Branko Vujović, Photo: Boris Pejović
Preparations are complete, the Montenegrin national handball team has arrived in Oslo, is slowly adapting to the conditions in Norway, and tomorrow (18) they will face Slovenia in their first match at the European Championship.
The “Lions” are participating in the continental competition for the eighth time in history, and the seventh in a row. After their historic participation in Norway in 2008, Montenegro has been an indispensable part of the European elite since 2014. And how much the “Lions” can contribute to that elite will be known in the coming days.
Norway’s first rival is Slovenia, the fourth-placed team from the Paris Olympics. After Slovenia, our team will play against the Faroe Islands on Sunday (18), while a duel with Switzerland is scheduled for January 20 (18). Two teams from the group advance to the main round.
“Qualifications are one thing, the competition is another. All the teams that are here know why they came. The players are ready to play this match. We need to apply everything we have done so far,” said Montenegro coach Didije Dinar.
The Frenchman leaves the role of favorite to Slovenia, but says that the “lions” know what they need to do in this duel.
“The Slovenians are the favorites, considering that they are more experienced than us, they have come far in certain championships. But we also know what we need to do. We will give our maximum,” Dinar is clear.
photo: Boris Pejović
One of Montenegro’s assets will be right back Branko Vujović.
“Everyone is ready, we can’t wait for the European Championship to start. The first game is against Slovenia – they are a serious team. Anyone who follows handball knows what kind of team they are. They have problems with injuries, but they have a large player base, so they won’t even feel it. We’ll see what awaits us tomorrow,” said Vujović.
Vujović explains how to play against Slovenians.
“They play fast, they have a lot of fast players in all positions. I think it will be very important to get back on defense, to run back. We have to play patiently and smartly in attack. We can expect some deeper defense. But I think we are ready and will respond well to that,” the 27-year-old from Nikšić pointed out.
Montenegro is taking it step by step. The focus is on the first game, followed by the French, then the Swiss.
“It’s not a decisive match. We have three games, with two wins we advance to the next phase. Whatever we do tomorrow, we have to concentrate on the remaining two games. I think we can win, but even in the event of a defeat, I think we have a great chance of getting through the group. We’ll see after the first round what awaits us from the Faroe Islands and Switzerland,” concluded Vujović.
The teams from Group D will meet in the main phase with the teams from Groups E and F and form a new group from which two teams will advance to the semi-finals.
Group E includes Sweden, Croatia, the Netherlands and Georgia, and Group F includes Hungary, Iceland, Poland and Italy.
The European Championship starts today and will last until February 1. In addition to Norway, the hosts are Denmark and Sweden.
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