Croatia men's national handball team

Croatia
Information
Nickname	Kauboji (Eng.: The Cowboys)
Association	Croatian Handball Federation
Coach	Željko Babić
Captain	Marko Kopljar
Most caps	Igor Vori (223)
Most goals	Mirza Džomba (667)
Colours
Home File:Kit body CROHT.png Away
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances	4 (First in 1996)
Best result	(1996, 2004)
World Championship
Appearances	11 (First in 1995)
Best result	(2003)
European Championship
Appearances	12 (First in 1994)
Best result	(2008, 2010)
Last updated on Unknown.

Croatia men's national handball team

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

The Croatia men's national handball team is the 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		7	6	0	1	183	168	+15
2000	Did not qualify
2004	Final		8	8	0	0	238	211	+27
2008	Semifinal	4th	8	4	0	4	218	199	+19
2012	Semifinal		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	1	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		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		9	8	0	1	270	243	+27
2005	Final		10	8	0	2	316	273	+43
2007	Quarterfinal	5th	10	9	0	1	308	246	+62
2009	Final		10	9	0	1	298	228	+70
2011	Main Round	5th	9	6	1	2	271	213	+58
2013	Semifinal		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		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		8	5	1	2	212	203	+9
2010	Final		8	6	1	1	207	194	+13
2012	Semifinal		8	5	1	2	216	201	+15
2014	Semifinal	4th	8	5	0	3	229	206	+23
2016	Qualified
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	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		unknown
1997	Final		4	0	1	121	115	+6
2001	Final		unknown
2005	Final		3	0	1	107	103	+4
2009	Did not compete
2013	Final		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 2016 European Men's Handball Championship.

Head coach: Željko Babić

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club 1 GK Ivan Stevanović (1982-05-18)18 May 1982 (aged 33) 1.93 m 15 0 RK Zagreb 3 P Marino Marić (1990-06-01)1 June 1990 (aged 25) 1.96 m 32 59 MT Melsungen 5 CB Domagoj Duvnjak (1988-06-01)1 June 1988 (aged 27) 1.97 m 153 497 THW Kiel 8 RB Marko Kopljar (c) (1986-02-12)12 February 1986 (aged 29) 2.10 m 124 254 FC Barcelona Handbol 10 LB Jakov Gojun (1986-04-18)18 April 1986 (aged 29) 2.04 m 125 71 Füchse Berlin 13 RW Zlatko Horvat (1984-09-25)25 September 1984 (aged 31) 1.79 m 115 332 RK Zagreb 18 CB Igor Karačić (1988-11-02)2 November 1988 (aged 27) 1.89 m 27 71 RK Vardar 21 P Krešimir Kozina (1990-06-25)25 June 1990 (aged 25) 1.96 m 2 0 SG Flensburg-Handewitt 25 GK Mirko Alilović (1985-09-15)15 September 1985 (aged 30) 2.00 m 152 0 MKB Veszprém 26 LW Manuel Štrlek (1988-12-01)1 December 1988 (aged 27) 1.81 m 99 318 Vive Targi Kielce 27 RW Ivan Čupić (1986-03-27)27 March 1986 (aged 29) 1.78 m 112 440 Vive Targi Kielce 29 LW Antonio Kovačević (1987-05-21)21 May 1987 (aged 28) 1.90 m 4 4 RK Zagreb 30 LB Marko Mamić (1994-03-06)6 March 1994 (aged 21) 2.00 m 4 3 Dunkerque Handball Grand Littoral 31 RB Luka Šebetić (1994-05-26)26 May 1994 (aged 21) 1.98 m 2 3 RK Zagreb 32 LB Ivan Slišković (1991-10-23)23 October 1991 (aged 24) 1.97 m 37 87 MKB Veszprém 33 CB Luka Cindrić (1993-03-05)5 March 1993 (aged 22) 1.82 m 7 18 RK Vardar 34 P Ilija Brozović (1991-05-26)26 May 1991 (aged 24) 1.95 m 15 12 HSV Hamburg

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–)

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 Matic, 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

Player statistics

Most appearances

#	Name	Matches	Position	Years
1	Igor Vori	223	P
2	Venio Losert	221	GK
3	Ivano Balić	198	CB
4	Blaženko Lacković	195	OB
5	Valter Matošević	191	GK
6	Mirza Džomba	185	W
7	Davor Dominiković	174	D, OB
8	Slavko Goluža	160
9	Drago Vuković	157	CB/OB, D
10	Zvonimir Bilić	147	OB
11	Petar Metličić	144	OB
12	Tonči Valčić	144	OB
13	Domagoj Duvnjak	139	CB
14	Mirko Alilović	137	GK
15	Vedran Zrnić	133	W
16	Vlado Šola	132	GK
17	Denis Špoljarić	131	D
18	Denis Buntić	124	OB
19	Patrik Ćavar	120	W
20	Goran Šprem	109	W
21	Marko Kopljar	101	OB
22	Jakov Gojun	100	D
23	Božidar Jović	100+	P
24	Zlatko Horvat	98	W
25	Ivan Čupić	97	W
26	Renato Sulić	87	P
27	Manuel Štrlek	82	W
28	Nenad Kljaić	~100	P
29	Irfan Smajlagić	93+	W

Players that played for Croatian National Handball Team after the breakup of Yugoslavia and
collected 100+ caps combined for Yugoslavian and Croatian National Handball Teams.

