Croatia and France See Themselves in Final

The coaches of the national handball teams from Croatia and France did not gamble last night, because the match was firm and competitive, and it could be seen that all participants wanted an win, and to enter the semi-finals undefeated.

After a great match where Croatia’s defence stood out, the Croatian players traditionally sang the song “Morska Vila” and turned their attention to the future. Many would be swept away with this win, but the Croatian handball players know what is next, and what they need to prepare for.

Players know what is next, they are not swept away by the French

“I am a little tired, but I hold out when I see these 15 thousand people in the arena. We have two days of rest and that is an opportunity to prepare for the Poles. Venio was excellent and we will give our maximum in the next matches” said Domagoj Duvnjak, who is improving in form from match to match.

However, last night the player of the match in every respect was Igor Vori, who scored eight goals from the same number of attempts. However, he is humble, and considers that it was like that because he was psychologically not burdened.

“This was a psychologically relaxed match. We were leading for 60 minutes and they cannot say that they were playing with their second team, because they were mostly playing with their first. The Poles surprised me, they play very good defence and are really awkward” said Vori, who is already thinking about Croatia’s match against Poland.

“Tonight you were better”

Whilst Croatia is preparing for Poland, the French are preparing for the awkward team from Denmark. They certainly have not come across an easy opponent, but they are full of self confidence and this match did not move them at all.

“The Croats were better today, but they and we did not play with our strongest line-up. Now we need to prepare for the semi-finals, and then, I hope, the finals against Croatia, because I consider that we (France) and you (Croatia) deserve it the most. I congratulate Croatia again for tonight’s win in a great atmosphere” said the best player in the world, Nikola Karabatic.

Let the wishes for the finalists occur, and let the result remain the same, Croatia needs that and Croatia certainly deserves it.

Cervar foresaw match against Poland

“I respect Onesta a lot, he will play in the finals, I expect them there because they are a strong team. As far as we are concerned, I am very happy with the play, but mostly with the approach of the younger players that wanted to show that they deserve to be in the national team” said Croatia’s coach Lino Cervar, and added that he expects a hard match against Poland.

It was as if Croatia’s coach knew who would await him the semi-finals, because he predicted Poland and Denmark in the semi-finals, and wanted the opponents that await Croatia.

“The Poles are a tough and strong opponent, and it will be hard for us, but before 15 thousand spectators, which have warmed up, our opponents are in for a real hell” said Cervar.

The French coach Claude Onesta agreed that Croatia was excellent, but stressed that their team also played a very good match, in which nobody was injured.

Onesta did not show arrogance

“Congratulations, you played an excellent match, but we were not bad either. Many have asked if this match would be real, and I think that they have been convinced that it is. We do not go into matches easily, so we did not do so this time. We wanted a win, but today Croatia was better” said Onesta. He then stressed that they now need to prepare for Denmark, because it is not good to see yourself in the finals before the semi-finals.

Both coaches have similar characteristics, which they obviously carry on to their teams, which have been returning the best at this championship. This is why we need to repeat the wishes of everyone – let Croatia and France meet in a great final of two generations that marked the decade of handball.