebadze and Giorgi Dihaminjia both netted seven.
Dagur Sigurdsson’s side stumbled early, struggling to find their rhythm in the attack. After Martinović scored the opener, Georgia responded with a strong run to take a two-goal lead. Boosted by Kalandadze and Zagreb’s own Chovrebadze, Georgia extended the gap to four midway through the first half, forcing Sigurdsson to call a timeout.
Even that didn’t immediately help. Georgia surged to a six-goal advantage before picking up their first exclusion. Playing with an extra man, Croatia finally broke a six-minute scoring drought and followed with a six-goal streak of their own to retake the lead just before halftime. They went into the break narrowly ahead.
Tin Lučin made an impact early in the second half, scoring twice. But defensive lapses let Georgia back in, and they soon reclaimed the lead. The game turned into a tense exchange of missed chances until Luka Cindrić tied it at 24–24.
Croatia switched to a 5–1 defense, which disrupted Georgia’s attack just enough to tilt the game. In the closing minutes, Martinović and Lučin struck again, finally giving Croatia a three-goal lead and some breathing room.
Croatia escaped with the win. Next up: the Netherlands on Monday at 18:00.
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