Good performances against the group favorite Greece, which was rewarded with a victory, and even a defeat against Croatia, are probably an indication that the Montenegrin water polo players are in a satisfactory rhythm at the World Championship in Singapore.
That's why even a lackluster performance in the match against China, where the epilogue with three points won was known in advance, should not mean that a crisis moment has arrived, but should only be a warning before another match at the World Cup in which the "sharks" are the big favorites.
Next up is the round of 14.45 match against Canada (today at XNUMX:XNUMX PM), a team that is not as limited as China, but again, absolutely everything in the pool depends on Dejan Savić's team - on the approach, the energy at both ends of the pool and finally the quality, which is undoubtedly on Montenegro's side.
- We opened the tournament well, played quite solidly against Greece, even better against Croatia. An unexpected loss against China followed, I don't know if we relaxed, but we need to forget that match, although it should remain in our minds for the rest of the competition so that we know how we shouldn't behave and how we shouldn't look as a team - said Đuro Radović.
Therefore, if the "sharks" are real surprises, it is not realistic, otherwise - if, in Savić's words, "we enter into the famous oscillations" - then problems may arise.
Everyone, however, expects our national team to routinely triumph against the Canadians, and then a new duel with Spain would await them - just like in February last year at the World Cup in Doha - when the "red fury" routinely celebrated 15:12 in the quarterfinals.
- The knockout phase follows, which in itself brings pressure because there is no more time to recover. If we play at 100 percent, we can handle everyone, if we are not at our best - then we are in trouble and we could lose to anyone. That is why the match with China came as a slap in the face - to wake us up at the right moment. And against Canada, the most important thing is how we will be, we need to raise every segment by one level and then I am sure that we will qualify for the quarterfinals. Only when we finish the match with the Canadians will we think about what comes next and the possible duel with the Spaniards - Radović is clear.
Canada has only once - in Rome in 2009 - advanced past the round of XNUMX at the World Championships. At that time, Montenegro experienced one of the biggest disappointments in history at the World Cup, as it traveled to the Eternal City as the reigning European champion and a big favorite for a medal, only to be eliminated in the quarterfinals when it was shocked by Germany.
- It is important that we put what happened in the group behind us. We want to reach the quarterfinals, we all expect a victory and a place in the top eight - pointed out defender Aljoša Mačić.
Reaching the quarterfinals is the automatic first goal at major competitions. Our team is consistently among the top eight in Europe or the world, and at the Olympic Games in Paris last year, it did not reach the knockout stage, but was eliminated from a group that included Croats, Greeks, Italians, Americans and Romanians.
The question is how realistic it is for the ranking to change right now at the tournament in Singapore, but Montenegro has to believe in victories over the best teams on the planet. However, the first in line is Canada...
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