{"id":692370,"date":"2026-01-13T03:14:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T03:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/692370\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T03:14:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T03:14:25","slug":"serbia-breaks-tradition-and-beats-spain-in-great-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/692370\/","title":{"rendered":"Serbia breaks tradition and beats Spain in great clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Serbia achieved one of the most significant victories after the generational switch at the Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\n

The Serbs beat Spain 12:11 in a highly exciting derby of Round 2 at the European Championships in Belgrade (Group C). This was Serbia\u2019s first win over Spain in an important match since the 2021 Olympic semifinals.<\/p>\n

The Serbs controlled the match for most of the time. In the third period, the hosts earned a three-goal lead (9:6). However, early in the fourth quarter, Mandic was excluded for a brutality, while Serbia was leading 9:7. Durng the 4-minute exclusion, the Spaniards managed to level the score \u2013 10:10. Shortly after they earned a lead (11:10). However, Serbia took three points, as brothers Strahinja and Viktor Rasovic scored a goal apiece in the final 58 seconds<\/p>\n

Hungary secured the top spot in Group A, beating Montenegro\u00a0 13:10. Besides the two former European Championships, France advanced to the next stage from this group. The French convincingly defeated Malta 22:11<\/p>\n

As expected, the Netherlands collected three points against Israel in Group C (19:11)<\/p>\n

2026 European Men\u2019s Championships, Belgrade, Day 3
\nGROUP A<\/p>\n

(quarters 4:3, 4:1, 3:1, 2:5)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hungary: Angyal 3, Fekete 2,Kovacs 2, Manhercz 1, Vin. Vigvari 1, Nagy 1, Tatrai 1, Ven. Vigvari 1, Jansik 1.<\/p>\n

Montenegro: Matkovic 3, Macic 2, Kholod 1, Vujovic 1, Stupar 1, Vuckovic 1<\/p>\n

Hungary secured first place in the group and will begin Group Phase II with six points, earned from wins over Montenegro and France, along with a strong goal difference.<\/p>\n

Montenegro kept pace with Hungary in the first quarter. Although the Montenegrins never took the lead, they managed to equalize at 1:1 and 2:2. Vendel Vigvari then scored to put Hungary ahead 3:2. Montenegro had two good chances to level again but missed a penalty and a 6-on-5 opportunity. After Montenegro failed to convert its man-up chance, Hungary launched a counterattack, leading to Szilard Jansik scoring to make it 4:2. From that point on, the 13-time European champion maintained the lead.<\/p>\n

Early in the second quarter, Montenegro missed a few new opportunities to equalize. Midway through this period, Hungary scored two goals in less than a minute: Manhercz converted a penalty, and Tartai scored from a man-up for 6:3. By the end of the first half, Hungary had extended its lead to four goals (8:4).<\/p>\n

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Hungary\u2019s strong defense Photo by Krsto Vulovi\u0107.<\/p>\n

After the halftime break, Hungary slowed the pace, which worked to their advantage. Montenegro was unable to convert three man-up opportunities in the third period, with its only goal coming after a double exclusion during 5-on-5 play. Hungary went a long stretch without scoring in the second half. However, near the end of the quarter, the Hungarians finally earned two man-up opportunities and converted both, going to 10:5. In the dying seconds, Adam Nagy escaped Montenegro\u2019s defense and scored from close range, making it 11:5 and effectively sealing the victory for Hungary.<\/p>\n

Montenegro, which struggled with a poor shot conversion rate of 29% (10 out of 35 attempts), couldn\u2019t come back. Hungary scored 13 goals from 28 attempts. The best scorer was Daniel Angyal<\/a>, who scored three goals from three shots.<\/p>\n

The Hungarians maintained a five-goal lead for most of the fourth period, and Montenegro netted the last two in the match in the last 83 seconds.<\/p>\n

Both teams played for the entire match with their second-pick goalkeepers. Like in the game against France, Soma Vogel was on Hungary\u2019s bench, while Kristof Csoma was in front of the goal. As for Montenegro, Darko Djurovic replaced captain Petar Tesanovic for this game.<\/p>\n

