It was evident before the match in Zagreb that Romania was the weakest of the eight teams reaching the quarter-finals of the European Championship, and their performance corroborated this perception.

In the match for seventh place at the continental championship in Croatia, the Serbian water polo team easily defeated Romania with a score of 18:7.

Dušan Mandić and Đorđe Lazić each scored four goals, while Strahinja Rašović added three to lead the current Olympic champions to victory.

On Romania’s side, Jonat Vrančeanu managed to score twice against the Serbian goal.

Serbia claimed the European Championship title in Barcelona in 2018, but their performance has declined since then; the team finished fifth in Budapest 2020 and then ninth in Split 2022 before this seventh-place finish in Zagreb.

In contrast, Romania last reached the quarter-finals a decade ago, in Budapest.

The match for third place will feature Italy against Hungary at 16:30, while from 18:30, our water polo players will compete against Montenegro for fifth place.

The grand final between Croatia and Spain is scheduled to start at 20:15.

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