The Montenegrin water polo team narrowly missed securing a spot in the European Championship quarterfinals and qualifying for the World Cup in Doha during the final moments of their match against Croatia. Now, the national team must endure an additional 32 minutes to achieve their objective.

The “sharks” will face Germany in the playoff match, scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) at 20:15 at the Sava pool in Zagreb.

“Our European Championship journey begins now, with matches where failure is not an option,” stated Montenegro’s coach, Vladimir Gojković.

“The recent duel in Gruž is still fresh in my mind.” Montenegro managed to defeat the European champions in a remarkable performance while playing with one man down in the final two minutes, after a disallowed goal by Đur Radović just 19 seconds before the end and subsequent penalty shootouts. To go directly into the top eight, a victory within those 32 minutes was essential.

“Everything that has transpired until now should inspire us to elevate our performance, but we must maintain our composure and focus solely on Germany,'” Gojković added.

If no surprises occur against Germany, the “sharks” will progress to face Italy in the quarter-finals.

“We need to overcome Germany; I strongly believe we are the favorites,” Gojković asserted.

Montenegro also holds a painful memory of facing Germany, having been unexpectedly eliminated from the World Cup by them in 2009 as reigning European champions. Fortunately, they’ve had no significant issues since then.

“They have specific individual players we must neutralize, and generally, if we perform at the same level as our last two group matches, we should secure a win without major difficulties,” concluded Gojković.

The Sharks will face challenges ahead, as Vlado Popadić has been suspended for two games due to “brutality” against Croatia, and center Vladan Spajić will miss the Germany match due to a red card for his protests from the bench to the referees.

“It certainly won’t be easy, but we have a strong team capable of filling those gaps. We’re favorites, and we won’t shy away from that role, but we must treat the Germans with the utmost seriousness,” said Petar Tešanović, captain and goalkeeper of the team.

If all goes according to plan, Montenegro might finally enjoy a comparatively easier match in the championship.

“I hope we can succeed and rest key players, considering the toll of the last two games,” concluded Tešanović.

EP 2024 – Zagreb

Play-offs

Wednesday

18:30 France – Serbia

20:15 Montenegro – Germany

Thursday

17:00 Georgia – 1D

19:00 Greece – 2D

Quarterfinals

Spain – Georgia/2D

Italy – Montenegro/Germany

Hungary – France/Serbia

Croatia – Greece/2D

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