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	Ivano Balić (572)
Most goals	Mirza Džomba (667)
Colours
Home Away
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances	5 (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
	2016 Poland	Team
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 Qualified 2020 Qualification in progress Total Qualified: 5/7 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 Bahrain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chile 1 1 0 0 35 15 +20 Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Iceland 1 1 0 0 31 28 +3 Japan 2 2 0 0 73 44 +29 Norway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Russia 1 1 0 0 26 24 +2 Total 8 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 Qualified ' 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 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 3rd from the 2016 Euro yes 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 Semifinal 8 5 0 3 250 219 +31 2018 Qualified 2020 Qualification in progress Total Qualified: 12/12 82 47 7 28 2190 2106 +84 Including qualifying rounds 128 85 9 34 3512 3160 +352

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 6 5 0 1 191 148 +43 yes 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[1] 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 Rio 2016 currently. Updates are coming when needed.

Head coach: Željko Babić

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club 1 GK Ivan Stevanović 18 May 1982 1.93 m 15 0 RK Zagreb 3 P Marino Marić 1 June 1990 1.96 m 32 59 MT Melsungen 5 CB Domagoj Duvnjak 1 June 1988 1.97 m 153 497 THW Kiel 8 RB Marko Kopljar 12 February 1986 2.10 m 124 254 FC Barcelona 10 LB Jakov Gojun 18 April 1986 2.04 m 125 71 Füchse Berlin 13 RW Zlatko Horvat 25 September 1984 1.79 m 115 332 RK Zagreb 18 CB Igor Karačić 2 November 1988 1.89 m 27 71 RK Vardar 21 P Krešimir Kozina 25 June 1990 1.96 m 2 0 SG Flensburg-Handewitt 12 GK Ivan Pešić (handballer) 17 March 1989 1.94 m 0 Meshkov Brest 26 LW Manuel Štrlek 1 December 1988 1.81 m 99 318 Vive Targi Kielce 27 RW Ivan Čupić 27 March 1986 1.78 m 112 440 Vive Targi Kielce 29 LW Antonio Kovačević 21 May 1987 1.90 m 4 4 RK Zagreb 30 LB Marko Mamić 6 March 1994 2.00 m 4 3 Dunkerque 31 RB Luka Šebetić 26 May 1994 1.98 m 2 3 RK Zagreb 32 LB Ivan Slišković 23 October 1991 1.97 m 37 87 MVM Veszprém 33 CB Luka Cindrić 5 July 1993 1.82 m 7 18 RK Vardar 34 P Ilija Brozović 26 May 1991 1.95 m 15 12 THW Kiel 21 RB Denis Buntić 13 October 1982 1.98 m 84 Vive Targi Kielce

Head coaches

^[2]

• Josip Milković and Ivica Horvat (1990-1991)
• Zdravko Zovko (1991-1995)
• Abas Arslanagić (1995-1996)
• Vlado Nekić (1996)
• Velimir Kljaić (1996)
• Ivan Duvnjak (1996)
• Damir Čavlović (1996)
• Josip Glavaš (1997)
• Ilija Puljević (1997-1998)
• Velimir Kljaić (1998)
• Zdravko Zovko (1999-2000)
• 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, Luka Raković.
  • 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
• Bronze medal at the 2016 European Championship:Ivan Stevanović,Marino Marić,Domagoj Duvnjak,Marko Kopljar,Jakov Gojun,Zlatko Horvat,Igor Karačić,Krešimir Kozina,Mirko Alilović,Manuel Štrlek,Ivan Čupić,Antonio Kovačević,Marko Mamić,Luka Šebetić,Ivan Slišković,Luka Cindrić,Ilija Brozović
  • coach: Željko Babić

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
  • part of the all-star team of the 2016 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 211 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 667 3.89 W 1994-2008 2 Patrik Ćavar 639 5.33 W 3 Ivano Balić 572 2.70 CB 4 Blaženko Lacković 571 2.93 OB 5 Igor Vori 562 2.52 P 6 Zvonimir Bilić 500+ OB 7 Domagoj Duvnjak 497 3.35 CB 8 Ivan Čupić 440 3.90 W 9 Petar Metličić 407 2.83 OB 10 Zlatko Horvat 332 2.51 W 11 Manuel Štrlek 318 3.16 W 12 Irfan Smajlagić 290+ W 13 Denis Buntić 277 2.23 OB 14 Goran Šprem 277 2.54 W 15 Vedran Zrnić 270 2.03 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 10 April 2016

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
Bahrain	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Belarus	10	8	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	3	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	17	8	0	9	2	2	0	0	5	2	0	3	9	4	0	5	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	1
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	20	7	1	12	4	1	0	3	7	4	0	3	9	2	1	6	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	9	7	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	4	3	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	5	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	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	12	7	2	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	7	5	1	1	—	—	—	—	3	2	0	1
Poland	8	7	0	1	1	1	0	0	3	2	0	1	4	4	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	23	14	1	8	4	3	0	1	9	7	0	2	7	2	1	4	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 (50)	288	210	13	65

• *includes games against Serbia and Montenegro

Biggest Wins

Double digit goal difference

Olympic Games	World Championship	European Championship	Mediterranean Games	Qualifications
+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	+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	+14 vs. Poland (37-23) 2016 +11 vs. Belarus (33-22) 2014 +10 vs. Macedonia (34-24) 2016	+8 vs. Greece (33-25) 2005	+20 vs. Finland (34-14) 2010 +19 vs. Finland (39-20) 2010 +14 vs. Turkey (40-26) 2016 +13 vs. Slovakia (34-21) 2010 +12 vs. Greece (32-20) 2010 +12 vs. Romania (34-22) 2012 +11 vs. Netherlands (35-24) 2016 +11 vs. Slovakia (32-21) 2014 +10 vs. Turkey (32-22) 2016 +10 vs. Bahrain (32-22) 2016

Biggest Losses

Olympic Games	World Championship	European Championship	Mediterranean Games	Qualifications
-9 vs. Sweden (18-27 ) 1996 -6 vs. Spain (29-35) 2008	-11 vs. Russia (20-31) 1997	-15 vs. Russia (14-29) 1998 -12 vs. Yougoslavia (22–34) 2002 -10 vs. Denmark (20–30) 2008	-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

References

1. Scheduled to play against at the qualifying tournament for the 2016 European Championship.
2. "rukomet". Proleksis Enciklopedija. Retrieved 3 February 2016.

External links

• Official website
• IHF profile