Croatia defeated Qatar 26:24 in the third round of Group C game of the 27th IHF Men’s Handball World Championship – Egypt 2021 at Alexandria’s Borg El Arab Sports Hall yesterday.
Croatia got in front in the first period with a score of 13:11 lead over Qatar, in a tense 30 minutes that saw lots of action. The Vatreni continued putting on a superb show in the second period and snatched the victory over Qatar with a score of 26:24.
Already qualified to the main draw, Croatia, snatched Group C lead with five points. The Europeans had started their campaign with a 29-29 draw against Japan before beating Angola 28-20 in the second round.
Croatia’s pivot Marino Mari claimed the ‘Player of the Match Award’ after a superb performance during the game, scoring 5 goals from 7 attempts. Croatia join Qatar and Japan from Group C to the main round of the World Championship.
Earlier, Japan defeated Angola 30:29 in the third round of Group C games. Japan dominated the first period with a score of 16:12 lead over Angola, in a tense 30 minutes that saw lots of action. The Samurai Warriors continued putting on a superb show in the second period and snatched the victory over Angola with a score of 30:29.
Japan snatched a place in the main round, after placing third in Group C ranking with 3 points. Japan’s right-back Jin Watanabe claimed the ‘Player of the Match Award’ after a superb performance during the game, scoring 7 goals from 10 attempts.