Netherlands-Spain Paris bound with gold in sight

Friday Schedule

Classification 7-8
Match 45, 11:30, Canada v Greece

Classification 3-4 — Bronze Medal
Match 47, 13:00, Italy v Australia

Classification 5-6
Match 46, 16:30, United States of America v Hungary

Classification 1-2 — Gold Medal
Match 48, 18:00, Netherlands v Spain

Match Reports

Classification 1-4 Semifinals

ITALY 8 NETHERLANDS 9

Netherlands punched its ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with the first semifinal victory that assured both finalists will travel to France next July. It was a tense encounter with Netherlands holding its nerve as Italy kept coming back. Italy led for just 25 seconds and from there on it was all Netherlands, going into the second period with a 4-2 advantage that narrowed to 6-5 at halftime. That one-goal  bonus was the same at the last break, went to two goals in the final quarter and was trimmed to one. Netherlands had the airline tickets and Italy was left to wonder what went wrong.

It was a dominant display with the Dutch levelling at one and Italy having to tie the match at two. By the end of the period, four Dutch players had scored. Brigitte Sleeking took it out to 5-2 at the start of the second quarter with a long shot before the attack was set. Italy dug in and grabbed back three to Netherlands’ one a one-goal deficit at halftime.

When Lieke Rogge scored for 6-3 at 4:10, little did she know that it would be seven minutes before her team-mates scored again. When Claudia Marletta closed the Italian scoring at 2:35 in the second period, it would not be until eight minutes later that she scored again to lift her team to 7-6 down as Iris Wolves had pushed the Dutch ahead. Lieke Rogge and Marletta each scored again for 8-7 at the final break.

Kitty Joustra separated the teams by two again with a crunching shot from centre forward on extra at 5:45. This was the last time Netherlands would cross the Italian line. It was just inside the last two minutes that Dafne Bettini scored her first of the match and 11^th in Fukuoka — probably her most important — to set up a sensational finish.

Netherlands’ last attack went to Simone van de Kraats to score with her attempt hitting the crossbar and dropping to the water. Italy had the Dutch goal at its mercy for some time as the clock ticked to zero and the resulting shot came from deep right with Bettini hitting the crossbar and spearing wide. There was no time left and Netherlands was keen to catch the plane.

Match Heroes:
Too hard to pick as every Dutch player was to the fore, although Simon van de Kraats took the prize on behalf of her team.

Turning Point:
When Netherlands nullified the Italian lead and put  its stamp on the match and maintained a safe distance through the rest of the quarters.  

Stats Don’t Lie:
Boy, these were close. Both teams sent in four from 14 on extra-man attack and converted a penalty each. Italy shot 35 to 28 with Netherlands obviously more on target.

Bottom Line:
Netherlands maintained the rage with by fending off Italy at every opportunity and looked like a gold-medal contender. Italy will have to be satisfied with a shot at the bronze medal on Friday.  

What They Said:

DOUDESIS Evangelos  NED  Head Coach

“We stayed calm. The moment of our attacking game was not very good. We stayed calm, so we could perform very well in defence on that side of the field, so that gave us confidence. The fact that we stayed calm on the day means mental power and that was the reason we qualified against a perfect team. I don’t have an answer to it. We need to focus and every day improve every aspect of our game in defence and in attack. It is a very big day for Dutch water polo. It is the second consecutive medal in World Championships, something that has never happened since 2000 when water polo became an Olympic sport.”

VAN DER SLOOT Sabrina  NED  Goal Scorer

On qualifying for the final:
“Well, of course, we’re very happy that we qualified for the final and we came here with a purpose and that’s good play for the gold medal. And we see this goal. So we are really happy.”

On today’s match:
“Last year we lost. In this place (semifinal) against them. And it was a crazy game. And this year we just said to ourselves, we have to stay calm. And I think that’s what we did. And that’s how we won this game.”

On fan reaction:
“Well, I just want to thank them because they’re always there for us, and they cheer for us. And they help us to be able to be athletes and give everything here, because obviously, this is a selfish thing to do. And we’re just very lucky that we have these people around us who support us.”

SILIPO Carlo  ITA  Head Coach

“I think that this match was a very beautiful game with two very big teams. It was a very hard game but a close game. In the last section we had an opportunity to close the game, but we didn’t. But I am very proud of our decision making and teamwork. We have to recover our energy because after tomorrow we will have an important match for the bronze medal. We had a great second quarter, but I think we played worse in the third quarter. The difference in the match was just that. We don’t need to change anything, we just need to follow our sensation, our feelings. We are building a new team, and I think these two last matches against the USA and the Netherlands showed the world that Italy is a good team, and can play with the best there is.”

