The Montenegrin national water polo team concluded the qualifying tournament for the World Cup in fourth place.

The “Sharks” kicked off their campaign in Romania and finished with a loss to Greece. In between those matches, they achieved victories against Serbia, France, and the USA, while experiencing a defeat against Spain in the semi-finals.

Head coach Dejan Savić noted both positives and negatives in the team’s performance.

“Our impressions fluctuate, reflecting the overall play of Montenegro. Given the limited time available, that is somewhat understandable. We will strive to maintain an optimistic outlook. The positives include demonstrating our ability to perform well, especially on defense. However, we struggled with time management during the opponent’s attack, leading to easy goals against us. On the brighter side, we had quick reactions, but my own communication was somewhat hampered, as I struggled to make myself heard in critical moments,” Savić remarked, adding:

“I regret that we didn’t compete against all the national teams, particularly Hungary and Croatia. That would have made the tournament more complete and successful,” he stated.

Montenegro faced challenges, and Savić emphasized that there’s much to learn from defeats.

“I firmly believe that one can learn from losses. We often start well defensively but then lose concentration in the closing seconds. For instance, during the first match against Greece, we experienced a lapse in the third quarter, and in the second match, it was in the second period. Similarly, we struggled at the beginning and somewhat in the third quarter against Spain. We’ve identified our weaknesses, pinpointing where we need to improve,” he explained.

Montenegro is set to host the Superfinal from April 11 to 13. The “Sharks” will face Croatia in the quarter-finals, with Hungary, Spain, Greece, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands also participating. The matches are scheduled to take place in Budva and Kotor.

“Croatia displayed intense gameplay and held their own against Spain. They proved to be a formidable team, presenting great competition for Montenegro. Our relationships are strong, and I anticipate fruitful collaboration. Every result counts, be it positive or negative, as long as we learn from each outcome. In the quarter-finals, we will face Croatia, which gives us another opportunity to gauge ourselves against a team we haven’t played in the Romania qualifiers,” Savić noted.

Montenegro will experience pressure in April, particularly concerning World Cup qualification.

“I’m uncertain if the team is fully prepared to handle the pressure of competing in front of a home crowd. However, we are continuing to play. While the outcome is crucial, if we analyze it mathematically, we have achieved our goal, boosting our chances for World Cup qualification. Essentially, we can maintain a focus on growth, particularly in our defensive strategies,” Savić elaborated.

The Sharks will regroup in April.

“In the coming days, we will establish all the necessary dates, as we need to synchronize with the schedule of the Regional League and the national championship, along with the participation of Jadran and Primorje in European competitions. We have also arranged training sessions with Germany and Japan prior to the tournament,” Savić concluded.

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