SPORT

SERBIA BETTER THAN THE WORLD AND EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS: Mighty Dolphins Sink the Spaniards in Belgrade!

by Serbian Times12. January 2026.12. January 2026.

Serbia’s water polo players defeated Spain 12–11 this evening in the second match of the group stage of the European Championship.

The Spaniards, as the reigning world and European champions, entered the duel after demolishing Israel 28–3, while our team knew that a loss in this match, with only minimal chances, would most likely still see them advance to the main phase of the competition. With great determination, head coach Uroš Stevanović and the players entered this clash.

However, the duel did not start well, as Munariz relatively quickly gave the opponent a 2–0 lead, but that was the only one. It seemed, however, that this only motivated our players. Ćuk and Strahinja Rašović had already equalized at 2–2 halfway through the quarter, and Martinović brought us the first lead after five minutes of water polo.

Stronger defenses until the break resulted in a tie at the end of the first quarter, as only Munariz scored, and then in the second period we began to create a gap.

Martinović and Ćuk made it 4–3 and 5–4, and after excellent saves by goalkeeper Glušac, Strahinja Rašović gave our team the first two-goal lead at 6–4. The half ended with a goal by Larumbe for 6–5.

At the start of the second half we also took a 9–6 lead, as Strahinja Rašović and a teammate scored for 9–6, but we went into the final short break with the score at 9–7.

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, we saw a decision by referee Stavridis that shook everything up: Mandić did indeed strike the Spanish water polo player in the pool quite hard, received a so-called brutality call, and by the rules we played with a man down for the next four minutes.

That allowed the opponent back into the game. We maintained the lead for a while, thanks to Martinović’s penalty for 10–8, but then a turnaround followed.

With about two minutes to go, the opponent took the lead, but then the heroic heart of our team emerged once again. We played a couple of good defenses, Strahinja Rašović equalized with 58 seconds remaining, and Viktor Rašović scored the goal for 12–11 with six seconds left!

After this match, Serbia leads the group with 5 points, which we carry into the next phase. The Netherlands now has four, while Spain is on three. Israel was eliminated with zero.

We already know that in the next phase we will face Hungary, Montenegro, and France, and we will first play an exhibition match against Israel.