Branko Vujović: We know that the matches with Finland are one of the most important this year

The Montenegrin handball team gathered yesterday in Podgorica and began preparations for matches against Finland in the 2nd round of World Championship qualifications.

After their failure at the previous European Championship, the "Lions" are facing a duel with the Scandinavian team, and anything other than advancing to the next round would be a failure. The first match with the Finns is on Thursday (5:30 p.m.) in Vantaa, while the return match is in Podgorica three days later (6 p.m.). The winner of these matches will play Slovenia in the play-offs.

"We didn't start the year in the best way considering the result from the European Championship. I hope we will have more luck this time, but also a better approach to the national team and everything that follows. We know that these matches are one of the most important this year. We hope that we will manage to take this first step towards the World Championship, and later we will see what and how against Slovenia," said captain Branko Vujović.

Vujović is cautious before the matches with the Finns.

"At the European Championship, we saw that every national team has something to show, the Faroe Islands and Switzerland played exceptional handball. Finland also has its qualities. We cannot threaten anyone. We know that if we are at 100 percent, then we can beat anyone. Likewise, if we are not, then we can lose to anyone," the captain of the "Lions" emphasized.

He also looked at the playing staff.

"We are the team that feels the most the lack of players. Every injury or absence of a player has a negative impact on us. I think that in the future we need to create more handball players, so that we can have a better wider roster. The shortlist is great, but the wider roster needs to be better, so that in the event of an injury to important players, we have adequate replacements," concluded Vujović.