The men’s competition reached a crescendo in Messe B tonight as the four group winners cemented their places in the semifinals. But what a way to arrive at the prestigious medal-round! All four teams won by a single goal. Their reputations were kept intact by sinewy spider webs as the pretenders all laid claims to the thin hope of making the gold-medal final and taking home an Olympic qualification berth.
Greece was the first team through to the semifinals with a stunning last-minute 10-9 victory over Montenegro. Serbia needed a shootout to beat group winner Italy 15-11 after being locked at 11-11. Hungary pipped United States of America 13-12 in an incident-filled match that had USA captain Ben Hallock out on a violence foul. And then came the fourth match with France showing disdain to world champion Spain by going into the final quarter 6-4 ahead before losing 7-6 with just over a minute remaining.
It was a night to remember and in stark contrast to the women’s competition where three of the four group winners failed to progress to the semifinals. There is still plenty of magic to come and perhaps even a miracle, something France nearly achieved.
In the classification 9-12 semifinals, European champion Croatia beat Canada 13-5 and Australia pipped Japan 16-15. In lower classification matches, Argentina clinched 13th position in downing Kazakhstan 11-7. China beat South Africa 16-8 for 15th position.
Thursday Schedule
Classification 11-12
Match 39, 09:00, Canada v Japan
Classification 9-10
Match 40, 10:30, Croatia v Australia
Classification 5-8 Semifinals
Match 41, 14:00, Montenegro v Italy
Match 42, 15:30, United States of America v France
Classification 1-4 Semifinals
Match 43, 17:00, Greece v Serbia
Match 44, 18:30, Hungary v Spain
Match Reports:
Classification 1-8 Quarterfinals
SPAIN 7 FRANCE 6
It’s almost like showing disrespect to a world champion. Italy did that to the United States of America women the night before. France was doing it tonight. By scoring the first goal, it was almost a win. By leading the quarter 2-1, it was almost unbelievable. To lead 4-1 in the first half and then to close at 4-2 against Spain was becoming the unthinkable. To be three minutes into the third period and still be 5-3 ahead was becoming the stuff of legend. The erosion started when Felipe Perrone rammed home a penalty goal and he nearly scored with a banana-bender not long later. The fragile lead was holding and French valour was on show. As with other matches in Fukuoka, results don’t normally go the way they should. This was certainly not in Spain’s game plan.
By this stage, Roger Tahull had two goals for Spain and Alexandre Bouet a pair for France. Fairy tales are written about these sorts of moments in time. Captain Ugo Crousillat was steering his ship keenly in a fair wind and he scored at 7:04 in the fourth period for 6-4. Spain went to a timeout at 3:55 and Blai Mallarach scored after the exclusion period for 6-5 at 3:25. The French defence was starting to crumble and another chink opened when Sergi Cabanas went deep right and bounced the ball into goal at 2:46 for 6-6.
The heat was palpable as France shot several times to no effect. Spain went on the charge and even after some poor passes, Alvaro Granados shot from the left to secure the lead for the first time in the match and at 1:04. No one was going to score another goal. Spain was through by the skin of its teeth. France was devastated, but proud. France does not need the qualification, just the respect of making the top four.
This was truly a night to remember. I can say ‘I was there’ for what was a magical night.
Match Heroes:
Granados came away with the trophy firmly in his sturdy grip. Hugo Fontani and his 13 saves for France, many just huge. Uni Aguirre with his 10 saves for Spain.
Turning Point:
The last three goals that blew away France and Granados’ final punch of the nail.
Stats Don’t Lie:
France was the more efficient with five from eight on extra-man attack while defending seven from 10. Spain had one penalty goal.
Bottom Line:
Spain is the world champion, after all. It should have won, bt the delight on Spanish head coach David Martin’s face in the mixed zone said it all — France has arrived as another leading men’s water polo nation.
What They Said:
MARTIN David ESP Head Coach
“Congratulations to France and their goalkeeper Hugo Fontani. He made some amazing stops. The lines were clear to shoot to him. We tried to be positive. At four minutes we were two down.”
On the next stage:
“We will work with the semifinal like a final, so we can take a ticket to Paris (Finalists both earn Olympic berth.”
PERONE Felipe ESP Captain
“Really tough. How good was France? France played amazing. It was a little bit weird. Our goalie (Unai Aguirre) was amazing, too.”
