Croatia seemed to have recovered better from their semi-final loss or, at least, that was the feeling in the first half. As Matej Mandić provided much-needed saves and Tin Lučin delivered offensively, the 2025 World Championship silver medallists took an advantage as clear as five goals, before going back to the locker room leading by three.
Despite still being in the game at the break, Iceland could not manage a comeback. Instead, with Lučin still on scoring duties, Croatia pulled further away, taking a maximum advantage of six goals with 10 minutes left to play. With the ending in sight, Iceland came back within one, before Filip Glavaš finally sealed the deal for Croatia, offering them their first EHF EURO medal since the silver in 2020.
BRONZE-MEDAL MATCH
H2H: 2-1-13
Top scorers: Ómar Ingi Magnússon 12/12 (ISL); Tin Lučin 9/13 (CRO)
Goalkeeper saves: Viktor Hallgrímsson 5/22, Björgvin Páll Gústavsson 6/22 (ISL); Matej Mandić 8/36, Dino Slavić 0/4 (CRO)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Tin Lučin (CRO)
- the Croatian defence was impressive in the first moments of the game, as was Matej Mandić between the posts; as a result, Croatia were ahead by five after 19 minutes
- Iceland did more than level up the play before the break, and a more efficient defence gave them the opportunity to come back within two several times late in the half
- after Viggó Kristjánsson received a red card in the 38th minute, Croatia took the upper hand again, scoring two to return to their five-goal advantage
- Iceland pulled off an incredible goal courtesy of Magnússon, coming back within one with one minute left to play, but Glavaš’ hand did not shake and he secured the win with 24 seconds on the clock
- Lučin played a major role for Croatia, scoring nine overall, and was only topped by Ómar Ingi Magnússon with his 12 goals; the Croatia left back was elected Player of the Match
- this medal is the first at an EHF EURO for Croatia since 2020, their fourth bronze and their seventh medal overall in the competition
Tin Lučin: The Croatian X-factor
The Croatian left back might not have been on the court when Croatia last won a medal at the EHF EURO, in 2020, but he knows exactly the value of winning a medal in an international competition. Lučin already did so last year, at the IHF World Championship, and on Sunday afternoon, he gave everything to push his team to a second medal in one year.
Not only did he score nine and offer the same number of assists, he also muted Iceland right back Magnússon. The SC Magdeburg player might have scored 12, but 10 of them were from the penalty line. With his performance nothing short of astonishing, Lučin earnt the celebration with Croatia’s supporters.
It was a tough match, but we fought until the end. I am so proud on the team. For us, this bronze medal is like gold. We showed character in every game of this tournament. The last 10 minutes were chaotic. Both teams were nervous, and it was a really intense fight. We started really good and kept the lead for the whole match.
It was a deserved win. We are disappointed, but we lost to a better team. We had a bad start and missed a lot of chances. Croatia is maybe one of the best teams in the world to control games. We tried hard, but could not turn the match around.
