Croatia’s narrow win ends Iceland’s perfect tournament start

Croatia defeated Iceland 30–29 in Malmö to claim their first European Championship main-round points and end Iceland’s unbeaten start. Croatia led almost throughout, but Iceland repeatedly narrowed the gap before the closing minutes finally settled a tense opening group II encounter.

Croatia held a 19–15 half-time advantage and continued to find goals from the back court. With five minutes remaining, the lead was only 27–26 before two unanswered Croatian goals restored a more useful cushion.

Dino Slavić’s late penalty save and Mateo Maraš’s following goal were decisive. Maraš finished with seven, while Ómar Ingi Magnússon and Óðinn Ríkharðsson scored eight each for Iceland. Ríkharðsson’s final goal came eight seconds before the buzzer, too late to complete the recovery.