On what happens now:
“We forget about this part of the tournament, concentrate on another team in the last part of the tournament.”
SAUDADIER Remi FRA Goal Scorer
“For the public it was a nice game. In the end it was something good, but what a waste as we could have won the game. We missed some big results in the last moments. It was our best result at a World Championships and we gained a lot of attention. We want really to show how we can go further and build for the Olympic Games. We have been working every summer to get here. We want to maintain that momentum and put up a good fight (in Paris next year).”
HUNGARY 13 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 12
We all remember what happened at the World Cup in Los Angeles last month when Hungary won, USA protested and a rematch of the last four minutes and some turned the result in favour of USA for the bronze medal. This match was marred by the violence foul called on USA captain Ben Hallock, allegedly striking Hungary’s Marton Vamos. That moment came at 2:56 in the second quarter, gifting Hungary a penalty and four minutes with a man-up. It came after the first quarter was tied at four and the penalty awarded was converted and two subsequent extra-man goals gave Hungary a 7-4 advantage. Chase Dodd and Alex Bowen replied for USA over the halftime break and soon after Hallock’s replacement took the water, Dylan Woodhead fired in a rocket from in line with the right post for 7-7, meaning that the exclusion period really did not benefit Hungary all that much. However, Gergo Zalanki knows how to upset the North Americans — score lots of goals. He had two in the first quarter and another in the second before firing in consecutive goals in the third for his fifth and 13th of the tournament. His 14th came just over half a minute later, his withering left arm, making a mockery of the USA defence. This sent USA to a timeout to no effect on the scoreboard.
Daube missed the third USA penalty shot and Adam Nagy took the Hungarian lead to four. Max Irving from the right pulled one back. Toni Nemet blasted in from centre forward to take it out to 12-8. Bowen knew what was at stake and fired in consecutive goals for 12-10. The euphoria subsided when Denes Varga scored his first goal of the match at 3:54. Adrian Weinberg made a stupendous steal off the counter-attacking Hungarian and Hooper scored at the other end for 13-11. Hopper gained another on extra for 13-12. USA had several opportunities and the best sent the ball high and wide. Hungary gained an extra-man play and took a timeout at 0:36. The shot went high and USA charged upfield but did not get a shot away and Hungary was through to the semifinals.
Match Heroes:
Zalanki. Six from 12 attempts. Almost doubling his score. He now has 14 goals. Bowen scored four from six and Hooper three from three for the USA.
Turning Point:
The violence foul should have had Hungary well in the lead, but it didn’t. Really it was Zalanki’s goals late in the third quarter that made the difference.
Stats Don’t Lie:
Hungary shot 36-24; converted six for 11 to USA’s excellent six from eight. It was penalties that hurt with Hungary converting one and USA missing three of four — the difference between winning and losing.
Bottom Line:
Hungary wants to bring back memories of 2017 when it last made the final, although the silver medal was not what it had planned for in front of a capacity crowd. USA can be proud of the effort and can expect to perform well in the next series.
What They Said:
VARGA Zsolt HUN Head Coach
“Congratulations to the USA players who fought really hard after the exclusion and played the right way. We had good attack and our defence improved. It’s important to be getting more goals.”
VARGA Denes HUN Goal Scorer
“USA is very strong with a lot of potential. I wouldn’t agree with the exclusion (Ben Hallock) but it helped us a lot. Hallock is their key player. We’re into the semifinals now but I think there is a lot of room for improvement.
HOOPER Johnny USA Three Goals
On regrouping after the violence foul:
“Little bit of confusion when you take out the best centre forward in the world in the second quarter. With the game plan after that I really think we came together as a team and made a game of it. Really proud of the guys, playing hard until the end. We held Hungary to one goal and could have won. Real proud.”
DODD Chase USA Goal Scorer
“It’s hard coming back, but we have a lot to look at and a lot to be proud of. We have to forget about this game and focus on the next one.”
ITALY 14 SERBIA 15 in penalty shootout (FT: 11-11. Pens: 3-4)
Serbia needed a penalty shootout to advance to the semifinals after the match was tied at 11-11, winning the five-shot rotation 4-3.
Serbia shot to the lead with two goals, albeit taking nearly five minutes. Italy responded with three goals, including two from Giacomo Canella, the second with a lovely lob. Radomir Drasovic equalised at 0:35. Eduardo Di Somma sent the ball over the goalkeeper’s head and soon after Italy repelled Serbia on double extra. Strahinja Rasovic scored twice for his 18th goal of the tournament to take the lead. Di Somma levelled at five and Rasovic had his penalty attempt buried in the goalkeeper’s stomach.
