Malta began their European Championship finals campaign with a 21–12 defeat to waterpolo heavyweights Montenegro in Belgrade.

Milan Ćirović’s side produced an uneven performance, showing encouraging signs in the first and third quarters but paying heavily for a disastrous second session in which Montenegro pulled decisively clear.

While an upset against one of Europe’s traditional powers was always unlikely, the manner in which Malta allowed the match to slip away in the second quarter will be a source of disappointment for the national coach.

Still, there were positives to take from the contest, particularly the fighting spirit shown by the Maltese players, who continued to battle in the second half and attempted to reduce the deficit.

That resilience will be vital ahead of Malta’s next group match against France on Tuesday — a fixture that represents their best opportunity to register a first win in the group. Victory would also secure progression to the knockout phase and guarantee a historic top-12 finish.

Stevie Camilleri led Malta’s scoring with four goals, while Matthew Zammit added three. Further goals came from Alec Fenech, Nikolai Zammit, Jake Muscat, Jayden Cutajar and Ivan Nagaev.

Montenegro signalled their intent from the opening minutes, racing into a 3–0 lead through goals from Aljoša Mačić, Danilo Stupar and Dmitri Kholod as Malta took time to settle.

Matthew Zammit opened Malta’s account, but Dušan Matković restored Montenegro’s three-goal cushion. The Maltese responded with renewed determination as quick goals from Jayden Cutajar and Ivan Nagaev — his first in official competition — reduced the gap to 5–4.

Jovan Vujović struck to put Montenegro two goals ahead, but Nikolai Zammit replied to leave Malta trailing by just one goal at the end of the opening quarter, 6–5.

Malta missed a golden opportunity to draw level early in the second quarter when Stevie Camilleri fired over from six metres. That miss proved costly as Montenegro stepped up their intensity, scoring four unanswered goals through Marko Mršić, Strahinja Gojković (twice) and Vujović to open up a 9–5 lead.

Struggling to convert their chances and missing two extra-man opportunities, Malta conceded twice more before the break as Montenegro went into half-time with a commanding 11–5 advantage.

The third quarter saw an improved Malta performance, with Camilleri scoring twice and further goals coming from Jake Muscat and Matthew Zammit. However, Montenegro continued to respond clinically, maintaining control as they moved into the final session leading 16–9.

In the final quarter, Montenegro once again underlined their quality with four more goals. Malta replied through Matthew Zammit, while further strikes from Jake Muscat and Zammit were separated by another goal from Gojković as the Montenegrins comfortably closed out the match.