Croatia earns bronze with victory over Slovenia!

Croatia won their third bronze medal in the last 12 months in an impressive 31-26 win that leaves them with an 8-1 record at the end of the tournament. Croatia showed their youth and versatility in these World Championships as they overcame drama, injuries, and a very tough draw to still finish on the podium. Will this new generation be able to match the feats of the 2003/2004 squads that were World and Olympic Champions? Croatia’s next matches will come in April as they look to qualify for the European Championships next January. 

1^st Half: Croatia’s defense was improved from the Denmark match, but still faulty, as the teams traded goals early in what was a significantly quicker pace than the previous match. Croatia led 8-7 at the 15 minute mark, with the offense struggling to get the wingers involved but Domagoj Duvnjak making up for it with some great shots.The defenses continued to impress as they didn’t allow a goal for over five minutes after the quarter mark. Both sides continued to trade goals as neither team was able to get a lead larger than two. Ivan Čupić finally came alive, after being shutout against the Danes, scoring on the fast break and converting penalties to put his goals tally at six for the half. Domagoj Duvnjak scored four and the save percentages on both sides were below 30%. 

2^nd Half: Croatia went on the first run of the match five minutes into the second half as they scored seven in a row through six different players to go up 21-14 and put themselves in a winning position. After scoring right at the start of the half, Slovenia was held scoreless for over ten minutes. The frustration got to Slovenia as Marko Bezjak took out Ivan Čupić on a fast break and earned himself a red card. Slovenia finally scored their second of the half on the 12 minute mark. With a 24-16 lead at the halfway mark of the 2^nd half, Croatia had the game in the bag and could take their feet off the gas pedal. The only negative for the Cowboys was what appeared to be a fairly serious shoulder injury to Čupić with a few minutes left to play. Counterattacks proved to be a huge difference maker for Croatia with Croatia outscoring Slovenia 8-1 on breakaways. Cupic and Duvnjak both led Croatia with eight goals apiece.