Hungary\u2019s head coach Zsolt Varga, commenting on the victory in the group derby, said that he was very satisfied with the performance in front of his team\u2019s goal:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201eWe played organized and well in defense. We were returning to defense in time after the attack, and there were a lot of blocks. The defensive play we showed today was something that we aspire to, and I hope we can improve it during the tournament. The win was a result of teamwork; every player contributed.<\/p>\n

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Zsolt Varga\u2019s time out Photo by Krsto Vulovic<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Dejan Savic, Montenegro head coach, said that Hungary was better in all aspects of the play.<\/p>\n

\n

Congratulations to Hungary. We had no key to unlock their man-down defense, and they scored too many goals on counterattacks. There wasn\u2019t a small dfference in the two teams\u2019 performances in the first and the second half. We are looking forward to new challenges and will try to win all games until the end.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

(quarters 4:6, 2:5, 3:6, 4:5)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malta: Camilleri 3, Plumpton 2, Nagaev 1, Galea 1, N.Zammit 1, D. Zammit 1, Fenech 1, Schembri 1, Bonavia 1.<\/p>\n

France: Marion-Vernoux 5, Fernandez 4, Vernoux 4, Vitrant 4, Bouet 3, Drahe 1, Canovas 1<\/p>\n

The Maltese hoped they might surprise France and advance to the Top 12 for the first time, especially because France was convincingly beaten by Hungary On Day 1. However, the French left them no chance.<\/p>\n

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Romain Marion-Vernoux Photo by Krsto Vulovi\u0107.<\/p>\n

The French recovered from the heavy loss to Hungary, and their start set the tone of the match against Malta. It quickly earned a 4:1 lead. Malta managed to reduce the gap to 3:4, scoring in two consecutive attacks, and again at 4:5. However, France then scored three goals in a row for a comfortable 8:4 lead. The French had a very good conversion of man-up shots (7\/10), and defended very well with a man-down. \u00a0Deep into the second quarter, France already earned a 6-goal lead (11:5), and they reached an 11-goal difference in the fourth period (21:10 and 22:11), but Malta avoided a double-digit defeat.<\/p>\n

Only seven players were scorers for France, with Roman Marion-Vernoux netting five, but it was important for France that it shut out Malta\u2019s reinforcement, Ivan Nagaev, who scored only one goal \u2013 in the fourth period, when everything had already been decided.<\/p>\n

GROUP C<\/p>\n

(quarters 3:3, 2:3, 2:3,\u00a0 4:3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spain: Munarriz 4,\u00a0 Biel 2, Bustos 1, Gomila 1, Larumbe 1,Cabanas 1, Tahull 1<\/p>\n

Serbia: S. Rasovic 4, Martinovic 3, Cuk 2, Dedovic 1, N. Jaksic 1, V. Rasovic 1<\/p>\n

Around 5,000 fans welcomed the Serbian and Spanish teams to the Belgrade Arena. However, Alberto Munarriz quickly silenced the crowd by scoring two early goals\u2014one from a 6-on-5 situation and another on a counterattack. Serbia responded well, scoring three goals in less than three minutes, which gave them a 3:2 lead. Nonetheless, Munarriz equalized the game with his third goal.<\/p>\n

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Tagull, Jaksic, S. Rasovic Photo by Krsto Vulovic<\/p>\n

At the beginning of the second quarter, Martinovic and Tahull exchanged goals. In the 12th minute, Milos Cuk gave Serbia a 5:4 lead from a penalty shot. Serbia\u2019s defense with Milan Glusac, who was the starting goalkeeper, worked better and better. Support from the stands gave the Serbian players additional energy. In the 14th minute, Strahinja Rasovic doubled Serbia\u2019s advantage (6:4). Larumbe halved the reigning champion\u2019s deficit.<\/p>\n

Serbia continued to control the match after the mid-break thanks to excellent defense. In the 22nd minute, the hosts gained a 3-goal lead. Nikola Dedovic made it 9:6 from a center-forward position. The goal was confirmed only after a VAR review, as Aguirre stopped the ball, but only after it crossed a goal line. Thirty seconds before the last break, Bustos converted a man-up (7:9)<\/p>\n

