TItel candidate Spain suffered a heavy defeat at the start of the European Handball Championship. The Iberians were surprisingly defeated by Croatia in the top game in Mannheim on Friday with 29:39 (14:18). The Croatians' most successful throwers were Ivan Martinovic from Bundesliga club MT Melsungen and Mario Sostaric with eight goals each.
In the other game in preliminary group B, Austria won 31:24 (15:14) against Romania. In Group C, Hungary beat Montenegro 26:24 (14:14) in Munich. Iceland had previously played 27:27 (11:10) against Serbia thanks to a furious final phase and three goals in the last two minutes.
The Spaniards, who have reached the final of every European Championship since 2016 and won the title twice, got off to a miserable start in front of 13,293 spectators. Coach Jordi Ribera switched to seven against six early on and left his own goal empty on several occasions, but the Iberians appeared unstable in their attacks.
And the Croatians punished almost every mistake. Thousands of fans of the two-time Olympic champion transformed the hall into a cauldron right from the start. Midway through the first half, the Croatians pulled ahead by six goals. They also scored four goals in a row in the second half. The 2003 world champion played with high intensity and at times as if in a state of intoxication. The Spaniards never really got into the game.
After the victories of the French, Swedes and Danes, the Spaniards are the first top team to suffer a defeat at the European Championships in Germany. The Croatians, who had recently disappointed at major tournaments, took revenge for the 2020 final defeat.
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