Will the Swiss get off to another strong start?

Helvetia is still waiting for its first win in the main round of the European Handball Championship. Could the match between Switzerland and Croatia be the one to finally bring them their first triumph?

The Swiss recorded a respectable draw against the previously favored Hungarian team in their first main round match. In the end, however, the draw felt like a defeat, as Switzerland looked like the winners for a long time.

Until shortly before the end of the game, coach Andy Schmid’s men were three goals ahead, but they squandered their lead and the teams ended up drawing 29:29. In the preliminary round, Switzerland had already let a clear lead from the first half slip away in their defeat to Slovenia.

From the Swiss point of view, there is therefore room for improvement when it comes to managing leads. At the same time, however, it is clear that Schmid’s team is quick to find its feet in games. Against this backdrop, the prediction for the match between Switzerland and Croatia is that the underdog will be no more than two goals behind the vice world champions.

Zvonimir Srna is also in good form. The backcourt player from Dubrovnik scored half a dozen goals in Croatia’s recent victory over Iceland.

He has now scored this number or more in three games at the final tournament! In light of this consistency, the odds on Srna scoring more than five goals again in the match between Switzerland and Croatia are equally attractive.

Switzerland – Croatia Head-to-head record

The last competitive match between the two countries took place in June 2019 as part of the European Championship qualifiers. It ended with a 33:28 victory for the Croatian team.

Looking back, there were a total of three competitive matches between the two nations before the turn of the millennium, and the Balkan handball players always came out on top. The betting odds for the upcoming showdown between Switzerland and Croatia also point to a victory for the “Kauboji.”

Switzerland – Croatia Tip

Croatia got off to a weak start in the tournament with a tough win against underdogs Georgia. This was followed by a win against the Netherlands and a very clear defeat in the “final” for the group victory against Sweden by eight goals.

In the main round, however, they made a successful start with a win against Iceland. Coach Dagur Sigurdsson’s team, who also coached the German national team, is the favorite against Switzerland. However, we see the “Kauboji” as weakened by the loss of pivot Marin Sipic, and their performance in the preliminary round was, as described, inconsistent.

Their upcoming opponent, for their part, plays very strongly, at least in the first halves of games, and we believe they can keep up with the second-placed team in Group E in the preliminary round until the half-time break. In view of this, the odds on a Swiss victory in the first half – including a handicap of +2.5 goals for them – are recommended for the match between Switzerland and Croatia.