The fourth period started very badly for Serbia. Dusan Mandic was excluded in the 25th minute for a violent foul on Granados. This decision was made after a VAR review. As a result, the hosts lost one of their leaders and had to play with one fewer player for the next four minutes. Munarriz converted a penalty shot awarded due to the exclusion. However, Martinovic quickly responded, also scoring from the 5-meter line (10:8).<\/p>\n

Serbia defended well for a time, but just seven seconds after the four-minute suspension expired, Biel leveled (10:10). Shortly after, the same player scored again from a distance, giving Spain the lead with 2:35 minutes left on the clock.<\/p>\n

With 58 seconds remaining, Strahinja Rasovic tied the game at 11:11 during a 6-on-5 situation. This was followed by Glusac\u2019s eighth save of the match when he blocked a shot from Biel. The Olympic champions then earned another man-up opportunity in their final possession. Just six seconds before the final buzzer, Viktor Rasovic scored the winning goal.<\/p>\n

The man-up conversion was one of the crucial factors; Serbia scored six extra player goals from 10 shots, while Spain\u2019s conversion was 4\/11. However, the teams were tied in the number of extra-player goals, until the final minute when Serbia netted two to win the game.<\/p>\n

The two teams\u2019 top scorers, Dusan Mandic and Alvaro Granados, were unable to find the net this evening. However, Strahinja Rasovic and Alberto Munarriz stepped up in the offensive play, each scoring four goals.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI am pleased we were able to respond well after our performance against the Netherlands, where we barely avoided defeat \u2013 Strahinja Rasovic said \u2013 We approached the match against Spain well and managed to take control at the right time. We built momentum, played very disciplined defense with many blocks, and this solid defensive performance laid the foundation for our attack.It was hard during the four-minute exclusion, but we endured with the help of our supporters and managed to defeat a strong team that we hadn\u2019t beaten in a long time. The tournament has just begun, and we have not accomplished anything yet. We will face three tough opponents in the battle for a spot in the semifinals. However, this victory has boosted our confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Alberto Munarriz commented:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt was a game with ups and downs, which is normal under the new rules. We managed to come back from three goals down, partly due to Mandic\u2019s exclusion. We were close to winning, but ultimately fell short.<\/p>\n

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Alberto Munarriz and Djordje Lazic Photo by Krsto Vulovic<\/p>\n

I believe we lacked patience for a much part of the game, which affected our ability to create good situations for our teammates to shoot. Serbia was very solid in defense. In the final moments, we lost mental strength and conceded two goals while playing a man down in the last minute, which was very painful for us. However, we still have many games left in the tournament, and nothing is decided yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

(quarters 4:3, 5:0, 5:5, 5:3)<\/strong><\/p>\n

After an excellent performance and a penalty shootout loss to Serbia, the Netherlands secured easy points against Israel, confirming its spot in Group Stage II.<\/p>\n

The Dutch team started slowly, finishing the first quarter at 4:3. However, they quickly established control with a 6:0 run, taking a comfortable 10:3 lead early in the third period. The remainder of the game was largely a formality.<\/p>\n

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Marnik Snel scored twice for the Netherlands Photo by Krsto Vulovic<\/p>\n

The Netherlands effectively limited its opponent\u2019s scoring opportunities. Israel managed to score only three goals during even play, while the remaining eight came from the Netherlands\u2019 personal fouls, including three successful penalty shots and five power-play goals out of eleven attempts. Conversely, the Dutch were more successful; they scored most of their goals after fouls, achieving five penalty shots without a miss and eight man-up goals out of seventeen attempts.<\/p>\n

Day 4 schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n

Group B:<\/strong> Georgia \u2013 Croatia \u00a0(12:45), Slovenia \u2013 Greece (15:15),<\/p>\n

Group D:<\/strong> Slovakia \u2013 Italy (18:00), Romania \u2013 Turkiye (20:30).<\/p>\n

Follow all the games live on Total Waterpolo Arena<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0Total Waterpolo Arena<\/a>\u00a0for the live scores and the statistics of the European Championships<\/strong><\/p>\n

More articles about the<\/strong>\u00a0European Championships<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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