In an exciting finish, they left Croatia disappointed with the 17:17 draw. The historic moment was secured with the help of Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos, Annika Frídheim Petersen, who had 17 saves.
Croatia could not find their game and were making too many attacking mistakes, although their goalkeeper Lucija Bešen did her best to keep the dream of a win going until the end.
GROUP D
Croatia vs Faroe Islands 17:17 (9:8)
- the Faroe Islands once more had a topsy-turvy start, scoring only two goals in first 13 minutes, but goalkeeper Annika Frídheim Petersen brought them back to life and helped them narrow the gap at 6:5
- Croatia could not impose their rhythm and make a break despite Lucija Bešen following Frídheim Petersen's footsteps between the posts; both were around 50 per cent save efficiency at half-time and the match was the lowest-scoring at the Women's EHF EURO 2024
- Katarina Ježic reached a new milestone in her career when scoring for 14:13, her 50th EHF EURO goal
- Croatia's biggest lead in the game was three goals, but the Faroe Islands managed to keep up with them with their efficient seven-against-six play
- the Faroe Islands led just once, when line player Pernille Brandenborg netted for a 17:16 advantage in the 55th minute
- in a thrilling end, the Faroe Islands had a chance to score for the win but lost the opportunity with a technical fault, Croatia then had three seconds to score for victory but also were unsuccessful
- Jana Mittún and Turid Arge Samuelsen both netted five for the Faroe Islands, the same as Katarina Ježic for Croatia
Living the dream
Just like their compatriots from the men's national team at the Men's EHF EURO 2024, the Faroe Islands women's team got their hands on their first point at the major competition.
The youngest team of the European championship had a bad start, trailing by three, but when they rose to the occasion they were challenging Croatia right until the end. With a fast pace and good goalkeeper's performance, they grabbed a point and celebrated loudly with their fans.
Interestingly enough, when the men's team took their first point in January this year they drew 26:26 with 2020 bronze medallists, Norway, in round 2 of the preliminary round – just as the women now have, with the Women’s EHF EURO 2020 bronze medallists, Croatia.
We were well prepared for Faroe Islands — a good team with a Danish system. They have a very good, compact team and very strong playing, so nothing has surprised us, but our attack was not so good as we expected it to be.
It was close the whole time. I think they were leading the most by two goals and we were leading with one and that was a difference, so it could go either way and I guess it's fair that it’s a draw for both teams. We're happy. But I don't think the Croatians are as happy as we are.