Nicholas Presciutti and Jaksic traded goals; Alessandro Velotto and Vasilije Martinovic (his first in Fukuoka) swapped and then Lorenzo Bruni for his second and Rasovic for his 19th had the match at 8-8. Francesco di Fulvio was too quick on extra-man for a sixth Italian lead. Serbia went to a timeout and subsequently, Dorde Vucinic sent the ball down the left side of the goal at 0:10 for 9-9.
Di Fulvio sent Italy ahead on extra-man and after a timeout, Rasovic gained his fourth goal and 20th for the tournament at 5:18 for 10-10. Di Fulvio claimed another on extra-man at 3:06 with Nemanja Ubovic steering in a piercingly angled pass for 11-11 at 0:48. Neither side could break the deadlock, even with a goalie shot after an Italian timeout at 0:01.
Come the shootout — performed at lightning speed like some of the field shooting — Italy started and the second shooter form each team — Di Somma and Marko Radulovic — missed. The next four went in and Luca Damonte failed to convert, leaving Rasovic to score and win the quarterfinal for Serbia.
Match Heroes:
Rasovic, of course.
Turning Point:
The 5-1 start
Stats Don’t Lie:
Serbia simply had more shots and opportunities, shooting 34 rot25; converting six from 10 while Italy went sight from 12. Serbia missed one of its two penalty attempts and Italy converted its one.
Bottom Line:
Serbia is a big-match and beat another team at the top of its powers. Italy will be missing from the podium this time around and Serbia has been shaping for the final for some time.
What They Said:
STEVANOVIC Uros SRB Head Coach
“We had a fantastic goalkeeper (Branislav Mitrovic) is who is very good at penalties. In going to the penalties, we knew we would show we would win. At the very beginning it was 2-0 and Italy came back to 3-2. It was goal for goal then and Italy was a little bit better. We fell away in the third quarter and they scored. In the end, six on six we spent our two timeouts and scored. Congratulations to my guys. I hope this is not the last word in these championships.”
RASOVIC Strahinja SRB Player Of The Match
“Congratulations to Italy and to my team. Very proud with the way they played. All game we were not down at any time. I knew when it was 11-11 we would go to penalties. Also, I missed (scoring a penalty) in the game (he scored the last rotation to win). Thank God we won.”
CAMPAGNA Alessandro ITA Head Coach
“It was a great match, very strong match and at the end the penalty shootout, which was negative for us. We could have won inside the game. I didn’t like the choice of defence at the end because we could have won the match.”
GREECE 10 MONTENEGRO 9
Greece survived an amazing match in which it led 6-3 at one stage and needed a no-angle shot in the last minute to gain the edge on Montenegro and go to the final buzzer with a one-goal advantage.
It was compelling water polo with thunderous goals, massive marking and aggression that filtered through to the scoresheet. Greece led 2-1 at the quarter, 6-4 at halftime and the match was tied at seven by the final break.
Konstantinos Genidounias, who proved to be the thorn in the Montenegro side that it could not tweezer out, opened with the first two goals and Aleksa Ukropina replied in the last minute. Genidounias scored another two goals as the match moved to 6-3 and Duro Radovic delivered on an extra-man play for the halftime score.
Vlado Popadic struck from the left and Genidounias was called upon to secure the penalty goal, which he did, for his fifth and 12th in Fukuoka. Radovic and Ukropina took a six-metre, free-throw shot to level at 1:02.
Stylianos Argyropoulos scored a penalty; Radovic replied on extra-man; Argyropoulos gained another extra-man goal — 11 for the tournament — and Vladan Spaic muscled in a backhander to level the match at nine at 5:45. Four minutes later, Greece went to a timeout, sent the biggest man in the team — Dimitrios Skoumpakis —to the deep-left wing, moved the ball around until the last seconds arrived and he received a shot in one motion, scoring one of the skinniest shots in Fukuoka, bouncing off the far post and turning into goal at 0:56. Montenegro had the final shot of the match and it hit the crossbar at 0:16. Greece recovered, retained and swam up the pool and into the semifinals.
Match Heroes:
Genidounias, unsurprisingly, with his five goals from seven attempts. Radovic scored three for Montenegro.
