Finland's Group 1 campaign began two days earlier with a 33-24 defeat in 's-Hertogenbosch against the Netherlands, and despite home advantage, a match with the three-time EHF EURO finalists was likely to be another tall order.
Much of the damage was done in the first 30 minutes, as Croatia held a seven-goal lead at the break (19-12), thanks to the attacking play of the match's top scorer Mario Sostaric (seven goals), while visiting goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanovic was in inspired form, ending the match with a 45% save rate.
As Croatia rotated their bench in the second half, Finland held their own and never allowed the lead to grow to more than 10. Mikael Makela took his save tally to 13, while Sebastian Sakkinen was the home side's top scorer with five, as Croatia took a 35-25 victory.
Finland are third in the group thanks to Lithuania suffering heavier defeats against the two group leaders. The Nordic side's best chance of reaching the 2028 tournament already looks to be as one of the four best third-placed teams, for which they will likely need two decent wins against Lithuania and hope other results go their way.