Name	Matches	Position	Years
Alvaro Načinović	85	P
Zlatko Saračević	81+	OB
Zoran Mikulić	62	OB
Goran Perkovac	10+	OB
Mirko Bašić	47+	GK
Tonči Peribonio	39	GK
Iztok Puc	10+	OB

Top scorers

#	Name	Goals	Average	Position	Years
1	Mirza Džomba	719	3.89	W	1994-2008
2	Patrik Ćavar	639	5.33	W
3	Blaženko Lacković	571	2.93	OB
4	Igor Vori	562	2.52	P
5	Ivano Balić	535	2.70	CB
6	Zvonimir Bilić	500+		OB
7	Domagoj Duvnjak	465	3.35	CB
8	Petar Metličić	407	2.83	OB
9	Ivan Čupić	378	3.90	W
10	Irfan Smajlagić	290+		W
11	Denis Buntić	277	2.23	OB
12	Goran Šprem	277	2.54	W
13	Vedran Zrnić	270	2.03	W
14	Manuel Štrlek	259	3.16	W
15	Zlatko Horvat	246	2.51	W
16	Zlatko Saračević	244+		OB
17	Tonči Valčić	226	1.57	OB
18	Renato Sulić	221	2.54	P
19	Drago Vuković	210	1.34	CB/OB, D
20	Davor Dominiković	205	1.18	D, OB
21	Marko Kopljar	191	1.89	OB
22	Nenad Kljaić	170		P
23	Božidar Jović	100+		P
24	Slavko Goluža	100+		?

Record against other teams

As of 15 June 2015

National team	Total				Olympic Games				World Championship				European Championship				Mediterranean Games				Qualifications				Tournaments & Friendly
	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L
Algeria	4	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	1	1	1	0	0
Argentina	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Australia	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Austria	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	4	4	0	0
Belarus	9	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	6	4	2	0
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brazil	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Bulgaria	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0
Chile	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
China	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Cuba	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Czech Republic	6	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0
Denmark	16	8	0	8	2	2	0	0	5	2	0	3	9	4	0	5	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Egypt	6	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	—	—	—	—	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0
Finland	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	4	4	0	0
France	19	7	1	11	4	1	0	3	7	4	0	3	8	2	1	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Germany	9	7	1	1	1	1	0	0	4	3	1	0	4	3	0	1	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Greece	6	6	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	2	2	0	0
Greenland	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Hungary	16	11	1	4	3	3	0	0	6	5	0	1	3	1	1	1	—	—	—	—	4	2	0	2
Iceland	8	6	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	2	1	0	—	—	—	—	3	2	0	1
Iran	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Italy	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Japan	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0
Kuwait	3	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Latvia	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0
Lithuania	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0
Macedonia	4	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1
Montenegro	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Morocco	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Netherlands	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0
Nigeria	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Norway	9	5	2	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	5	4	1	0	—	—	—	—	2	1	0	1
Poland	7	6	0	1	1	1	0	0	3	2	0	1	3	3	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Portugal	4	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	2	1	0	1
Romania	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	4	4	0	0
Russia	16	9	1	6	2	2	0	0	6	4	0	2	7	2	1	4	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Saudi Arabia	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Serbia*	9	4	1	4	1	1	0	0	3	1	1	1	4	1	0	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Slovakia	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	4	4	0	0
Slovenia	14	9	0	5	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	5	3	0	2	2	1	0	1	4	2	0	2
South Korea	5	4	0	1	2	2	0	0	3	2	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Spain	22	14	1	7	4	3	0	1	9	7	0	2	6	2	1	3	1	0	0	1	2	2	0	0
Sweden	9	6	0	3	2	1	0	1	4	3	0	1	3	2	0	1	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Switzerland	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Tunisia	5	5	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Turkey	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	6	0	0
Ukraine	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
United States	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Total (49)	277	203	13	61

• *includes games against Serbia and Montenegro

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 Losses

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

Other competitions

Youth World Championship

U-19

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

European Youth Championship

U-18

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		5	0	2	185	185	0
2006	Final		7	0	0	226	173	+53
2008	Main Round	5th	4	0	3	186	199	-13
2010	Final		6	0	1	183	165	+18
2012	Main Round	7th	3	1	3	215	204	+11
2014	Qualification in progress

Junior World Championship

U-21

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

Junior European Championship

U-20

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		5	0	2	180	153	+27
2014	Did not qualify

External links

• Official website
• IHF profile