Group D — Szeged

AUSTRALIA 10 KAZAKHSTAN 4 

Australia avoided the two big guns for the opening match at the world championship and it aimed high after finishing sixth last time. Kazakhstan came here with a really young and fresh team trying to surprise Group D. The game started with a penalty shot for the Aussie Sharks and after that both teams remained silent; furthermore Kazakhstan missed the goal in the first half. In the second period both teams woke up and played a close game scoring 3-2 in each of the last quarters, which meant a six-goal win for Tim Hamill’s team. 

Match heroes
Nick Porter (MVP) was an undefeatable wall for all the Kazakh shooters in the first half with a 100 per cent save efficiency, stopping all six attempts; he ended up with 70 per cent. On the other side, Alexey Shmider scored 75 per cent of his team's goals, and he scored from every second shot.

Turning point
As we mentioned before, Kazakhstan couldn’t score in the first half, but only in the second Australia could make an advantage from it, scoring three unanswered.

Stats don’t lie
Defence and a good scoring performance was the key for the winning team, and really bad shot selection and finishing from Rustam Ukumanov’s guys paid the price.

Bottom line
Even with a first-game loss and the upcoming games against Serbia and USA, the fresh and young Kazakh team looked good and motivated, but if you can’t score for 16 minutes, you will probably lose the match. Australia can rely on good shooting and defence, but the Aussie Sharks should wake up earlier against the other big nations to stay in the match.

What they said  
Tim Hamill (AUS) — Head Coach
“It was really exciting, playing with nine players playing their first orld championship. Before the game we had anxiety, but we are really happy about the final score. Our defence was the key as it shows our goalkeeper got the MVP award. We studied them very well the last couple days. They are a very new team; they had like three players from Tokyo. Our defence early on set us up for the rest of the game. The next two games are going to be very difficult — Serbia is a really great team. We had our opportunities to play against them before and we had some good battles against the USA. The atmosphere was really good. When we arrived a few days ago we were blown away by how good the pool was. Everything has been amazing so far. Thank you, Hungary for hosting us.”
Nick Porter (AUS) — Goalkeeper and MVP
“My team did a very good defence, which allowed me to do my job. We identified who their best players were and we tried to stop them from getting the ball as much as possible. I think Kazakhstan found their rhythm in the third quarter; they played some really good water polo. We missed some shots and they came with confidence, and they proved that they could score. I was really proud of my team because we were really brave in our defence and in our offence. Really excited to play Serbia and we’ll see how it goes. They’re two amazing teams (Serbia and USA), especially Serbia as they are the two-timne Olympic champions. For us, it’s a great experience to learn from.”
Rustam Ukumanov (KAZ) — Head Coach
“We have a new team; we have some young players, and this will be their first big tournament. We were nervous at the first half; that’s why we made lots of mistakes, especially in shooting. In the second half we played better; we could score some goals and try to play our game.”
Alexey Shmider (KAZ) — Three Goals
“It was very tough for us; now we can check our mistakes and fix it for the next game. We have one more day to prepare. We will watch the game again and we will see what we should change. The atmosphere was amazing, as always in Hungary. It’s a water polo country and we feel it.”

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 13 SERBIA 17

It was the clash of the titans between USA and Serbia as it was one of the most awaited matches in the preliminary round. For the first time it was a full house in Szeged. Both teams started as everybody waited, head to head, one goal here, one goal there, big battle over and under the water. It was 5-5 in the first quarter, mostly with amazing offence and some mistakes in defence. In the second period, Serbia turned the table and came from behind to take a one-goal advantage. The third was a tie like the first (3-3), but in the last quarter the two times Olympics winner showed the winning mentality and character and beat USA 6-3. We’ve seen two of the best teams in the world and the atmosphere was amazing in the pool.

Match heroes
Strahinja Rasovic was the MVP, but also Dusan Mandic and Nikola Lukic helped the team to outscore the opponent. From the USA, only Alexander Bowen scored more than two goals (4), and Chase Dodd scored both of his two opportunities.

Turning point
After an extremely sharp-edged three quarters, the last was where we’ve seen why Serbia is one of the best in the world, and even if they have a fresh team, the experience from the coaching staff and Branislav Mitrovic in the goal made the difference between the two teams.

Stats don’t lie
Both goalkeepers were just a little bit under 50 per cent efficiency. Surprisingly there was only one penalty shot and counter-attack from Serbia. USA was a little bit more successful from extra man, scoring six from 14 opportunities.

Bottom line
Serbia is a little bit closer to being the first in Group D, but it needs to develop in defence. On the other hand, there is no reason to be sad. The USA needs to go on and win the other two matches.

What they said
Strahinja Rasovic (SRB) — Most Valuable Player
“Generally, we expected a very tough game against the USA. They have a very good team, showed that at the Olympics and continued to show that. I can be satisfied with the win, but I can’t be satisfied with our defence. We conceded 13 goals, which is too much. If we want to be serious and play against the best teams at the end, we should get five-six goals less. Our offence was really good, scoring 17 against USA is amazing, but we should be better in defence. We always love to play here. Serbia is close, so all the Hungarian and Serbian fans were amazing.”
Branislav Mitrovic (SRB) — Goalkeeper
“It was a really beautiful and amazing feeling playing in front of Hungarian and Serbian supporters. Now we know how the atmosphere is after the first match, we will get used to it and will be better. We made lots of mistakes, especially in defence, so we need to fix it. We have a new national team, so we need to develop and win our last two matches, score goals and be better and better. Almost nothing motivates me better, than I’m playing in a world championship, but it’s always unique for me to play in Hungary and we try to get to Margitsziget and play on the highest level.”
Dejan Udovicic (USA) — Head Coach
“We made too many mistakes, to put ourselves in position to win the game, it’s that simple. We need to take care of ourselves, we should do everything no matter who we are playing against. It’s great here, but we could’ve played better. We could’ve played this in Belgrade since we prepared there with the Serbians.”
Alexander Bowen (USA) — Four Goals
“Serbia is a very good team, we did what we could and we left it all in the pool; that’s what the result shows. We are frustrated, but we are also happy about everything we put into this game. We just slipped away in the fourth, a couple of bounces went their way, a couple of goals went for us, but we just have to be patient and more consistent at the end. Not everyone is as unique as Serbia, but we have to treat everyone in the same way and play as hard as possible. It’s good that I scored the most goals, but it doesn’t matter because we lost the game. I’m going to go out there and do everything I have to do. I love this new pool, it’s incredible. I’m very excited playing in this arena.”

Group Progress Points: Serbia 2, Australia 2, USA 0, Kazakhstan 0.