The Croatia water polo team arrived in Debrecen, Hungary, hosting the European World League qualifiers this year. The first opponent of Ivica Tuck’s team is Montenegro in a duel scheduled for Friday at 18:30 pm.
“I think we have prepared well for these three games that await us. The tournament itself is important to see what we still need to work on before we go to the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rotterdam in February, which is currently the most important for us,” said the goalkeeper of the Croatia national team Marko Bijač for HRT.
“Already in the first game, the always unpleasant Montenegro awaits us. I believe that we have quality, so if we play the best we can, I expect that we will reach the semifinals and qualify for the final tournament of the World League in Georgia,” said the Croatian goalkeeper.
It will be a reunion of Croatian and Montenegrin water polo players on Hungarian soil one year after the Croatia national team beat its southern neighbors in the group stage (11-10) of the European Championships in Budapest and then lost in a match for third place (9-10).
If Croatia books a victory against Montenegro, Croatia will play in the semifinals on Saturday against the better team from the match between Hungary and Italy. Advancing to the semifinals also brings a spot in the World League’s final tournament, which should be held from June 26 to July 2 in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, and which will host the four best national teams from Debrecen.
Just before leaving Zagreb, coach Ivica Tucak briefly summarized Croatia’s preparations for HVS.
“In the last days of December, and the first few days of January, which was generally not a long period, we still more or less did what we wanted. We were left with only 2-3 training sessions since we had to abruptly stop preparations due to the earthquake on December 29th. I repeat, we did what we could. We insisted on working on some things that are now waiting for us in Debrecen. The most important thing for us now is to play as much as possible. Certainly, there was not enough time, or it would be better to have more, but we managed from the gym to tactical parts and swimming training. What is certain is that the players did it all with great zeal, without any problems as always,” the Barracuda coach emphasized.
There will hopefully be a lot more time to prepare for the key Olympic qualifiers in Rotterdam (February 14-21).
“I also believe we will have enough time. The tournament in Debrecen will certainly be an indicator of what we need to do, our form. We really need this tournament in that sense. Moreover, we are going to Debrecen with the strongest national team because many who follow us know that this has not been the practice so far when it comes to the World League. We often knew how to perform in a combined line-up. However, this is the moment when we no longer have the right to waste time. We have three games ahead of us in which we have to be at the maximum level, and I repeat that it might give us some signals on what we still have to do for Rotterdam,” concluded coach Ivica Tucak.
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