Croatia beats Spain to open European Water Polo Championship
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Photo credit: European Aquatics / Tom Dubravec / CROPIX
Croatia has made a fantastic start to the 2024 European Water Polo Championship in Dubrovnik tonight.
In the 1st round of Group A, Croatia secured a victory against Spain after a penalty shootout, ending the match 14-12, after it was tied 9-9 at the end of the regular 32 minutes.
Croatia levelled the score at 8-8 with two consecutive goals, and at 9-9, with 36 seconds remaining, had an opportunity for a winning goal, even with a player advantage in the last 9 seconds. However, they couldn’t score, and the winner was determined by a penalty shootout.
Photo credit: European Aquatics / Tom Dubravec / CROPIX
All five Croatian players made no mistake.
The top scorers in the match for Croatia were Loren Fatović and Luka Bukić, each with two goals. For Spain, Bernat Carne Sanahuja, Felipe Rocha Perrone, Alvaro Ortega Granados, and Marc Larumbe were the top scorers, each with two goals.
Croatian fans in Dubrovnik Photo credit: European Aquatics / Tom Dubravec / CROPIX
In the 2nd round, Croatia will face France on Saturday, while in the other match, Montenegro will meet Spain.
The last, third round is scheduled for January 8th, with Croatia playing against Montenegro and Spain against France. The top two teams from the group will directly advance to the quarterfinals, while the third and fourth places will lead to the Round of 16.
Coach Ivica Tucak commented, “We haven’t accomplished anything yet. We’ve just opened the door to a potential good placement in the group. I’ve said a million times that the ‘real’ will come later. I am pleased that we showed the right game, strong water polo, and we’ll continue with this momentum, but without any euphoria because we haven’t achieved anything.
Photo: European Aquatics/ Bozo Radic / CROPIX
We executed the defence as agreed, except for a little oversight in the extra player situation. I think we could have played it better, and we failed to recognise some situations when we were alone. Well, maybe I’m a bit to blame there because I really seek perfection from the guys.”