Turning Point:
The final goal.
Stats Don’t Lie:
Greece shot 28 to 25; converted four from 13 and defended nine of 15. Greece converted three penalty attempts to none.
Bottom Line:
Greece is through to the semifinals after winning bronze last year and Montenegro, eighth in 2022, will have to battle what will be an equally tough classification 5-9 series.
What They Said:
VLACHOS Theodoros GRE Head Coach (Above)
“It was a very tough game to qualify into the best four. This is the most important game. We had the character even in the moment when Montenegro gave us a lot of press on the man up.”
On Konstantinos Skoumpakis’ winning goal:
“Anything is possible.”
GENIDOUNIAS Konstantinos GRE Player Of The Match/Five Goals
“What really gave us the win was our patience in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter we scored only one goal. We were not clear in our minds. Our minds on offence had no patience. We found it in the fourth quarter and then there was the wonderful goal from the big man (Dimitrios) Skoumpakis with no angle.”
SKOUMPAKIS Dimitrios GRE Winning Goal Scorer
On what went through his mind in those final moments:
“I was just wanting to win and score on the last man up. It just happened. The time was running out and someone had to shoot. I had to get ready to take it (when the ball arrived).”
RADOVIC Duro MNE Two Goals
“I’m too emotional right now. The Greek team deserved to win. A few players destroyed us, like (Konstantinos) Genidounias. We couldn’t find a way to close him down. Next year we have three more chances — Europeans, Worlds and Olympics. We will try and give our best and show the world that we are in the best three in the world.”
Round 9-12 Semifinals
CANADA 5 CROATIA 13
Croatia found itself in unusual territory, playing for ninth position instead of being in the top eight or top four. The European champion was fourth last year and bounced back for the Europeans. Croatia has been in the top four the last 10 editions. The one before that was Barcelona 2003 when it finished, wait for it… ninth.
Croatia played with spirit and went to 3-1 with Canada pulling one back for 3-2 more than three minutes from the buzzer. Croatia put three past the goalkeeper for 6-2 — Franko Lazic with two — and Canada had two penalty shots, missing the first and scoring the second thanks to Matt Halajian.
Croatia lifted its game in the third period, firing in five consecutive goals for 11-3 with Luka Bukic gaining two, the second on a short drive to goal. Aleksa Gardajian scored at 2:13, the last of the quarter and 11-4.
Croatia netted twice in the first three minutes of the fourth and Jeremie Cote for Canada at 3:59, also the last goal. Croatia showed some excellent play, pouncing on mistakes and making sure the ball sent in once the trigger was pulled. Canadian was defiant and did restrict Croatia’s obvious strength and penetrative power on long occasions.
Match Heroes:
Zvonimir Butic and Lazic scored three each for Croatia.
Turning Point:
The second and third period where the score blew out from 3-2 to 11-3.
Stats Don’t Lie:
Croatia shot 28 to 26; converted three from eight to Canada’s two from four. Canada missed one of its two penalty attempts and Croatia scored its one.
Bottom Line:
Croatia goes to the play-off for ninth and Canada will play for 11th.
What They Said:
TUCAK Ivica CRO Head Coach
On being fourth last year and winning the European title. Will that happen again this year?
“This sport… one match decided our fate. We didn’t play good (losing 13-12 to Montenegro in the quarterfinals). We played bad against a very, very strong team. One goal decided the match. We didn’t play good. We can play better. We are a strong team.”
On today’s match:
“Every match is important.”
OATEN Pat CAN Head Coach
“It was an opportunity to play the European champion. We didn’t start well. We made poor adjustments and lost our way. Against a team like Croatia, they will make you pay for it. We will watch the video and prepare for the next game.”
AUSTRALIA 16 JAPAN 15
For the second year running, these two teams shaped up for the classification 9-12 semifinal, but unlike in Hungary, Australia won this time. Japan won 15-7 in Szeged and today Australia just needed the one-goal difference to slide into the ninth-placed play-off with European champion Croatia. It was a match like no other — fast, furious, tempers frayed and decisions disputed. Australia head coach Tim Hamill even gained a yellow card. And cherished guests — three famous Sumo wrestlers — enjoyed the occasion.
