Defeat against Hungary in the 1st round of the 16th European Championship pushed the Montenegrin handball players against the wall, because only victories over Iceland tonight (18:XNUMX p.m.) and over Serbia on Tuesday in the same time slot guarantee their placement in the main stage.
In some combinations, even a draw in a duel with "fishermen" would leave the chosen ones in the game Government of the School, but in that case nothing would depend on them anymore, but would depend on other results. Defeat would definitely mean the end of the dream of a second consecutive placement (third overall) among the 12 best selections on the Old Continent.
Two years ago, the tired "lions" were defeated in Hungary by a team from an island in the Atlantic 34:24, and they recorded their only victory in three duels on November 2, 2014 in Bar (25:24).
The then selector Ljubomir Obradović surprised a colleague Aaron Kristjansson by moving Vuka Borozan to the position of middle back, which the then 20-year-old from Cetinje used masterfully and was the hero of the triumph with 10 goals.
Now we need another such edition of returnees to the national team, but also a better defense than in the 1st round, and a greater concentration of both the players and the coaching staff.
The mistakes that were made against the Hungarians would be paid dearly against the Icelanders, because they "live" on counters. Against Serbia, it was seen that the team from the north of Europe suffers in positional attacks, which is why it is necessary to play an extraordinary defense.
"I think we should forget about Hungary as soon as possible. It's a sport. This is a big competition, we play a game every other day. It's a shame what happened at the last minute, but that's in the past. We lost the game much earlier due to technical errors. Now we have to turn to Iceland," he said Luka Radovic.
On Friday, Šola used all the players, except the goalkeeper Nikola Matović.
"We showed that we have a large number of players who can be counted on. We should prove that against Iceland, which is the favorite for a medal. It has serious players, who are on par with the most abundant handball players in the world. Gisli Kristjansson i Omar Magnuson are at the highest level. If we stop them and slow down the rapid transition, then we can expect a favorable result", said the younger of the two namesakes on the right wing.
The defeat by the Hungarians was hard for everyone, but there is no time to grieve at major competitions, so they "moved on" to Iceland.
"Psychological preparation can be crucial. We have to come in strong from the start, to show that we can take two points. The match between Serbia and Iceland showed that there are no favorites in the group, that everyone plays handball. The group is the most uniform in the championship, it is not certain who will pass. Anyone can beat anyone," concluded the 26-year-old from Nikšić.
Aleksandar Bakić says that the team must reduce the number of technical errors.
"We have a tough match ahead of us. Iceland is the favorite in the group, but against Serbia he showed that he can screw things up," said the 23-year-old from Andrijevica.
Tim Snorri Guđjonsen, the middle back of the team that won Olympic silver in Beijing in 2008 and bronze at the European Championship in 2010, did not impress against Serbia.
He could not find a solution in the positional attack, the "eagles" also stopped his counters, but thanks to his class Aaron Palmarson and a big glitch Petar Đorđić in the last 100 seconds, made a series 3:0 and reached a draw (27:27).
"Serbia played a great game and that can be a recipe for Iceland." She showed that she can play against them, with a greater dose of aggressiveness in defense and maximum focus in attack. I hope we come out victorious. Slađani have shown that they never give up, and lead the way when it comes to fast play. I hope that we will focus on the game in defense and that we will close the strongest parts of their attack", said Bakić.
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