Dropping the idea of a long train journey, Poland instead, opted to take a direct flight from Innsbruck to Vienna. The team arrived on Friday afternoon, the day prior to their first-ever semi-final of a European Championship. At 16.30 on Saturday they will face Croatia, the winner of Group I.

In the decisive game for place number one in Group II, Poland met France on Thursday and were defeated by five goals. The extraordinary Thierry Omeyer saved seventeen Polish shots and was the key to the French victory.

"He was the man of the match, but we just lacked a finish. We had lots of clear-cut situations, but just couldn’t score. In such situations you’ve to concentrate and give 100% to score," admitted a saddened goalkeeper Slawomir Szmal.

After the game, Polish coach Bogdan Wenta could not hide his disappointment in his players, who were especially bad in the first half.

"In short, we played terribly. We had at least sixteen clear-cut chances with no goals - maybe even more. Today we achieved our aim of advancing to the next stage of the EHF EURO 2010, but if you work hard for ten days, earning the respect of journalists, supporters, and opponents, you can’t afford to play a match like we did against France," summed up Wenta.”

"We gave world and Olympic champion France ten minutes in the first half where they could do whatever they wished on court," continued the head coach.

Despite that defeat in the Main Round, the Croats are a little afraid of Poland.

Assistant coach Slavko Goluža explained: "It’ll certainly be a very tough game. We can expect an aggressive 6-0 defensive system from the Poles, and a fast game in attack."

He continued: ”Their back-player Karol Bielecki is in excellent form, and with him in their line-up, we’ll have a very tough opponent. I could even go as far as saying that Wenta’s team is the favourite. They have nothing to lose, and although we overcame them several times in the past, a completely new game is waiting for us on Saturday."

Croatian line player Igor Vori has another view on the possible outcome of the game. "We know them very well, so there will be no surprises. We’re most afraid of their quick attack, but if we organise our defence as well as against Denmark, there shouldn’t be any problems."

Lino Červar has, once again, made the grade, and his team, with an average age of 25 years, is playing yet another semi-final as he bids to build a quality team two years prior to the Olympic Games in London.

The semi-final place means direct qualification to the World Championship in Sweden. From 2007, the handball professor has varied the Croatian squad greatly. With new players he managed to clinch two silver medals, at EURO 2008 and one year later at the World Championship on home soil.

Instead of calling up stars from the past, Červar went for a younger squad with great talent. He knew that he would either succeed, or be buried as a failure. He believed in himself, when others did not. He still goes his own way.

Will Lino’s success story continue in Vienna, or will the strong Poles reach their first-ever final? A real thriller is coming up and all will become clear after the second semi-final on Saturday afternoon.