Cairo (AFP)
After the humiliating defeat of the Croatian handball players against Argentina (23-19) on Saturday at the 2021 World Cup, Lino Cervar announced that he would resign from his post as Croatia coach after the competition in Egypt and before the qualifying tournament Olympic mid-March.
"I take full responsibility, it is not acceptable for me. It is better if someone else comes in my place, I am not ready to go further," commented after the meeting at the microphone of the RTL television channel, Lino Cervar, who guided the Croatian selection to Olympic gold in 2004 in Athens and to world gold in 2003.
Relaunched to see if that meant he would resign from his post after the World Cup, Cervar replied: "Absolutely, yes".
Despite the setback against Argentina, Croatia can still hope to snatch one of the two tickets for the quarter-finals of the 2021 World Cup, in the event of a victory on Monday night against Denmark.
But the Croats, vice-champions of Europe a year ago, are no longer masters of their destiny, and can only qualify in the event of Argentina's defeat against Qatar on Monday.
Asked by AFP in the hotel in central Cairo where Croatia is staying, star player Domagoj Duvnjak was skeptical about the effectiveness of a decision taken "on the spot".
"We will see well after" the World Cup, he commented.
Croatia must play an extremely tough Olympic qualifying tournament from March 12 to 14 in Montpellier, with France, Portugal and Tunisia, and only two places to see Tokyo-2020 in late July and early August.
The Croats, Olympic champions in 1996 in Atlanta and in 2004 in Athens, have played in the Games five times in their young history: 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016.
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