For the third consecutive time, Montenegro’s national water polo team has secured the eighth place in the world rankings. In a match for seventh place this morning, the “sharks” faced a defeat against Hungary with a score of 18:16 in Doha, following a 14:14 tie in regular time.

Previously, our team finished eighth in Budapest in 2022 and again in Fukuoka last year.

Montenegro held a one-goal advantage with 40 seconds remaining (14:13, scored by Vasilije Radović). However, Hungary equalized through Vigvari in the final attack (14:14). Following that, five attempts were made—both Miroslav Perković and Draško Brguljan failed to score—thus, Montenegro concluded the tournament in eighth place.

Hungary started the match strong, taking an early two-goal lead in the first quarter (4:2, with goals from Janšik and Zalanki). Montenegro fought back to equalize through Jovan Vujović and Vasilij Radović (4:4), with the halftime score standing at 6:6.

In the second half, Hungary regained a two-goal lead (9:7, with goals from Vigvari and Zalanki), but Montenegro responded with an impressive 3:0 run, featuring two goals from Vlad Popadić and one from Stefan Vidović, taking the lead for the first time at the start of the fourth quarter—10:9.

Hungary reacted swiftly and shifted momentum with goals from Vamoš and Vigvari (11:10). However, Jovan Vujović stepped up, scoring twice to give the “sharks” a renewed lead (12:11), followed by another goal putting them ahead 13:12.

Subsequently, Hungary equalized with a goal from Vamoš (13:13), but Vasilije Radović managed to give our team another lead with 40 seconds left on the clock—14:13.

In the final moments, Hungary launched their last attack, and the “sharks” were unable to defend successfully, allowing Vigvari to push Hungary into the top five.

Jovan Vujović was the standout performer for Montenegro, netting four goals, while Vlad Popadić contributed three. Among the Hungarians, Zalanki also excelled with four goals.

Throughout this championship, the “Sharks” earned a spot at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

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