"Sigurdsson and the 2021 Draw: Croatia’s Rare Opening Match Missteps" | Handball Planet
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“Sigurdsson and the 2021 Draw: Croatia’s Rare Opening Match Missteps”

The last time Croatia failed to win the opening match of a World Championship, interestingly enough, Dagur Sigurdsson was on the opposing bench. As the then-head coach of Japan, he complicated Croatia’s path and hinted at a disappointing tournament for the team. That match, along with the famous defeat to Argentina in Portugal in 2003, marked one of the only times Croatia failed to secure a win at the start of the era led by the legendary generation under Lino Červar.

Croatia’s World Championship Openers:

  • 1995: Croatia – Slovenia 26:24
  • 1997: Croatia – China 34:21
  • 1999: Croatia – Kuwait 25:19
  • 2001: Croatia – Greenland 25:15
  • 2003: Croatia – Argentina 29:30
  • 2005: Croatia – Argentina 36:23
  • 2007: Croatia – Morocco 35:32
  • 2009: Croatia – Korea 27:26
  • 2011: Croatia – Romania 27:21
  • 2013: Croatia – Australia 36:13
  • 2015: Croatia – Austria 32:30
  • 2017: Croatia – Saudi Arabia 28:23
  • 2019: Croatia – Iceland 31:27
  • 2021: Croatia – Japan 29:29
  • 2023: Croatia – Egypt 22:31
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