"Sharks" are preparing for a new challenge, Ivović: The most important thing is to be healthy and to create chemistry

The water polo national team of Montenegro is entering the final part of the preparations before the World Championship in South Korea.

Players from clubs that played in the finals of the Euroleague also joined the selection, so coach Vladimir Gojković is making preparations in Škver with his full squad.

As of today, Aleksandar Ivović is also with the team, who, despite a busy season with Pro Rek, couldn't wait to join the national team.

"There is no rest, but I am not the only one of the players who are in this situation. The three of us who were in the finals of the Euroleague this week will train at a slow pace, and then we will start with two days of training. We are slowly entering the training process, which is the same every summer. The team has been changed compared to last year. We are all eager and eager for this new thing that awaits us, new competitions for the national team," said Ivović.

The national team will train in Herceg Novi until Sunday, a day later they will travel to Bečej, where Ivović and his teammates will train with France until June 19.

A day later, our selection will travel to Germany, where they will participate in a tournament (June 21 to 23) in which Italy and Greece will also play.

"The schedule is tight, it will be difficult to create a concept of preparation, because the period is not long before going to the World Cup. The tournament in Germany is very interesting, because it will be played under new rules. We did not have many games under new rules during the season, except for the final European tournament cup in Zagreb. The continuation of the season was again according to the old rules, so we will try to adapt as best as possible. At the beginning of July, we will go to China, where we will train with the Chinese and Canadian national teams. We need to have as many games as possible so that the team can see what to accept and what about the new rules", our ace pointed out.

After Germany and two days off, Vladimir Gojković's team will train in Škver, and on July 4 they will gather in Podgorica, where they will do an evening training session before going to China for the final preparations.

The World Cup in Guangzhou starts on July 14.

A day later, Montenegro plays the first match in the group with Serbia. The next rival is Greece, on July 17, and in the third round, on July 19, the opponent is South Korea.

The first-placed national teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals, and the second and third national teams will play matches for placement among the eight best.

"The group is difficult, but it's always like that at major competitions. It has often been shown that medals were won when the group was difficult, but not when the road was easier. I don't think about it, I don't think it should that none of our players think about it. The most important thing is that we prepare as well as possible, that all players are healthy, that we try to play together and create chemistry that could eventually lead us to the end of the World Cup," concluded Ivović.