Italy once played in a major competition, namely at the World Championship organized in 2001, when FR Yugoslavia with Maja Savić, Bojana Popović (then Petrović), Milanka Čelebić, Dragica Miličković, Aida Selmanović, Sandra Kolaković..., won bronze in an unforgettable match with Denmark (42:40 after extra time).
Lithuania, on the other hand, participated twice as an independent country in the women's handball championships, but the last time was in 1996.
These data are enough to show how easy the task is for Montenegrin handball players in the first matches in the qualifiers for the European Championship in Denmark and Norway 2020. On Wednesday (18:XNUMX) the "Lavice" will welcome the "Azurines" in Pljevlja, and four days later they will visit Klaipeda.
These matches will actually be a preparation for the World Cup in Japan, where Montenegro will be looking for one of the first three places in Group C from November 30 to December 6 in competition with Romania, Hungary, Spain, Kazakhstan and Senegal.
"This week is very important because of the first two qualifying matches for the European Championship, but we also have to use it because of the preparations for the World Championship. That's why I invited 20 players, some of them were awarded for their good performances at the junior and cadet championships," Per Johanson pointed out.
The Swedish expert will have an almost complete team at his disposal, as Milena Raičević and Tatjana Brnović have recovered. Due to a meniscus problem, only Bobana Klikovac is absent, replaced by the young Ivana Godeč from Budućnosti, while Katarina Bulatović has a fever.
Đurđina Malović is in the team after a long break, and the former Croatian national team player, goalkeeper Marta Batinović, will make her debut.
"I'm happy that I can count on almost everything, because we had a lot of injuries last year. Now Milena and Tanja are back, and after a long break, Đina Malović is also in the national team. We also have a new goalkeeper, Marta Batinović, as well as Dijana Mugoša, who played well for Juventus and Podravka. This is an exciting week for me".
Johanson knows that only victories are expected, but warns that there must be no relaxation.
"I'm not going to lie, Italy is the weakest team in the group, but we have to be strong and play a good game at home, hopefully in front of a full house. Visiting Lithuania can be difficult, we have respect for that team after some good games against Germany and Spain a few years ago. We will try not to underestimate her, because the duel with Lithuania is crucial for us this week. If, on the other hand, we lose against Italy, we can all pack our bags and go home".
The Lionesses were on the brink of the abyss in the June play-off for the World Cup, because they eliminated the Czech Republic only thanks to a goal scored more in the away game. If they had not, the dream of the Olympic Games in Tokyo would have been extinguished. When asked by "Vijesti" if he expects Montenegro to do better than against the Czechs, Johansson answered briefly:
"No".
After a short pause, he continued talking and then explained why he answered that way:
"After the matches with the Czech Republic, everyone said that it was terrible, that it was a disaster, that everything was... It's up to you to say that. I was definitely not satisfied with some parts of those games, we have to change that. Maybe not this week, but we have to if we want to continue our journey to Tokyo. There were also very good things in that double match, but everyone forgets that we played against the Czech Republic, which has knowledge, tactics, a good coach, a good selection. Of course, at the beginning of the answer I was ironic, I know that we have to be better if we want to qualify for the Olympics", concluded Johansson.
In addition to Malović and Bulatović, Andrea Klikovac, who moved to ĆSM Bucharest this summer, is competing for the position of right back.
"I'm happy to be back in the national team jersey and to see the girls I don't play with in the club. We will use these two games to properly prepare for the World Cup and to score the first points in the qualifiers in front of our audience. I expect, as always, to give my best in the national team, and it is up to the coach to decide who will play and how much. "It doesn't matter to me whether it's defense or attack," Klikovac emphasized.
Her team experienced two defeats in the first five rounds of the Romanian championship, but the Montenegrin representative is satisfied in the capital of Romania.
"Itana Grbić and I are also satisfied. We play a lot, we are in good shape and we will make a full contribution to the national team. We lost two games, but that was expected, because we have a lot of injured players," said the 28-year-old handball player.
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