BETTINI Dafne  ITA  Goal Scorer

“It is so difficult now, but it is hard to lose like this by only one goal. Especially after our good game against the USA. We wanted to reach the finals for the Olympic pass, but we will get to Paris at the next World Championships or European Championships, but now we have lost. However, tomorrow is a new day. We have to take the bronze medal. We have to change our mentality. The first period we were scared about the game and then we became more hungry. This is what sport is. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. We will review the game and our work on our mistakes for the bronze-medal match. To motivate ourselves for the next match we have to forget about this game, but we cannot let go of this sensation of losing.”

AUSTRALIA 10 SPAIN 12

World League champion is one step closer to the World Championship crown after a fantastic 12-10 semifinal victory that also earned an Olympic berth and a crack at Netherlands in Friday’s final.

The winning two-goal margin was gained in the opening minutes of the match as Elena Ruiz began the charge with an outside shot. She went on to more glory, finishing with four goals and taking the player-of-the-match trophy.  Paula Leiton backhanded in the second goal at 5:28 and from that point on, these teams could not be separated, such was the intensity. Spain is the more experienced team with far more international matches under its belt and the Aussie Stingers are battling back from Covid travel restrictions. The fact that Australia made the semifinals was huge. To push Spain all the way was enormous.

Abby Andrews snared Australia’s first goal at 2-1. Spain shot to 4-1 with Ruiz gaining a second and goals were traded for 5-2 at the quarter. Aussie captain Zoe Arancini watched as her shot was left stranded on the line and goalkeeper Martina Terre turned to gather and let it slip across the line. A goal is a goal. Bea Ortiz blew everyone over with a nine-metre cannon to close the period.

Goals were traded in the second quarter with Tilly Kearns starting for Australia and Bronte Halligan ended the run on penalty for Australia, thus winning the period  4-3.

Elena Ruiz struck twice at the top of the third for an impressive 10-6 lead that could have gone to the moon. However, Kearns and Ellie Armit redressed that imbalance for 10-8 at the final break.

Maica Garcia scored off the left-post position on extra-man attack for 11-8 more than two minutes into the final quarter. Alice Williams scored on penalty for her second at 5:42. And soon after goalkeeper Gabrielle Palm stopped a certain counter-attack goal that could have won the match prematurely. Ortiz, however, drove down the right and scored a spectacular goal, worthy of a champion for 12-9 at 1:07. The Stingers were not finished and Arancini sent in a rebound bouncer at 0:06, proving Australia was a worthy finalist.

Match Heroes:
Elena Ruiz, still not 20, continues her illustrious run in major tournaments with another award. Thoroughly deserved. She is so dangerous and finds any gap she can.  Terre saved seven shots. Kearns was best for Australia with three and Palm brought down eight saves.

Turning Point:
Ortiz’s final goal that took it out of reach of Australia.

Stats Don’t Lie:
Australia had the better statistics, but Spain won. Australia shot 24 to 30; converted six from 10 on extra-man attack to Spain’s four from 10. Australia scored two penalty goals to one.

Bottom Line:
Spain is the more experienced and always has been a title contender. On Friday it should prove that the world crown will sit well alongside the World League crown. Australia can hold its head high and now will have an excellent crack at the bronze medal.

What They Said:

OCA Miguel  ESP  Head Coach

“We started very well in the game, scoring three goals and defending very, very well, so we opened a distance in the score, keeping two to three goals and we have been keeping that throughout the game, so that gave us a little bit of calmness to get to the end of the game.

“They have been trying to be focused on the game, following our strategies and everything. They were trying to be focused on the game for sure.

“First of all, I would like to focus on the game after tomorrow because we are still here and have a game after tomorrow and we are going to put all our concentration on that game first.”

GARCIA Maica  ESP  Goal Scorer

“I'm so happy now. I don't know (because) I'm in the dream. I don't know (because) I'm so happy with the day. I want to win this world championship, but now I have a classification of Paris. I'm so happy, I'm so grateful.” 

On how you are going to prepare for the final:
“Training so hard, so far. We will have the European Championship, and we have another world championship. But I’ll think about Paris for now.”  

On the fans:
“I love them a lot. To my people, I'm so grateful. And I'm so, so happy. Thank you very much.”

