Montenegrin water polo players have entered the week in which they are waiting for the beginning of what was planned for March last year - the qualification tournament for the Olympic Games.
The tournament in Rotterdam starts on Sunday, and the "sharks" travel to the Netherlands on Thursday. In what composition - that is still a big dilemma.
Because it is more and more certain that Đuro Radović will not be able to help the national team due to injury, and Vladan Spaić's performance is also under a big question mark.
The federation is obliged to submit the list to Fina by Thursday (13 players, plus two reserves that could be used only if there are positive cases of the coronavirus), so the uncertainty will last for a few more days.
"The last week of preparations is ahead of us, the atmosphere is really great, the boys are very motivated. We all know what this tournament means to us, the Olympic Games are at stake. We are all working in the right direction to eventually reach that goal," said Vlado Popadić .
"Sharks" work in specific conditions, they have been in a "balloon" for seven days to protect the players from infection with the COVID-19 virus.
"The situation is specific in all sports. Working in Podgorica was the best possible way to isolate ourselves as much as possible, to be safe before leaving for Rotterdam, because the conditions are really excellent," emphasized Popadić.
The tournament in Rotterdam starts on Sunday, and Montenegro is in a group with Turkey (which is the first rival), Canada, Brazil, Greece and Georgia.
Group B includes Croatia, Germany, Russia, France, the Netherlands and Romania.
The best four teams from both groups will advance to the quarterfinals, while the three best teams from the tournament will qualify for the Olympic Games.
"We are the absolute favorites in the first three rounds of the tournament, and it is an opportunity to solve some doubts through those duels. Then comes Greece, with whom we will have a big fight for first place, in order to get an easier opponent in the quarterfinals. We know the Greeks very well , the last time we played was twenty days ago in Debrecen. It is an extremely high-quality team, but we will be ready to answer them," Popadić concluded.
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