The Montenegrin handball team faced a significant loss in Italy, jeopardizing their chances at the World Championship.

They were defeated by the “azzurri” with a score of 32:26, trailing by eight goals with just over six minutes left to play. Coach Vlado Šola expressed little satisfaction:

“I believe we did not mentally cope well with the environment and atmosphere in the hall. The players appeared to have heavy legs, despite our warnings and preparations for a deep, aggressive, and strong performance. We struggled in attack, with numerous missed shots and technical errors. Meanwhile, they thrived in that atmosphere, and we encountered challenges for almost the entire 60 minutes,” Šola commented.

The second match is scheduled for Sunday in Morača.

“The situation as it stands is what it is. We have two days to regroup and devise a strategy for countering their gameplay. I am confident we can do it, as this performance is far from what we are capable of,” said Šola, adding:

“I should have instilled greater pressure on the players. It seems that accumulated fatigue has affected their performance. We switched to playing seven against six since it was evident that our players were exhausted and the opponents were playing aggressively. Under such circumstances, breaking through their defense is difficult. I anticipated that we would pull them back into positions that would make it easier for Branko Vujović and Vuko Borozan to find shooting opportunities. However, uncertainty and doubt plagued our movements. Our defense was lacking; we lost many one-on-one battles, which aligns with the style of play that Italy employs,” Šola concluded.

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