After a disappointing performance on January 11th and a heavy loss to Hungary, Greece’s men’s water polo team finished the World Cup qualification phase, which was held in Otopeni, Romania, on a positive note.

The national team defeated Montenegro 17-10 and secured third place, having already guaranteed their spot in the World Cup finals in Kotor (April 11-13).

At first, Greece found themselves trailing 2-1, just over five minutes into the match. However, they then dominated both offensively and defensively, scoring seven unanswered goals with standout performances from Argyropoulos and Papanastasiou, and quickly pulled ahead 8-2, establishing a solid foundation for victory. The Greeks maintained their momentum, extending the lead to +9 (12-3) midway through the third quarter, and comfortably secured the win.

The periods:

• 3-2, 7-1, 4-3, 3-4

Referees: Bourge (France), Kovacs-Tsatlos (Hungary)

Team Lineups:

Greece (Thodoris Vlachos): Zerdevas, Genidounias, Skoumbakis 1, Giuvetis 1, Argyropoulos 4, Papanastasiou 3, Gillas 1, Kalogeropoulos 4, Alafragis 1, Kakaris 1, Nikolaidis, Chalyvopoulos 1, Tzortzatros, Kourouvanis

Montenegro (Dejan Savic): Tesanovic, Moskov 3, J. Randovic 1, Vujovic, Matics, Chetkovic, Vuckovic, Djurjic, Perkovic 2, Popandic, Matkovic 4, Gardasevic, Djurkovic, Dan. Randovic

Player of the Match: Aristidis Chalyvopoulos.