Australia made the play in the opening quarter with Japan coming back three times to level before Marcus Berehulak and Luke Pavillard, for his second, gave the Aussie Sharks a 5-3 edge at quarter time. Berehulak’s goal was on counter and Pavillard drove in to steer the ball over the line, four seconds from time. Mitsuru Takata scored on extra-man attack and from a rocket-firing position way out the top.
The match stayed in Australia’s charge with the first two goals and then it all changed. Mistakes were caned by the Japanese, as they turned the 6-3 deficit into a 10-9 advantage by halftime. The Aussies were leading by four and Japan trimmed it to 7-6; Chaz Poot enlarged the margin to 8-6 and three scorers gave Japan the 9-8 lead. Matt Byrnes levelled at 1:04 with Taiyo Watanabe countering off an Australian mistake for 10-9 at 0:19. In the mix was Kiyomo Date and Seiya Adachi with pairs.
The third period became heated as teams queried referee decisions while the players were giving everything to the match. Angus Lambie took Australia back in front with two goals on extra-man for 11-10 and Japan responded brutally with three — two on extra man and one on counter for 13-11. Aussie skipper Nathan Power, playing his 200th international, pulled one back and at 0:19, Pavillard scored his third and 11th for the tournament from 12 metres out, closer to the side of the pool, for 13-13.
Berehulak regained the third lead for Australia from deep right and Takata netted his third for 14-14. Charlie Negus went on counter at 4:04 and Pavillard made it 16-14 at 2:55 some time after the initial shot rebounded. Takata scored at 0:47; both teams had a chances and then with the last throw of the dice, a free Japanese player had his shot smacked back to halfway by Aussie Sharks goalkeeper Nick Porter — his 11th and most important save. Australia progressed and Japan will play for 11th.
Match Heroes:
Seiya Adachi was adjudged best in pool for Japan. He scored four as did Australia’s Pavillard (Below) and Japan’s Takata. Porter was the better of the goalkeepers, although Katsuyuki Tanamura nabbed 10.
Turning Point:
Where do we start? Australia took the lead at 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 11-10, 14-13 and 15-14.
Stats Don’t Lie:
Australia scored five from six on extra-man attack and defended five from nine — the statistic that won the match. Japan shot more at 32-29 and had two penalty goals to Australia’s one.
Bottom Line:
Both teams deserved to win and perhaps a shootout might have been better. However, Japan would have probably won that with some wicked shooters.
What They Said:
POWER Nathan AUS Captain/200th International
“Very tough one. We would get calls against us at one end and not get them at the other. On the last two attacks we made one mistake and Japan punishes us. It shows the growth in our programme and it’s very encouraging. We have a lot of maturity. We showed a lot of care for our team-mates. The small mistakes were punished.”
BEREHULAK Marcus AUS Two Goals
“Amazing to be in that situation. I wasn’t with the team for that match last year. They got better and so did we. It shows the work we have been putting in as a group and determination is paying off.”
SHIOTA Yoshinori JPN Head Coach
“It’s a big difference from last year where we won by about five (15-7). We know each other as we trained together before the championships. They know our team defence and they know how we attack. Our attack on six-on-five was not good and on counter-attack we missed. It was our shots (that let us down).”
ADACHI Seiya JPN Player Of The Match
“While we were able to score a lot of goals, we made a few mistakes on defence we need to fix. The good thing was that we were able to sore, but on the other hand, we were not able to score on counter-attack, where we had the edge.”
Classification 13-14
KAZAKHSTAN 7 ARGENTINA 11
Argentina had the better of Kazakhstan in their classification encounter, the match swinging the way of the South Americans in the first quarter that was won 5-1.
Guido Martino scored twice to open the match and three others scored as Kazakhstan’s offering was one goal to Murat Shakenov at 3-1. The second period slowed considerably, but it was not without its controversy. Esteban Corsi set his scoring roll in motion on extra-man attack and Dushan Markovich replied for 6-4. On the next attack, Alexey Shmider found himself in hot water for allegedly striking his opponent in the head and was red-carded with substitution. At 6:20, it made little difference as no further goals were scored in the half.
In the third period. Kazakhstan’s assistant coach saw red and was sent from the pool deck. Argentina was 7-4 ahead at this stage. Corsi and Tomas Tillati took it to 9-4 with Kazakh captain Sultan Shonzhigitov tipping the ball in from the centre-forward position.
