Croatia produced a majestic performance on Wednesday evening, advancing to the last four at the Men's Handball World Championship with a brilliant 30-23 victory over their familiar rivals, France.
The Cowboys, who won their only world title in 2003, led from the second minute of the match to finish against two successive world title winners. The contest was decided by superb playmaker Domagoj Duvnjak's game-leading nine goals and brilliant goalkeeping from Mirko Alilovic.
"All the credit must go to the players who showed a lot of heart... we dedicate this victory to everyone in Croatia who supported us," coach Slavko Goluza told Croatian television.
"We have suffered so much against the French down the years, they are a fantastic team and some of their stalwarts, who will undoubtedly quit after this tournament, have fully earned their international retirement.
"This is a fantastic achievement and we are now looking forward to the semi-final clash with Denmark, which will be another mountain to climb and we will need to dig deep into whatever resources we have left to reach the final", Goluza said.
Hosts Spain also advanced to the last four with a 28-24 defeat of Germany, where they were joined by Denmark, 28-26 winners over Hungary, and Slovenia, who surprisingly edged Russia 28-27.
Friday's semi-finals in Barcelona will see Croatia take on Denmark and Spain on Slovenia.
