The triumph against Georgia was soon followed by Montenegro’s first loss in the World Cup tournament held in Podgorica.

Spain outperformed the “Sharks” with a score of 10:6, having led by 5:0 at one point in the second quarter.

“Even against less formidable teams—and especially when up against the world champions—you cannot afford to squander prime opportunities. We missed too many chances in the first half. I advised the players after the first quarter to keep pushing, but Spain’s individual strength allowed them to extend their lead by two or three goals using their quality,” remarked Coach Vladimir Gojković.

During the third period, our team managed to respond, narrowing the gap to 7:5, but that was as close as they came…

“We had several chances to close the gap further, and we got within two points, but it was tough because we couldn’t maintain the rhythm in our swimming as we did in the first two quarters when we had clear scoring chances,” Gojković noted.

A lackluster performance following two matches isn’t ideal, yet it reflects the current reality.

“It could definitely be better, but we have three more games ahead. If we can secure two wins, we would accomplish our goal of progressing to the final tournament,” Gojković added.

The “Sharks” will have a day of rest tomorrow, with Serbia lined up as their next opponents on Saturday.

“We are familiar with Serbia, who are making their debut under a new coach. We will aim to rest the players well, and I am hopeful for a positive result,” concluded Gojković.

Spain’s coach David Martin expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance:

“The defense was crucial. Montenegro played admirably; the fact that they scored six goals doesn’t accurately represent the match dynamics. We achieved victory, which is the key takeaway, but we do have areas that we must improve upon,” Martin stated.

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