Women’s and Men’s U18 Croatia National Teams Preparing for the MEVZA European Championship Qualification Tournament

Two Croatian U18 national teams, women’s and men’s, have been in training camps since December 27 in preparation for the first MEVZA qualification tournament, which leads to this year’s European Championship. The girls are preparing in Sveti Martin na Muri, while the boys are training at the former Dras base near Maribor. Both MEVZA qualification tournaments will begin on January 7 next year.

The head coach of the Croatian women’s U18 national team, Ivica Ico Radocaj, shared his first impressions from Sveti Martin na Muri:

“This is my first time holding a training camp here with any national team, and I can say that the conditions are excellent. Everything is close at hand – the sports hall, accommodation and restaurant. This is a new generation for me, players born in 2009 and younger, and I have never worked with them before, so we are still getting to know each other. However, what is immediately evident is that the girls are positive and highly motivated to work. We will stay here until January 4, when we travel to Zadar, where the first round of the MEVZA European Championship qualifications will be held. One day earlier, we will play a control match against Slovenia, and after that match, we will select 14 players for the main tournament, as there are currently 17 players at the training camp.”

The Croatian women’s U18 national team has been drawn into a group in Zadar together with Israel and Austria. The other two groups, as nine national teams are competing in the qualifications, include Hungary, Slovakia and Cyprus in one group, and Czech Republic, Slovenia and Luxembourg in the other. Only the group winners qualify directly for the European Championship, while the teams placed from 2nd to 6th earn the right to compete in additional qualification rounds in March.

The women’s U18 national team training in Sveti Martin na Muri consists of: Veronika Munitic, Erin Ivezic, Laura Parac, Antonela Licina, Lucija Bule, Lucija Sos, Nela Ban, Tara Radojicic, Lucija Breznicki, Ana Labor, Lana Drvis, Antonia Perkov, Fani Hromin, Dora Turkalj, Ema Petra Sudaric, Emilie Stojic and Francesca Brkic.

The coaching staff, in addition to head coach Ivica Radocaj, includes coach Goran Zec, strength and conditioning coach Dragan Lujic, physiotherapist Sara Vujic Jadrisko, and scout Marko Aksentijevic.

The same qualification system applies to the men’s tournament, where nine national teams are also competing for a place at the European Championship. The qualifications will take place in Maribor starting on January 7. The Croatian men’s U18 national team is grouped with Cyprus and Czech Republic, while the other groups consist of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary, and Slovenia, Israel and Luxembourg. As with the women, only the group winners qualify directly for the European Championship, while the remaining five best-ranked teams advance to additional qualifications.

The head coach of the Croatian men’s U18 national team, Tomislav Misin, hopes to secure a place at the European Championship through the second qualification round:

“We have a very tough group, with the Czech Republic being the main favourite, but I am confident that we can play a good match against them and that we can certainly secure a place in the second qualification round. This is already the third generation I have worked with, and I can say there is a lot of talent here – it is a very good national team with aware and dedicated players. Unfortunately, due to injuries, Fran Maksimovski and Mateo Medvidovic, two of the top players of this generation, are out, so the squad of 14 players currently in training will also compete in the tournament. Before the qualification tournament begins, we will play three friendly training matches: on December 31 against the Dominican Republic, on January 3 against Austria, and the following day against Slovenia.”

The men’s U18 national team, consisting of players born in 2009 and 2010, includes: Viktor Olja Vidovic, Jakov Rosandic, Filip Pulic, Karlo Plazibat, Damjan Cvitanovic, Mateo Filipovic, Pavao Misin, Toma Saric, Tomo Sulic, Ante Lovrinovic, Marko Gelo, Petar Stojkovic, Sven Eder and Filip Hatezic.

Assistant coaches to head coach Tomislav Misin are Fran Peterlin and Hrvoje Zelenika, the strength and conditioning coach is Josip Radakovic, and the team physiotherapist is Matteo Magdinski.