Montenegrin water polo players received positive updates following the match between Serbia and the United States.

Serbia’s victory with a score of 14:12 means that Montenegro’s national team qualifies for the World Cup knockout stage as the second-place team from Group C, setting them up for a quarterfinal match against Romania.

This outcome is undoubtedly preferable to finishing third, which would have resulted in a matchup against Italy instead.

The upcoming match against Romania is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 PM and will also serve as a qualifier for the Olympic Games.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Gojković, the team is favored to advance to the top eight, where they would face Spain, the top team from Group A, in the quarterfinals.

For most of the match between Serbia and the USA, it appeared that the Americans were on track for victory, controlling the game for the first twenty minutes with a lead of up to three goals, and they even had opportunities to extend it to four…

However, Serbia fought back, narrowing the gap to 8:7 in the middle of the third quarter. A pivotal moment occurred when USA center Ben Hallock, one of the world’s best in that role, received a red card for punching Nikola Jakšić, giving Serbia a crucial five-on-four advantage.

Uroš Stevanović’s squad capitalized on this opportunity, turning the scoreboard to 11:8 for Serbia during a dominating 6:0 run, securing their direct qualification to the quarterfinals (where a derby against Croatia is expected) and a spot at the Olympics.

Dušan Mandić stood out as the top scorer with three goals, followed by Đorđe Vučinić, Nikola Jakšić, and Nemanja Ubović, each contributing two goals.

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