Following a nail-biting penalty shootout victory over the United States, a heartbreaking loss to Serbia (14:6), and a narrow win against group underdogs Japan (13:11), the Montenegrin water polo team faced a challenging World Cup in Doha but successfully advanced to the knockout rounds.

After the match against the “Samurai,” Stefan Vidović described it as “a win against Japan, but more importantly, a win against ourselves.”

In the initial two quarters, the “Sharks” found themselves trailing at 4:3 and then 5:4, but they regained focus in the third period, executing a decisive 4:0 series that paved the way for victory.

“It was a tough match; we kept our composure despite Japan’s lead and our struggles in executing plays. We squandered many opportunities…” Vidović remarked.

Montenegro is headed to the playoffs, with their position for the quarter-finals and a chance at Olympic qualification dependent on today’s match (15:30) between Serbia and the United States. A win for the “dolphins” would secure second place for our national team.

“Today was definitely challenging after facing Serbia, but the key takeaway is our victory and achieving our primary goal,” Vidović concluded.

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