Balkan clash with many retirements
Croatia vs Serbia. That’s a scoop in any sport. The Balkan rivalry is also extremely strong in handball. However, both nations have been hit hard with numerous positive PCR tests. Therefore, many players will probably be missing from both teams, but it is still the duel between Croatia and Serbia.
At the end of the preliminary round, it is very likely that only one of these two teams will make it to the main round, because the lottery fairy still gave the two rivals from the Balkans the reigning Olympic champions in this pool, France. That is why the match between Croatia and Serbia is already a final for a place in the next round.
The Croats lost their opening match by five goals to the French, while the Serbs beat Ukraine by eight goals difference.
Generally, the Croats have the much better squad together. Who will be on the pitch on Saturday, however, will probably only be decided at short notice, but this applies to both teams. Therefore, if you don’t want to bet on the outcome of the match, you can at least place a bet on over-goals between Croatia and Serbia.
Croatia – Statistics & current form
The Croats have an extremely long handball tradition and have enough capable players to go into any tournament with big ambitions. Two years ago, Hrvatska reached the final of the European Championship, where they were beaten by Spain. After that, things didn’t go so well. At the World Cup in Egypt, the Croatians were eliminated in the main round and did not even qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Open defeat against France
At the World Cup in Hungary and Slovakia, the big attack should take place again, but at the moment it is not foreseeable where the journey will lead Hrvoje Horvat’s team. There is a tendency to call it an early day because many of the top performers are not able to play at the moment. Already in the preparation, things didn’t go very well after defeats against Russia and Slovenia, even though they won against both opponents.
Currently, however, they have lost three of their last four games. In view of their personnel problems, the Croats did relatively well in their opening match against France. The Equipe Tricolore were ahead the whole game and did not let Hrvatska come within two goals. In the end, the Croats lost 22:27.
The list of absentees is long. With Domagoj Duvnjak and Luka Cindric, perhaps the most important players are still in isolation. Ivan Pesic and Veron Nacinovic are not even in the squad because of missing vaccinations. Luka Stepancic, Josip Sarac, Igor Karacic and Luka Sebetic are injured. Against this background, it is difficult to make a clear prediction for a Croatian victory in the duel between Croatia and Serbia.
The Croatia squad:
Goal: Pesic, Mandic, Sunjic
Backs: Duvnjak, Gadza, Cindric, Mamic, Jaganjac, Srna, Ivic, Martinovic
Left wing: Mihic, Mandic
Right wing: Cupic, Glavas
Circle: Grahovac, Susnja, Sipic
Coach: Horvat
Last matches of Croatia:
European Championships Preliminary Round Grp. C
01/13 2022 – Croatia 22 – 27 France
Friendlies
01/08 2022 – Croatia 26 – 28 Russia
01/07 2022 – Croatia 30 – 24 Russia
EHF EURO Cup 2022
06/27 2021 – Spain 34 – 22 Croatia
05/01 2021 – Hungary 26 – 22 Croatia
Serbia – Statistics & current form
The Serbs are also in line to succeed a great handball nation, namely the former Yugoslavia. Recently, however, the Serbian handballers have increasingly lost touch with the world elite. For ten years now, they have not achieved anything at European or World Championships or at the Olympic Games.
Half the team in isolation
The Serbian team did not even qualify for the 2021 World Cup in Egypt. In terms of current performance, the team of Spanish coach Toni Gerona is definitely behind the Croats and the Slovenians in the Balkans and possibly also behind Northern Macedonia. Therefore, the prediction of a Croatian victory between Croatia and Serbia should fit.
However, despite all the problems, the Serbian team has made a good start to the European Championship. Ukraine was a grateful opponent in the opening match. In the end, they won clearly with 31:23 and got the eighth victory in a row, whereas the opponents usually had a second-class level. Lazar Kukic of Benfica Lisbon stood out with seven goals.
The Serbs have only one injured player in Petar Nenadic, but had to cope with a major virus outbreak. Already the two preparatory matches against Germany had to be cancelled. As of now, Ilija Abutovic, Nemanja Zelenovic, Vanja Ilic, Nemanja Ilic, Dejan Milosavljevic, Milan Milic and Djordje Djekic remain in isolation.
The Serbia squad:
Goal: Bomastar, Cupara, Milosavljevic
Back: Kukic, Djekic, Borzas, Sretenovic, Abutovic, Dordic, Milic, Zelenovic
Left wing: N. Ilic, V. Ilic
Right wing: Dukic, Radivojevic
Circle: Pesic, Pechmalbec, Marsenic
Coach: Gerona
Last matches of Serbia:
European Championships Preliminary Round Grp. C
01/13 2022 – Serbia 31 – 23 Ukraine
European Championships Qualification Grp. 1
05/02 2021 – Serbia 10 – 0 Belgium
04/29 2021 – Greece 25 – 27 Serbia
01/16 2021 – Belgium 0 – 10 Serbia
01/13 2021 – Serbia 31 – 21 Greece
Croatia – Serbia Direct comparison / H2H balance
Since the 2011 World Cup, the two neighbours from the Balkans have only dueled in ten international matches. The direct comparison in this period is in favour of the Croats with 6:2 victories, while two duels ended in a draw. In the last six matches, there have been five Croatian victories and one draw.
The last encounter was two years ago, also at the European Championship. At that time, they also met in the preliminary round. The Croats won in the end with 24:21 and entered the main round. The Serbs had to pull out of the group phase after further defeats against Montenegro and Belarus.
Croatia – Serbia tip
Likely we will have to wait until kick-off to know which players are actually available for both teams. If Luka Cindric and Domagoj Duvnjak are also unable to play in the derby against the Serbs, it would be a bitter loss for Hrvatska. Two players of world-class calibre can hardly be replaced by any team in the world.
The Serbs have more absentees in total, but they are not of such high quality. In addition, the Serbian team has been lucky to build up a broad chest with the victory against the underdogs from Ukraine.
Due to the personnel uncertainties, we would rather refrain from betting on the outcome of the match. Interesting quotes are offered on over-goals, however. Perhaps this is a good option for the Balkan clash. That is why we have decided to bet on over 50.5 goals between Croatia and Serbia
