The battles for 13th place at the European Championships in Belgrade started with exciting matches.
Malta edged out Israel, 15:14, in the first match of the group for the 13th – 16th place classification. Following that game, Slovenia caused a surprise by beating Slovakia in a penalty shootout – 14:13 (10:10)
2026 European Men’s Water Polo Championships, Belgrade, Day 7
Group 13th – 16th place, first round
(quarters 5:5, 4:2, 3:4, 3:3)
Malta: Nagaev 6, Camilleri 5, Cachia 1, Cutajar 1, N.Zammit 1, Schembri 1.
Israel: Shafrir 3, Buzaglo 3, Gros 2, Rendler 2, Begin 1, Gvishi 1, Schlein 1, Goldschmidt 1
Malta achieved its third win in European history and its first at the Belgrade tournament, which was much more challenging than anticipated.
It broke Israel’s resistance against its most experienced players, Ivan Nagaev, who was well guarded by the strong opponents in Group A, and Steven Camilleri.
After a few turns in the first quarter, Malta netted three consecutive goals between the 10th and the 16th minute and went from 6:6 to 9:6. The team from the picturesque island maintained a 3-goal lead for a while. Ivan Nagaev made it 11:8 from a counterattack before Israel started climbing back.
Steve Camilleri Photo by Krsto Vulovic
Goldschmit leveled at 12:12 in Israel’s first possession in the fourth quarter. Camlleri immediately after put Malta in front again. However, he didn’t stop Israel’s momentum. In the middle of the quarter, Ronen Gros netted two goals in 54 seconds (one from a penalty), and his team gained a 14:13 advantage. Malta kept Israel goalless in the rest of the match and secured the victory with goals from Nagaev and Nikolai Zammit
(quarters 3:3,3:3, 3:3, 1:1, PSO 4:3)
Slovenia: Stromajer 2, Troppan 2, Potocnik 2, Stefanovic 1, Canc 1, Santak 1, Stromajer 1.
Slovakia: Durik 3, Marek Tkac 3, Seman 2, Maros Tkac 1, Balaz 1.
Scorers in a shootout: Cerar, Stefanovic, Canc, Stromajer for Slovenia; Marek Tkac, Lukas Seman, Maros Tkac for Slovakia
In yesterday’s report on the Georgia vs. Slovenia game, Total Waterpolo concluded that Slovenia wouldn’t be an underdog in the group for the 13th–16th place classification. Today, the Slovenian team proved that we were right.
The Slovaks were the favorites on paper. However, they didn’t demonstrate that in the pool, partially because they were clearly disappointed with a narrow loss to Turkiye that sent them to the battle for 13th place.
Slovakia was the first team to build a 2-goal lead. It did it in the second period – 6:4. Slovenia equalized at 6:6, 7:7 and 8:8. Potocnik gave the Slovenians a 9:8 in the 24th minute, with an extra player. Maros Tkac converted Slovakia’s man -up two seconds before the last break.
Slovenia’s defense Photo by Krsto Vulovic
The fourth period was a defensive battle. In the 24th minute, Slovakia’s and Pro Recco’s center forward, Lukas Durik, was substituted after being excluded for a foul in front of Slovenia’s goal; he had scored three goals and drawn six personal fouls up to that point. Stromajer scored Slovenia’s 10th goal following the exclusion. The Slovenians managed to maintain their slim lead until almost the end of the match. However, just 18 seconds before the final buzzer, Slovakia’s veteran Lukas Seman, aged 38, converted a man-up opportunity with a close-range shot, leveling the score at 10:10. Slovenia’s goalkeeper, Jure Beton, who had a very good performance today, stopped the shot, but he was behind the goal line; no VAR confirmation was needed.
However, in the shootout, Beton saved two shots during a tense penalty drama—one from Balaz in the first round and another from Mihal in the fifth round. Slovakia’s goalie Balogh managed to block only one shot, preventing Kadivec from scoring in the first round, allowing Slovenia to take home two points.
Standings: 13. Malta 3, 14. Slovenia 2, 15. Slovakia 1, 16. Israel 0.
On Saturday, Malta will play against Slovenia (12:45), and Slovakia will face Israel (10:15).
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