The scenario of the last day of the group stage of the World Championship was ideal for the Montenegrin water polo players.
It didn't smell good after the debacle against Serbia in the 2nd round and an unexpectedly high defeat of 14:6, nor was the mitigating circumstance the fact that the duel with Japan was a fight for bare life in Doha, but our national team received a gift that now knows he has to use his skills.
The chosen ones Vladimir Gojković will meet Romania in the round of 15.30 in a duel that is not only important for qualifying for the quarterfinals, but also brings a visa for the Olympic Games - Montenegro got what it wanted, a rival against which it is a big favorite on Sunday from XNUMX:XNUMX. If he celebrates, in addition to the trip to Paris, he will also schedule a clash with Spain on Tuesday...
The "Sharks" did their part on the way to the round of 13 by winning over Japan (11:14), and later they were pleased by Serbia, which was better than the United States of America (12:XNUMX) - thus the "dolphins" secured a trip to the OI, and our selection was sent to the easier part of the draw, because if the "Yankees" had celebrated, Montenegro would have competed with the Italians for a place in the quarterfinals.
- We are going with all our strength to win. We played against Romania at the European Championship, then they trained for a few days before the WC, so we know each other very well. We will now analyze them further, but there is no reason to be afraid - he said Vasilije Radović.
The match against Japan was anything but simple.
"Samurai" had the advantage on two occasions in the first half, and Montenegro opened the way to victory in the third quarter when it completed the series 5:0 and led 9:5. It was then 10:6 at the beginning of the last period, but it could not pass without at least a little drama.
The Japanese went all or nothing, confused their rivals by pressing all over the pool, so they had a chance to get to minus one. Fortunately, an exciting ending was avoided.
- We had problems against Japan. We certainly knew that there would be them, because this is a team that plays differently from all the others - pointed out Radović.
In the end, the key was the five-point victory over the Americans in the first round, although in the last round it seemed that Montenegro could do no better than third place in the group.
Namely, the USA was in the lead for about twenty minutes of the duel with Serbia, had a three-goal difference, a chance to go to plus four... Serbia did not give up, after 8:5 it reduced to 8:7 and faced a big mistake by one of of the best centers in the world - Ben Hallock.
The American anchorman made a fist bump Nikola Jakšić, and the referees, after watching the video, gave him a red card, which immediately gave the "dolphins" a five-pointer, and then four more minutes of players in the pool. The team Uroš Stevanović is too serious not to take advantage of such an advantage, so until the opponent finished, he led 11:8 thanks to a 6:0 series...
Such an outcome, in addition to making Montenegro happy, brought Serbia a way to the quarterfinals and the Olympic Games.
- I congratulate the players, because it was a huge stress. At the European Championship, and now also in Doha, we had such rivals that we couldn't play a single match at a lighter intensity - said Vladimir Gojković after the triumph over Japan.
The statement also shows the kind of pressure the Montenegrin national team was dealing with and is dealing with Stefan Vidović.
- We beat Japan, but I think that, above all, we got the better of ourselves. It was difficult against Japan, especially after that defeat against Serbia, but we didn't lose our heads even when we were in the deficit - said Vidović.
EIGHT FINALS
Sunday
Croatia - China 10.00
Australia - France 14.00
Montenegro - Romania 15.30
USA - Italy 17.00
QUARTERFINALS
Tuesday
Montenegro/Romania - Spain 14.00
Greece - USA/Italy 15.30
Serbia - Croatia/China 17.00
Hungary - Australia/France 18.30
Bonus video:
