Croatia overcome Georgia’s early lead in their European opener

Croatia defeated Georgia 32–29 in their opening European Championship group E match in Malmö. The World Championship silver medallists faced a substantial early challenge before recovering, securing two points while Georgia demonstrated their ability to trouble a more established opponent.

Georgia built a six-goal lead at 11–5 before Croatia recovered to lead 15–14 at half-time. The teams continued to trade control after the restart, and Ivan Martinović’s late goal for 31–28 finally put the victory within Croatia’s reach.

Mario Šoštarić scored eight from nine attempts and received the player-of-the-match award. Giorgi Tskhovrebadze contributed seven for Georgia, who pressured the favourites until the closing minutes while playing at only their second European Championship final tournament.