in Zagreb. Team's first opponent was Japan and the match ended tied 23–23. Overview of achievements at major international competitions Medal count (major competitions) Updated after 2021 World Handball Championship Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Competitive record (major competitions) Summer Olympics Competitive record at the Summer Olympics Competitive record in qualifying rounds World Championship Competitive record at the World Championship Competitive record in qualifying rounds {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- !Year !width="15"| !width="15"| !width="15"| !width="15"| ! ! ! ! |- | 1993||colspan="7" | Couldn't qualify||N/A |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 1995||colspan="7" | 3rd at the 1994 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 1997||colspan="7" | 5th at the 1996 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 1999||6||5||0||1||171||152||+19||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2001||colspan="7" | 6th at the 2000 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2003||2||2||0||0||67||50||+17||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2005||colspan="7" | defending champion||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2007||colspan="7" | 4th at the 2006 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" |style="border: 3px solid red"| 2009||colspan="7" | Qualified as host||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2011||colspan="7" | 2nd at the 2010 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2013||colspan="7" | 3rd at the 2012 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2015||colspan="7" | 4th at the 2014 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2017||colspan="7" | 3rd at the 2016 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2019||2||1||0||1||63||51||+12||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2021||colspan="7" | Top four at the 2020 Euro||yes |- style="background:#ccffcc;" | 2023||2||2||0||0||70||43||+27||yes|- style="background:#ccffcc;" |style="border: 3px solid red"| 2025||colspan="7" | Qualified as co-host||yes|- | 2027||colspan="8" | To be determined |- !Total!!12!!105!!0!!2!!371!!296!!+75!!4/4 |} European Championship Competitive record at the European Championship Competitive record in qualifying rounds Mediterranean Games Team Current squad Squad for the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship. Head coach: Hrvoje Horvat Coaching staff Head coaches Josip Milković (1990–1991) Zdravko Zovko (1991–1995) Abas Arslanagić (1995–1996) Vlado Nekić (1996; Acting) Velimir Kljaić (1996) Ivan Duvnjak (1996; Acting) Damir Čavlović (1996; Acting) Josip Glavaš (1997) Ilija Puljević (1997–1998) Velimir Kljaić (1998–1999) Zdravko Zovko (1999–2000) Josip Milković (2000–2002) Lino Červar (2002–2010) Irfan Smajlagić (2003, 2004, and 2005; Acting) Slavko Goluža (2010–2015) Željko Babić (2015–2017) Lino Červar (2017–2021) Hrvoje Horvat (2021–2023) Goran Perkovac (2023–) Captains Alvaro Načinović (1992–1996) Goran Perkovac (1996–1998) Patrik Ćavar (1998–1999) Slavko Goluža (1999–2006) Petar Metličić (2006–2009) Igor Vori (2009–2015) Marko Kopljar (2015–2016) Domagoj Duvnjak (2017–present) Squads Major tournaments Minor tournaments Medal-winning squads Gold medal at the 1993 Mediterranean Games: Tonči Peribonio, Mirko Bašić, Goran Perkovac, Alvaro Načinović, Ivica Obrvan, Bruno Gudelj, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Ratko Tomljanović, Vlado Šola, Vladimir Jelčić, Patrik Ćavar, Irfan Smajlagić, Nenad Kljaić coach: Zdravko Zovko Bronze medal