World Championship silver a year ago, European Championship silver in Herning. Croatia defeated Iceland 34–33 in the bronze match after being the better team throughout the game.
Both Icelandic and Croatian players spoke ahead of the match about it being a mental battle rather than a handball contest. What did it look like on the court? Initially, it once again looked as if Iceland struggled to cope with the physically strong Croatia, while the Croatians’ defensive play was vastly superior to Iceland’s.
After ten minutes, Croatia had gained a small grip on the match as they moved ahead to a 6–3 lead. The difference, aside from the defense? A slightly higher save percentage from Matej Mandic compared to Viktor Hallgrímsson.
Going forward, Tin Lučin had a dream first half with superb shooting, scoring six goals from seven attempts in total. Iceland, who trailed 7–12 at one point, then took a timeout and switched to a 3–3 defense, while Björgvin Páll Gústavsson came on in goal. The experienced goalkeeper made a couple of saves, and the defensive change caused some problems for Croatia.
Still, Croatia had the final say in the first half when David Mandic made it 17–14 with just a few seconds remaining.
Croatia in control in the second half
It didn’t take long in the second half for Croatia to respond to Iceland’s 3–3 defense – they began playing seven against six, which forced Iceland back into a 6–0 defense. That made it more difficult for Iceland to close the gap.
Things didn’t get any easier for Iceland when Viggo Kristjánsson was shown a red card after 36 minutes for hitting Ivan Martinovic in the face. With Magnusson already carrying two suspensions, it created serious problems at right back for the Icelanders.
Shortly after, Croatia made another push to go up 21–16, and at that point it looked very tough for an Iceland side that, to their credit, never gives up. Páll Gústavsson kept Iceland somewhat in the game with several saves, but Croatia always stayed a few goals ahead. Matej Mandic also had a stronger performance in goal than Iceland’s goalkeepers.
There was some late drama, however, after Hallgrímsson came on and saved two penalties. With Croatia leading 33–31, Iceland earned a penalty with just over a minute remaining. Magnusson stepped up and converted his tenth penalty from ten attempts (and his twelfth goal overall in the match). With 40 seconds left, Sigurdsson then took a timeout for Croatia. After that, Filip Glavaš decided the match with his goal to make it 34–32.
Iceland scored a consolation goal in the final second, but Croatia are the bronze medallists.