Serbia saw off Algeria 3:2 in the Mediterranean Games on Thursday evening, a result that shifts the standings in the group. The hosts had been winless through five matches before this one, while Serbia moved to within two points of the leaders.
The visitors have shown resilience despite their mixed results so far. They lost 0:3 to both Italy and France, yet managed to beat Portugal 3:0 and narrowly lost 2:3 to Tunisia. Algeria, by contrast, are winless with just 2 points from 5 games.
The recent record tells a story of two very different trajectories. Algeria lost 0:3 to Italy on Wednesday and 1:3 to France earlier that week, before a 2:3 defeat to Portugal on Monday. Serbia's form has been more volatile — they lost 0:3 to Slovenia back in July, then 0:3 to France on Tuesday.
This result means Serbia can spring a surprise if they keep their nerve in the final round. Algeria are out for the season in terms of advancement, but the match gave them something to play for. The draw brought them together early, and this time Serbia found a way through.