OBERMAN Paul  AUS  Head Coach

“Spain is a very, very good team. They have lots of attackers, lots of good defenders, strong centre forwards and outside shooters. Unfortunately for us we did not close down some of their shooters and they punished us. It was neither a matter of effort or strategy today. We certainly had a good strategy, we just gave them too much time with the ball. The strategy was to move quickly and close them down in order to limit their possession time, we just did not execute it well enough.” 

On playing Italy for bronze:
“Italy is a different team from Spain. Yes, they have some strong centre forwards, but we still need to play our good tough defence that we have played all tournament. We will look at what went wrong in the video and we will adjust and put a good game plan together. Our team does not need any other motivation other than the fact that the world championship bronze medal is on the line. They do not come every day and we will be fighting hard for it.” 

ARANCINI Zoe  AUS  Captain

“It was not our best game. I think our communication and defence was poor, which led to some easy goals for the Spanish. Then in the attack we were not converting our opportunities. I think overall we struggled with our conversions in general. I think the biggest deciding factor was the outside shooting by the Spanish. Their outside shooter shot very well today. We also have to adjust our defence quicker. The reason behind our poor communication was probably the nerves before the match. We did not listen and respond well enough when there were instructions to do something. 

“Tonight was disappointing and we are going to be sitting in these emotions and feel a bit tight, but tomorrow is a new day and we have got to roll on. We have to regroup and get back to it. There is still a bronze medal on the line, and we still have a job to do. I have been playing well and a few of our girls have experience playing Italy. Going into the bronze-medal match, we will have some advantages in that respect.”

Classification 5-8 Semifinals

GREECE 9 HUNGARY 10

Hungary came up trumps with an excellent win in an excellent match, which was tied six times with Hungary pulling away in the third period.

Hungary started the better, winning the first quarter 2-1 with Greece missing a penalty attempt, which could have put it 2-1 ahead. The second quarter produced a 2-2 tally with Nikoleta Eleftheriadou scoring her second of the match. Krisztina Garda, such a thorn in Spain’s side the night before, rifled in a shot from eight metres and captain Rita Keszthelyi created Hungarian history when she not only took her team ahead 4-3, but did so with her 700^th international goal.

Keszthelyi made it 701 from the penalty line to start the third quarter, which turned out to be a power-filled eight minutes. Greece quickly responded with an extra-man goals to Eleftheria Plevritou for her 10^th goal in Fukuoka and a centre forward goal from Maria Myriokefalitaki. For 5-5. Garda and Eirini Ninou traded; Garda and Vasiliki Plevritou swapped goal for 7-7 before Hungary stretched it to 9-7 at the final break, thanks to Kamilla Farago with her second and yes, Keszthelyi on counter-attack.

A Hungarian timeout play failed to register and a minute later Eleni Xenaki grabbed a ball out of the air and turned to score at two metres for 9-8 behind. Garda made it two again down the left and then Ninou pulled it back to one when her shot deflected off a defender into goal at 2:40. Hungary lost the ball, Greece went to a timeout and had a series of shots at the Hungarian goal that had three defenders proving too much of a barrier to break down. Hungarian went on attack, gained the exclusion, took the timeout and could not score, but the, Greece could not either, so Hungary had the win.

Match Heroes:

Garda, with her three goals, was named best in pool. Keszthelyi’s effort is not to be under-estimated. Alda Magyari (Below) returned to goalkeeping form with a magnificent 14 saves. For Greece, Ninou netted three and goalkeeper Ioanna Stamatopoulou dragged in nine balls.

Turning Point:
Hungary coming from 5-5 to 9-7 in the third period.

Stats Don’t Lie:
Hungary shot 30-29, converted three from nine on extra-man attack and defended six from 10. Hungary converted its one penalty and Greece missed its chance,

Bottom Line:
Hungary played better as a team and came away with the win, setting up a repeat of last year’s final (won 9-7 by USA) , except the rewards will not be medals, but fifth place.

What They Said:

GARDA Krisztina  HUN  Player Of The Match

“I’m really enjoying playing I’m trying to do the best for these games, even in the five-to-eight (bracket). We didn’t come for this. Now we are watching for the next match. USA is really strong and they defend really well.”

On playing USA considering Hungary-USA was the gold-medal final last year:
“Really strange for these two. It could be a final because we two are alike. Last year USA played well. I will be very interesting for the spectators.”

