Virus Decimates Croatian U-16 Team Ahead of World Championship
Head coach Bruno Sabioni cannot count on a full squad due to health issues, with backup goalkeeper Ivan Šeparović's participation in doubt and fine-tuning sessions impossible.
Head coach Bruno Sabioni cannot count on a full squad due to health issues, with backup goalkeeper Ivan Šeparović's participation in doubt and fine-tuning sessions impossible.
Croatia's under-16 water polo team begins its World Championship campaign in Zagreb on Monday, August 3, 2026, but preparations have been severely disrupted by a virus that has swept through the squad. Head coach Bruno Sabioni is facing personnel problems that have prevented the team from completing a single full-squad training session in the past ten days.
"For the last 10 days, we haven't all been together at training. On Saturday morning, there were 11 of us at training, 13 in the evening, 14 on Sunday, while one player is now completely out of the team and training," Sabioni told Sportske novosti, describing the alarming situation just before the first match against Georgia.
The player who is completely out of action with an uncertain appearance is the team's second goalkeeper, Ivan Šeparović from Korčula. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the third goalkeeper is also ill, and health issues are not sparing the outfield players either. "On top of that, Ante Domazet, who has conjunctivitis, has now also developed a sore throat. I mean, I don't know what to tell you. I hope I have the option to change goalkeepers, but our third goalkeeper is also sick. Just a little less sick than Šeparović," added the coach.
The problems escalated during the Croatia Cup in Varaždin, where Croatia finished second. In the group stage, they lost to Russia 7:9 and Serbia 11:12, while defeating the USA 13:12. In the semifinals, they beat Russia 16:19, and in the final, they lost to Serbia 6:7. Even then, the first signs of the virus that spread through the team appeared.
Sabioni does not hide his concern because the usual preparation rhythm has been completely disrupted. "Now the situation is what it is. In the last 5-6 days before a competition, we usually fine-tune some details, but we can't do that now. So it's very hard to announce or predict anything about us and our performance at the World Championship. I can only hope, and that's my only wish, that we are healthy. That's all, and then step by step, match by match, we can build up our form," said the coach.
Last year, Croatia finished fourth at the European Cadet Championship in Istanbul under head coach Boris Popović. This year, the under-16 team is led by head coach Bruno Sabioni, and the squad is practically completely different. Only Deni Sappe, Patrik Kundid, and Ante Domazet remain from last year's lineup.
The World Championship in Zagreb will feature as many as 36 national teams from all six continents, making it the largest ever. The competition format does not include traditional groups, each team plays four predetermined matches, after which a unified standings table is formed based on win percentage, opponent coefficient, and goal difference, rather than points earned.
Croatia will face Georgia (August 3), Australia (August 4), Malta (August 5), and the Netherlands (August 6). All matches start at 7 PM, and broadcasts are available on the official World Aquatics website.
