A remarkable achievement for our water polo team, who entered the match as underdogs – Montenegro triumphed over Croatia with a score of 13:12, securing their place in the quarterfinals of the World Championship, where Greece awaits them (Tuesday at 8 AM).

We have long awaited such a significant victory for the “Sharks,” and it was celebrated after an outstanding performance by Vladimir Gojković’s squad, who made it abundantly clear to the favorites that a challenging battle awaited them from the very start.

As is often the case in matches of this intensity, there were ups and downs, but ultimately our national team controlled the pace that suited them best – they swam vigorously, pushing the “barracudas” out of their comfort zone and relegating them to the playoffs for 9th to 12th place.

The opening ten minutes saw goals exchange back and forth, but our team quickly took a commanding 3:0 lead with a 5:3 series, eventually leading by three (6:3) at the beginning of the third quarter.

This prompted a response from the Croatians, who rapidly closed the gap and held a 7:6 advantage with three minutes left in the third period.

Today, character was key, and our water polo players demonstrated it at every moment.

In the end, offense triumphed over defense, with Dušan Matković netting the winning goal 81 seconds before the final whistle during a man-up situation, finding the net against the impressive Marko Bijač.

Croatia had two opportunities to dodge defeat, and in the last 19 seconds, they even pulled their goalkeeper for an extra offense, but this was destined to be a triumphant moment for the “Sharks” – a fully deserved victory.

Both Đuro Radović and Matković led our scoring with four goals each, while Aleksa Ukropina added two, and Konstantin Averka, Vasilije Radović, and Vladan Spaić each contributed one goal.

MONTENEGRO – CROATIA 13:12 (2:3, 3:0, 4:5, 4:4)

Fukuoka – “Marine Mesa” swimming pool. Officials: Margeta (Slovenia), Cvart (Netherlands). More players: Montenegro 13 (7), Croatia 11 (3). Penalties: Montenegro 4 (3), Croatia 2 (2).

Montenegro: Andrić, Mačić, Perković, Averka 1, Čučković, Popadić, Vujović, Đ. Radović 4, Ukropina 2, Spaić 1, Matković 4, V. Radović 1, Tešanović (10 saves).

Croatia: Bijač (15 saves and five goals), Burić, Kržić, Krapić, Lazić 1, Bukić, Vukičević 1, Zuvela, Marinić Kragić 4, Vrlić, Butić 3, Harkov 3, Popadić.