Young 'Barracudas' Crush France 21:8, Serbia Clash Awaits
Croatia's U20 water polo team showed no mercy against France in Varna. On Friday, a much bigger challenge awaits: a match against Serbia that leads into the medal rounds.
Croatia's U20 water polo team showed no mercy against France in Varna. On Friday, a much bigger challenge awaits: a match against Serbia that leads into the medal rounds.
Croatia's young water polo team (U20) convincingly defeated France 21:8 on Thursday, August 13, 2026, securing a spot in the quarterfinals of the European Championship. The match at the Julian Rusev Open-Air Pool in Varna, played before just 150 spectators, was marked by complete dominance from coach Zoran Bajić's squad.
After the first quarter alone, it was clear which direction the match would take. Croatia won that period 6:1 and went into halftime with a commanding 11:3 lead. France, led by coach Enzo Khasz, had no answers for Croatia's defense or their in-form attackers.
Goalkeeper Batoš stood out with 10 saves, including two penalty stops, further frustrating the French. His teammates in goal, Špilar and Dragošević, recorded two and one saves, respectively. On the other side, French goalkeeper Fuksa made eight saves, but that couldn't prevent his team's debacle.
For Croatia, Sušić and Burburan were the most efficient with four goals each. Jerković, Žilić, Tončinić, and Skejić added two apiece, while Čurković, Fajković, Dobrić, and Rogić also got on the scoresheet. Interestingly, in the final quarter, substitutes like Fajković, Roglić, and Donđivić were given penalty opportunities.
The quality gap was most evident in man-up situations: Croatia converted 7 of 14 chances, while France was dismal with just 3 of 14. Penalties told a similar tale, with Croatian players converting 7 of 9, compared to France's 2 of 5. With the score at 14:4 in the third quarter, Jerković missed the first of six penalties, but the rebound was still put into the net.
France arrived at the tournament with mixed results, having beaten Slovenia 21:13 and Bulgaria 13:11, but also losing to Turkey 15:8. French senior coach Vjeko Kobeščak will find it hard to unearth future senior team players from this generation.
Croatia now faces a far more serious test. On Friday at 5 PM, they will play against Serbia for a spot in the semifinals and a continued fight for medals. It will be another clash between two water polo schools that have written some of the sport's finest pages throughout history.
The referees for the match against France were Licari from Malta and Jimenez from Spain. Croatia handled the game routinely, with several errors that France neither knew nor could exploit, as noted in the on-site report.
