“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
