Croatia defeat Slovenia to take control of the main-round race

Croatia defeated Slovenia 29–25 in Malmö to move to six points in European Championship main-round group II. Four teams had begun the day level on four points, making the victory an important step towards a semi-final place before the final round of matches.

Croatia’s defence established an early lead, and the interval score was 14–11. Slovenia improved behind goalkeeper Miljan Vujović after the restart and equalised in the forty-second minute, forcing Croatia to rebuild their advantage during the closing stages.

Tin Lučin scored seven goals, while timely saves from Dominik Kuzmanović helped protect the result. Fellow goalkeeper Matej Mandić received the match award, and Borut Mačkovšek became Slovenia’s most-capped European Championship player with forty-two appearances.