The Croatia water polo team began the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games on Sunday in Rotterdam, Netherlands, against Romania.
Of the 12 national teams, only the three first-place teams will secure a spot in Tokyo. Ivica Tucak’s side has a hard fight ahead of them, and their first opponent in Group B was Romania.
Croatia led the first quarter 5:1, the second quarter 3:1, the third quarter 4:2, and the fourth quarter 4:2 to win the first game of the group stage 16:6.
The most efficient player for Croatia was Rino Burić with three goals, Marko Macan, Loren Fatović, Luka Lončar, Maro Joković, and Lovre Miloš added two goals each, while Tudor-Andrei Fulea and Vlad-Luca Georgescu scored two goals each for Romania.
Croatia is in Group B with Germany, Russia, Romania, the Netherlands, while the national teams of Greece, Montenegro, Brazil, Canada, Georgia, and Turkey play in Group A.
After the opening against Romania, Croatia plays against the Netherlands (Monday, February 15, at 7 pm), France (Tuesday, February 16, at 8:30 pm), Russia (Wednesday, February 17, at 2:30 pm), and Germany (Thursday, February 18, at 8:30 pm.).
In the earlier match on Sunday, the Netherlands defeated Germany with a final score of 11:10.
Following the group stage, the quarterfinal stage will commence on Friday, February 19, in which the four best teams from each group will meet. The pairs will be determined by their positions in the standings (A1 – B4, A2 – B3, A3 – B2, and A4 – B1).
The four winning teams will play in the semifinals on February 20. The finalists of the qualifying tournament, as well as the national team that wins the match for third place on February 21, will qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which are scheduled from July 24 to August 8, 2021.
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