In less than 24 hours, the Montenegrin handball team faced two losses, leaving them without the opportunity to compete for a medal at the European Championship.

This isn’t a failure; rather, it reflects the current reality, as the aspirations of the chosen one, Suzana Lazović, for the semi-finals were dashed in matches against teams that were objectively stronger. Hungary won by a six-goal margin on Thursday, despite a strong start from the “lionesses,” while France secured a more convincing victory a day later with an eight-goal lead.

The match saw Montenegro committing too many mistakes in their offense, largely attributed to a noticeable lack of energy and fatigue.

“We have some regrets, especially after the match against Hungary, where I believe we fell short of our potential. During that game, we sensed that we could achieve more, whereas in the match against France, fatigue was evident in each one of us. We struggled to keep pace with their rhythm and find our own rhythm,” stated the winger Nina Bulatović.

In both losses, the national team’s attack was lacking…

“We made numerous attacking errors. Fatigue has set in; we mainly rely on one lineup, making it tough to maintain the desired rhythm throughout the tournament,” Bulatović added.

Today at 15:30, Montenegro will face Poland, with Sweden slated as Tuesday’s opponent. The “Lionesses” aim to secure the third position in their group, requiring two wins to stay in contention for the fifth position in the European Championship, which may lead to participation in the World Championship.

“Feeling tired doesn’t mean we won’t give it our all against Poland. Do we have the energy? We will do our best to find it. It’s challenging to rebound after any defeat, but we are always motivated when wearing the national team jersey,” Nina emphasized.

Andrijana Tatar highlighted the challenge posed by the Polish team.

“Poland has demonstrated that they can play well, and there are no weak teams at this stage. I believe we will rise to the occasion,” remarked the 28-year-old pivot.

Katarina Džaferović firmly believes that fatigue was a primary factor in their defeat against France. The world champions displayed their strength at “Feniks Arena” in Debrecen, but Montenegro had opportunities that they did not convert.

“Fatigue was indeed a factor, yet we failed to execute many of the strategies we discussed before the game. Nevertheless, there’s no room for complaints, and no reason to be anxious as we have two matches left. I am confident that these games will lead us to our objective—qualifying for Vienna to compete for fifth place. We genuinely want to go to Vienna and secure that fifth position,” Džaferović asserted.

Montenegro successfully defeated Serbia, Romania, and the Czech Republic in the preliminary group, and now faces two challenges ahead in the main round.

“We haven’t given up, even though our chances for the semi-finals are over. I expect us to approach the next two matches with calmness, fully aware of our new goals. I trust that our defense will be crucial to our performance, and I believe we will find our rhythm as the championship advances,” Džaferović concluded.

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