For the Montenegro water polo team, everything—both positive and negative—experienced during group play is now in the past. The upcoming match in the round of 16 at the World Championship is crucial, akin to fighting for a medal.

There are just 32 minutes remaining before the “sharks” need to live up to their favorites tag to secure a spot at the Olympic Games in Paris. Their opponent is Romania, a team Montenegro defeated 18:11 at the European Championship nearly a month ago in the battle for placements between 5th and 8th.

Throughout Group C at the World Cup, Montenegro claimed victories against the United States and Japan but suffered a defeat against Serbia, which was sufficient for them to finish in second place.

“We did not perform at our best during the initial phase of the tournament, nor did we play as we aimed to. Earlier at the European Championship, we started strong but faltered, so I’m hopeful that we can reverse that trend. We secured two wins, but we still feel the sting of that loss to Serbia,” remarked captain Petar Tešanović.

The national team has long since outgrown the strength to underestimate any opponent, not even Romania.

“Romania features certain strengths and several skilled players. We will do everything needed to shut them down, and I am confident we will win and secure a ticket to the Olympic Games,” stated Tešanović.

Achieving a fifth-place finish at the Olympics is the ultimate goal, with the journey to the City of Light requiring a victory in the match set for Sunday at 15:30.

“It is a privilege to captain a national team with an illustrious medal history but lacking an Olympic one. This remains the dream of all water polo players, but for now, our focus is solely on qualifying,” said the goalkeeper, who recorded five saves against the USA in the World Cup’s opening match.

Center Vladan Spaić believes that Montenegro will give everything against Romania.

“We face a strong opponent, but we are in control of our destiny. We need to maintain maximum focus for this game to win and pave our way to Paris. Our strengths lie in swimming, pressing, and transition—exploiting these aspects will prevent the match from reaching a precarious conclusion where a single ball could determine the outcome,” explained Spaić.

EIGHT FINALS

Sunday

Croatia – China 10:00

Australia – France 14:00

Montenegro – Romania 15:30

USA – Italy 17:00

QUARTERFINALS

Tuesday

Montenegro/Romania – Spain 14:00

Greece – USA/Italy 15:30

Serbia – Croatia/China 17:00

Hungary – Australia/France 18:30

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