Four rounds of qualifications for EHF Euro 2026 have been completed, and Montenegrin handball players have covered 90 percent of the way to Scandinavia, which will host the continental championship in January.
Those four matches were Didier Dinar's first on the "Lions" bench, and the result after them was two wins, a draw and a defeat.
Mirko Radović and his teammates celebrated against Finland and Slovakia, and after losing to Hungary in the M:tel Hall "Morača", they achieved a big point against the same rival in Tatabanja and practically secured second place in the group.
The two best teams, as well as the four best third-place teams from eight groups, will qualify for the European Championship, so it is easy to conclude how close Montenegro is to Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
After the disaster against Italy last year in the World Cup play-offs, it is clear how much Dinar has changed Montenegro, how much he has brought back the old and recognizable desire for victory in the "lions".
The previous four matches have shown that the "pillars" of his game are Branko Vujović, Radojica Čepića and Nebojša Simić.
And this is confirmed by the numbers, namely the EHF statistics for the two rounds before the end of the qualifications.
Thus, Simić is at the top of all goalkeepers who have appeared in the qualifiers, in sixth place to be exact with 36 saves in four games - the Melzungen goalkeeper saved 27,27 percent of shots. The most saves were made by Greek Petros Bukovinas (51).
Simić also saved two out of four seven-meter shots, so he is at the top in that segment as well, as only Hungarian Laszlo Bartuc has three saves from seven-meter shots.
Interestingly, neither Bartuc nor Hungary's first goalkeeper Kristof Palasic missed any of the nine seven-meter shots against Montenegro. Luka Radovic was safe and cool from the penalty spot, scoring all seven seven-meter shots he took in this qualifier.
Montenegro's strongest weapon was the defenders, led by the phenomenal Branko Vujović and Radojica Čepić.
The Dinamo Bucharest ace is our national team's top scorer in the qualifiers with 27 goals - 12 fewer than the currently most efficient Rutger ten Velge, with the Dutchman scoring 19 goals from penalties.
Montenegro's second best scorer is Čepić with 23 goals, with our center back commanding the "lions'" defense in addition to scoring.
The aforementioned tandem also stood out with assists, with Čepić registering 12, or three per game, and Vujović one less (11).
What Čepić could improve on is the number of turnovers, as he had 12, meaning he was among the players with the most errors so far in the qualifiers.
The "Lions" will play their last two qualifying matches on May 8th against Finland in Vantaa and three days later against Slovakia, most likely in Bar.
The draw for the European Championship will be held in Herning on May 15th.
Bonus video:
