Croatia’s handball team opened the main round of the EHF Euro 2026 with a vital 30:29 victory over Iceland in the first Group II match, which is a major step toward reaching the tournament semi-finals. Before the championship began, Iceland had been tipped alongside Sweden as one of the main favorites to progress from Croatia’s half of the bracket.
With this win, Croatia joins Sweden, Slovenia, and Iceland on two points, while Hungary and Switzerland remain without any. Dagur Sigurdsson’s squad will next face Switzerland on Sunday at 8:30 pm, followed by clashes against Slovenia on Tuesday at 6 pm and Hungary the following day, also at 6 pm.
Sigurdsson made several bold adjustments for this matchup. Dino Slavić, who had watched the previous three games from the stands, started in goal, while Mateo Maraš took the right-back position, with Ivan Martinović shifting to center. Luka Cindrić was left out of the lineup.
Croatia made a strong start, leading 7:4 by the ninth minute thanks to two goals apiece from Maraš and Zvonimir Srna. The only setback came early when Slavić injured himself in the third minute while chasing a loose ball, colliding with the post and being forced to leave the game.
The first half was tightly contested, with both sides trading goals. Croatia would pull ahead by two, only for Iceland to close the gap to one. In the final five minutes before halftime, Croatia strung together three unanswered goals to take a comfortable 19:15 lead into the break. Dominik Kuzmanović was outstanding, saving three seven-meter throws in the first half alone.
Croatia struggled at the start of the second half, scoring just once in the opening eight minutes. Iceland capitalized with a 4–1 run to close within a single goal. The Croatian side never managed to build more than a three-goal cushion but remained in control, denying Iceland any chance to equalize.
Unfortunately, captain Ivan Martinović suffered an injury in the 44th minute. After receiving medical attention for several minutes, he briefly returned to play but quickly realized he couldn’t continue. The extent of the injury remains unknown.
In the closing minutes, responsibility fell to Mateo Maraš and Luka Cindrić, who twice found pivot Zlatko Raužan for crucial goals. One of the decisive moments came in the 57th minute when Slavić, returning to the court, saved a penalty from Omar Ingi Magnusson. Moments later, Maraš struck to make it +3 with just 100 seconds left. Iceland managed to reduce the deficit to one in a dramatic finish.
Zvonimir Srna was named Player of the Match after scoring six goals, while Mateo Maraš led Croatia’s scorers with seven. Remarkably, Maraš had watched the match against Sweden from the stands but seized his opportunity tonight with a brilliant performance. For Iceland, Magnusson and Odinn Thor Rikhardsson each scored eight goals.
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