Martinović leads Croatia through a late test against the Netherlands

Croatia defeated the Netherlands 35–29 in Malmö after breaking clear late in a demanding European Championship group E contest. The result gave Croatia a second preliminary victory and ended the Dutch team’s chances of advancing to the main round.

Croatia led 15–13 at half-time, but the teams were still level as the final fifteen minutes began. Goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanović contributed a timely save, and Croatia took advantage of Dutch errors to turn that balance into a decisive late lead.

Captain Ivan Martinović scored nine goals and earned the player-of-the-match award. Croatia outscored their opponents nine goals to four over the closing ten minutes, while Rutger ten Velde finished with eight for the Netherlands.