Corsi collected his third at the top of the fourth quarter and on the next attack, Kazakhstan went to a timeout and the play gave Markovich his second goal. Eduardo Tsoy came in close to the right post to secure Kazakhstan’s seventh goal a minute later. Martino closed all scoring with a penalty just before the last minute.
NB: Two women refereed this men’s match — Marta Cabanas (ESP) and Lee-Anne Stewart (RSA) — something that is breaking glass ceilings in Fukuoka.
Match Heroes:
Corsi, with his three goals, two coming on extra-man attack,
Turning Point:
The 3-0 start and promenading to 6-1 early in the second quarter.
Stats Don’t Lie:
Argentina shot three less than Kazakhstan at 30-27; converted three from nine on extra-man attack and Kazakhstan went two from five. Both teams scored a penalty goal.
Bottom Line:
Argentina was 16th in Kazan 2015, so it is a minor improvement. Kazakhstan was 14th in Budapest 2022.
What They Said:
CORSI Esteban ARG Player Of The Match/Three Goals
“It was a really tough game, really physical. Kazakhstan was forcing the physical side instead of swimming. We know this from our previous game last year (Budapest 2022). We wanted to swim. We had our weapons, shooters and attack and our goalkeeper to allow less goals and pressing. We did OK.”
OBRADOVIC Nebojsa KAZ Head Coach
“We used this (tournament) to prepare for Asian Games. We had only three weeks (preparation) so it was normal to be down and up. Today we respected Argentina, but we didn’t appear until late. Five goals down. We’re definitely not on this level. This result is the reality. Argentina caught us out in the first quarter.”
Classification 15-16
CHINA 16 SOUTH AFRICA 8
China closed on a high note ahead of a European tour that will prepare the side for the Asian Games in September/October, where an Olympic qualification berth is available for Paris 2024.
South Africa opened through Jonathan Swanepoel, only to let through three Chinese goals with the first two to captain Zhongxian Chen, Nardus Badenhorst converted extra-man attack for 3-2 by quarter time.
Todd Howard slid left at centre forward to receive the ball and score to start the second period. Chen and Howard traded goals before three more went the way of China with Chen notching his fourth. China had a 7-4 advantage at the long break.
A goal on counter and one from the top took China to 9-4 before Manqobe Bungane scored from the bottom left on extra with South Africa’s fifth goal. Chen scored the next two for six goals, tripling his tally in Fukuoka, giving China the 11-5 lead at 3:40, the last scoring of the period.
Chen scored another racy shot off a cross pass to the far post for 13-5 in the fourth with Cameron Laurenson tipping in the ball off the left-post position and Badenhorst scoring from the right-hand-catch position for 13-7 just inside the last four minutes. Zhang sent in his third and goals were traded with Sven van Zyl netting his first of the tournament at 1:17. Zekai Xie finished the scoring for China and the match with his second and 10th in Fukuoka.
Match Hero:
Chen. When someone scores seven goals it’s hard not to nominate him for best in pool.
Turning Point:
Going from 4-4 to 9-4 in six minutes.
Stats Don’t Lie:
China shot 33-32; converted six from 11 on extra-man attack and defended three from five. China scored the sole penalty goal.
Bottom Line:
China was 15th in Kazan 2015, the last time it was here and South Africa’s recent outing was in Budapest last year where it finished 12th.
What They Said:
CHEN Zhongxian CHN Player Of The Match/Seven Goals
On the importance of Fukuoka being preparation for the upcoming Asian Games:
“This game quickly gave us comfort as a whole team, not individuals. We were helping each other. We stopped being single players. Now we have two months of training in Europe.”
On what the team learned in Fukuoka:
“ A couple of times we were a strong team and had to play stronger teams like Italy and France. We learnt to quickly come back and prepared for counter-attack. This is very important because we want more counters.”
MARLOW Vaughn RSA Head Coach
On what South Africa learned from the Fukuoka tournament:
“Experience and opportunities and the chance to play the top nations. For our own growth it is clear. We have to go back and decide whether we are able to prepare to become competitive or semi-competitive. The level of teams is significantly higher and teams in the 13-16 bracket are also getting stronger. We have to decide if we need to be either fully committed and be professional or set ourselves up for failure every time and this is not where we want to be.”
MADI Lwazi RSA Goalkeeper/Captain
“It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed playing our polo. We suffered the ‘pool of death’ and we gained some good goals against China (today). It shows the character of South African players that we play until the final whistle. We will continue in this nature for the future.