Croatia narrowly beat Iceland at the European Handball Championship with 34:33 (17:14) and thus took third place. The year before, Croatia secured silver at the World Cup. The Croatians’ best thrower in front of 15,000 spectators in Herning, Denmark, was backcourt player Tin Lucin with nine goals. Omar Ingi Magnusson from SC Magdeburg scored twelve times for the Icelanders.

Croatia dominated the game from the start. After the early 0:1, the team of former German national coach Dagur Sigurdsson was narrowly in the lead for the entire game. At 21:16 (39th) there were five goals for the first time. The Icelanders were no longer able to catch up in the final phase.

With the bronze victory, Croatia secured precious metal at a European Championship for the seventh time. Island last won bronze at a European Championship in 2010. Croatia had previously lost to the DHB team in the semi-finals (28:31). Iceland lost 28:31 in the semifinals against Olympic champions and world champions Denmark.