A little over a month ago, Montenegrin handball players gathered for the first time since the European Championship and won the bronze medal. They had several training sessions in Podgorica as part of the EHF week, and the next national team meeting is on Monday in this action, in which Bojana Popović's players are waiting for two friendly matches with Norway away.
The legendary handball player will thus have the opportunity to see the form of the players and continue with the team's training for the World Championship, which will be held from November 30 to December 17 in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
The list of "lionesses" is forced this time and is far from being the best that Montenegro has - goalkeepers Marta Batinović and Anastasija Babović will miss the gathering due to injuries, there is also no Milena Raičević, Đurđina Jauković, Ilda Kepić, Nataša Ćorović, Dijana Mugoša, and Đurđina Malović also has to take a break due to mononucleosis.
The good news is the return of Jelena Despotović, player of the Hungarian Đer, who last wore the jersey of the national team at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Later, she was absent first due to a shoulder injury, then she took a break due to giving birth.
Bojana Popović is counting on 19 players for the duels with the Norwegians, which are scheduled for April 6 and 8. The list includes - goalkeepers: Marina Rajčić, Andrea Škerović; wings: Ivona Pavićević, Nađa Kadović, Nina Bulatović, Dijana Ujkić, Anastasija Marsenić; pivots: Tatjana Brnović, Ema Alivodić, Nikolina Vukčević, Ivana Godeč; defenders: Jelena Despotović, Tanja Ašanin, Matea Pletikosić, Nada Ćorović, Itana Grbić, Andrijana Popović, Vanesa Agović and Gordana Marsenić.
At the end of the year, our handball players are waiting for their seventh appearance at the world championships. In the previous six, they were far from fighting for a medal - Montenegro's best ranking was in Japan in 2019, when it was fifth. She finished sixth in Germany two years earlier, and was 10th, 11th and 8th in the 2011, 2013 and 2015 tournaments.
At the last World Cup, played in Spain a year and a half ago, Bojana Popović's team had only one victory (over Angola) in six games for only 22nd position. Montenegro has yet to find out the names of its rivals for the next world championship, and the draw is scheduled for the beginning of July.
Bonus video:
