Tončinić Sinks Hungary 12 Seconds from the End
Croatian juniors defeated Hungary 14:13 in a dramatic finish in the second round of the European Championship in Varna, putting them on the brink of direct qualification for the top eight.
Croatian juniors defeated Hungary 14:13 in a dramatic finish in the second round of the European Championship in Varna, putting them on the brink of direct qualification for the top eight.
Croatia's junior water polo team secured an extremely valuable victory at the European Championship in Varna, Bulgaria. On Tuesday, August 11, 2026, in the second round of Group A, they defeated Hungary 14:13, with center Viktor Tončinić as the hero of the match, scoring the winning goal exactly 12 seconds before the final buzzer. Tončinić, a native of Rijeka and former player of Primorje EB, netted the decisive goal with a man advantage as the game was already slipping into an uncertain finale.
In front of just 300 spectators at the open-air Julian Rusev pool, the two teams played a completely even match in which, as expected, a single ball decided the outcome. With the score tied at 13:13 and about fifteen seconds remaining, coach Zoran Bajić's squad earned a man-up opportunity. The ball went to Tončinić, whose precise shot sparked celebrations for Croatia.
In the remaining 12 seconds, Hungary launched an attack without a goalkeeper, playing with seven outfield players, but the Croatian defense held firm and preserved a massive victory. The match was marked by frequent stoppages and physical play, with a total of 41 fouls called. According to reports, the Hungarian players were "chopping" relentlessly, which gave Croatia as many as 23 man-up chances. Coach Bajić praised his team: "We played a brave match, defensively excellent with a shallow zone. We stopped the ball flow at two meters, so the Hungarians had to try to break our zone with outside shots."
The most effective player for Croatia was G. Burburan with five goals, another former Primorje EB player. Jerković and Ćurković added three each, while Šušić scored two, including a converted penalty. In goal, Batoš stood out with seven saves, while Špilar added three. For Hungary, Toth scored four goals, with Balogh and Cseh each netting three. Hungarian goalkeeper Szitas recorded six saves and one additional intervention.
The key difference was in man-up play. Croatia converted 12 of 23 opportunities (52 percent), while Hungary was highly inefficient, scoring just three times from 11 attempts (27 percent). Both teams had mixed results on penalties: Croatia converted one of two attempts, while Hungary was perfect with one successful penalty. The match was officiated by Bourges from France and Sonnemans from the Netherlands.
In the other Group A match, Italy defeated Greece 12:10. After two rounds, Italy leads with six points, Croatia has three, Hungary two, and Greece one. The top two teams will secure direct qualification for the quarterfinals, while the third and fourth-placed teams will have to play in the round of 16. In the first round, Croatia lost to Italy 16:13.
Croatia will face Greece in the third and final group match on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. The game starts at 5 PM, and a victory would almost certainly send our juniors into the top eight European teams.
