Montenegro have become the first team to book a place in the semifinals of the 2026 Mediterranean Games in Taranto after edging Serbia 14-13 in Group A.
The result guarantees Montenegro top spot in the group with one round still to play, following their earlier 16-14 victory over Greece.
The Balkan derby also brought together two familiar coaching figures, with Dejan Savic leading Montenegro against Serbia coach Vladimir Vujasinovic, who previously worked alongside Savic on the Serbian national team staff.
Serbia, despite fielding a young squad with several players making their first appearance at a major senior competition, controlled large parts of the game. They led 3-1 early before Montenegro answered with four straight goals.
The teams were level at 7-7 at halftime, but Serbia made another strong move after the break, scoring three unanswered goals to lead 10-7. Their advantage later reached 11-8 before Montenegro reduced the gap to one heading into the final quarter.
Serbia moved 12-10 ahead early in the fourth, but Montenegro responded with a decisive 4-0 run. Aljosa Macic scored for 14-12 with just over two minutes remaining.
Serbia pulled one back through Martinovic with 55 seconds left and had a final opportunity to force a draw, but Vucinic struck the post with 13 seconds remaining.
Strahinja Gojkovic and Martinovic finished as the leading scorers with four goals each.
Elsewhere in Group A, Greece comfortably defeated Slovenia 22-9, with Andreos Bitsakos scoring five times. Greece and Serbia will now meet for second place in the group.
In Group B, hosts Italy continued their perfect start with a convincing 15-6 win over France. Filippo Ferrero and Matteo Iocchi Gratta scored three goals each as Italy moved onto nine points from three matches.
Italy have not mathematically secured a semifinal place yet, but are in a commanding position ahead of their final group match against Spain.
Spain also recorded one of the largest wins of the tournament, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 33-3. Marc Valls, Pol Daura and Ignassi Bargallo all scored five goals.
Results
Group A
Slovenia 9-22 Greece
Serbia 13-14 Montenegro
Group B
France 35-4 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Turkiye 7-25 Italy
Italy 15-6 France
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-33 Spain
Standings
Group A
- Montenegro – 2 – 6 pts
- Serbia – 2 – 3 pts
- Greece – 2 – 3 pts
- Slovenia – 2 – 0 pts
Group B
- Italy – 3 – 9 pts
- Spain – 2 – 6 pts
- France – 2 – 3 pts
- Turkiye – 2 – 0 pts
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – 3 – 0 pts
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