The current European and world champion stands in the way of the Montenegrin water polo team in their quest to reach the semifinals of the Old Continent championship.
This first sentence alone says how much of a tough job the "sharks" have ahead of them, and it's even harder considering how they've fared in recent matches against Spain in major competitions.
They mostly lost convincingly, with only a few draws and the last win back in 2013, but even that tradition must come to an end sometime - maybe today (3:30 PM) is the ideal moment, but there are many factors that need to coincide for the Belgrade Arena to even consider a surprise.
Montenegro achieved two victories in Group A (over Malta and France), lost to Hungary, and carried three points into the main round - this means that it needs all three triumphs in the duels with Spain, the Netherlands and Serbia to advance to the top four.
It doesn't seem realistic after everything we've seen in the past six days, but the "sharks" have an obligation to believe and try to reach the final.
Selector Dejan Savic In announcing the duel with the "red fury", he first touched on the match with the French and the 13:12 victory in which his team once again showed two faces.
- We had a great start, we played two quarters perfectly, and then we had a slump, primarily psychologically. We knew what could happen, that France would chase, but we couldn't allow ourselves to suddenly stop playing - said Savić.
Montenegro seems to have consciously started wasting time.
- There was no need to "defend the result", we should have continued to play. In that last attack we broke their zero zone and scored the winning goal, but we had certain downfalls and "slippery terrain" when we conceded goals cheaply, as was the case against Hungary - added Savić.
For the match against Spain, at least the preparation for the match is easy - everything is known about the opponent, one of the best teams on the planet for years.
- This is a team to be respected, it doesn't matter that they are the current European and world champions. Spain has exceptional individuals, a team with many players who can decide games, but I think we have a chance based on what both teams have shown so far in the tournament. But we need additional toughness, we have to play like that against the Spaniards and be careful against their best players, and beware of counterattacks - the trophy expert is clear.
Vasilije Radović believes that our team can match the favorite.
- We have a crucial match ahead of us to qualify for the semi-finals, and Serbia showed in the group that it can play against Spain and that it is not invincible. I can't wait for the match to start, we have prepared well for the derby and I am optimistic - says water polo player Jadran M:tela.
The duel between our and the Spanish team opens today's program in the newly formed Group E, with Hungary and the Netherlands meeting at 18 pm, and France and Serbia playing in the evening.
The Hungarians carried six points into the main round (wins over Montenegro and France), one less than Serbia, which defeated the Netherlands in a five-goal thriller and Spain.
The Spaniards and the "Sharks" have three points each, the Netherlands have one, and France have not transferred any.
Bonus video:
