The Malta waterpolo national team produced an improved and spirited display against former Olympic champions Hungary, but ultimately succumbed to a 21–6 defeat in their latest outing in Belgrade.

While the scoreline underlined Hungary’s clear superiority, Milan Cirovic’s side showed far greater resilience than in previous matches, particularly in defence, where they managed to frustrate their highly rated opponents for long spells.

ASA president Karl Izzo praised the team’s attitude and progress following the encounter.

“I am very pleased with the effort of the players against Hungary,” Izzo said. “This was our best performance in Belgrade so far. Winning 17 man-up situations against a team of Hungary’s calibre is no small achievement, even though we failed to make the most of several of those chances.

“Now our focus must shift to the final three matches, where we need to win all of them in order to secure 13th place.”

Malta will next be in action on Friday when they face Israel in the opening match of the positional play-offs for places 13 to 16.

The opening session was particularly encouraging for the Maltese, who displayed improved organisation at the back. Goalkeeper Jake Tanti was in inspired form, producing four outstanding saves to keep Hungary at bay. Nevertheless, the Magyars still managed to score through Dávid Tatrai, Dániel Angyal, Péter Kovács and Vince Varga.

Malta responded positively, with goals from Ivan Nagaev and Alec Fenech keeping the deficit to just two goals at the end of the first period.

Hungary raised the tempo in the second session by applying a high press, making life more difficult for the Maltese defence. The favourites struck seven times in the quarter, with Vince Vigvári, Benedek Batizi and Ákos Nagy each scoring twice, while Vince Varga added another. Malta replied through Liam Galea and Stevie Camilleri, going into the long break trailing 11–4.

The third session followed a similar pattern, with Hungary continuing to dominate and adding five more goals. Malta, however, showed character and managed to reduce the damage with strikes from Liam Galea and Matthew Zammit, the latter converting from an extra-man situation.

The final quarter offered little respite as Hungary closed out the match with five unanswered goals, sealing a comfortable 21–6 win and confirming their place at the top of the group.