KAMMENOU Alexis  GRE  Head Coach

“All teams are very good. It comes down to the last minute, the last call, the last penalty. Losing by one goals is very hard. It’s a lack of experience. We need to be more concentrated. We need to play big games to win big games.”

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16 CANADA 4

This is not the position that USA thought it would be challenging for a fortnight ago. Unaccustomed as USA is for playing at this level, it came into the match with the mentality to produce quality water polo and make sure of making the five-six classification match.

USA started strongly, as expected, firing in four goals before Canada could respond and then adding a fifth for the quarter-time score. There were five different scores for USA and three of those goals came from the penalty line as Canada struggled to maintain the drives.

The second quarter was more subdued with Canada sorting out its defence and restricting USA to 2-1. Rachel Fattal scored both extra-man goals, sandwiching Serena Browne’s missile from the outside. Three more goals had USA at 10-2 with Emily Ausmus and Jenna Flynn gaining their seconds goals. Browne nailed her second for Canada with two shots , the first retrieved and passed back to her, rising her tall body high and making no mistake for 10-3. Fattal rocketed one from the top and Flynn scored a pair with the 11-4 goal a missile pass across the baseline, caught and shot in one smooth operation. Most men’s teams would do well to study that play and learn something. Her fourth was a lovely lob from the left side of the pool for 12-4.

Flynn fired in her fifth goal at the top of the fourth quarter. Kindred Paul responded for Canada from the top and Ausmus and Tara Prentice added to their tallies, with the latter goal coming from two metres for her second.

Match Heroes:
Flynn with five goals, four coming in the third quarter. Ausmus and Fattal scored three from three each. Ashleigh Johnson plundered 13 saves for the USA. Browne was the two-goal star for Canada.

Turning Point:
When the referee started the match. That 4-0 buffer shrouded Canada’s thinking.

Stats Don’t Lie:
USA scored six from 10 on extra-man attack and defended all six of Canada’s chances. Three penalty goals also aided the USA’s cause. USA was more accurate on shooting with 24 shots to 29.

Bottom Line:
USA shifts to the play-off for fifth and Canada will shoot for seventh position, a huge leap from 16^th last year in Budapest.

What They Said:

FLYNN Jenna  USA  Player Of The Match/Five Goals

On attending her first World Championships:
“It’s good playing with team-mates who have been here (World Championships) before and are guiding me through it. It’s cool to be in the same place with so many people who love this craft as I do. I love it.”

On looking forward to a long career as she is just 18:
“I want to be doing the sport I love for as long as possible, as long as I stay healthy.”

AUSMUS Emily  USA  Three Goals

On attending her first World Championships:
“Amazing experience. Every time we walk on the pool deck people are greeting us. People are really nice and the food is nice.”

On playing in Fukuoka:
“I enjoy getting better and connecting with players, watching many matches and reviewing matches and implementing things from other teams and try and be better every day.”

LA ROCHE Shae  CAN  Goal Scorer
“I think we have been together only a few weeks before Fukuoka. It shows the work we need to do as we prepare for the Pan Am Games (where the American Olympic berth is on offer).

BROWNE Serena  CAN  Two Goals

“This is my first World Championships, while some have been here before.”

On shooting two goals:
“They trust me and I trust them.”

On the upcoming Pan Americans:
“I go to school at Stanford (in the USA) and I train with some of the US players. It will be good preparation for the Pan Ams.”

Classification 9-10

ISRAEL 7 FRANCE 11

This always promised to be a good and close match and even though France led 7-3 at halftime, the closeness of the match proved excellent viewing.

France scored the first two goals and traded for 302 by the first break, Juliet Dhalluin converting a penalty for the last strike. Estelle Millot stamped herself on the match with the first goal and the last two as France stretched the margin to 7-3 by the turn. She scored two on extra-man attack and the third from deep left. Maria Bogachenko was the sole hope for Israel, scoring off extra-man. France had a goal disallowed when VAR confirmed that the ball was still on the hand when the buzzer sounded.

France took full control in the third and Aurelie Battu scored twice and Camelia Bouloukbachi nabbed her second from deep left. Alma Yaacobi scored her eighth of the championship for 10-4 as Israel tried to stay in the match. Audrey Daule closed the scoring on extra-man in the dying seconds for 11-4.

In the final quarter, Bogachenko scored on penalty and twice on action for four goals and 12 for the tournament, closing in on France at 11-7.

An interesting point that both teams were coached by Greeks — Theodoros Lorantos and Dimitrios Mavrotas. Lorantos played on the national team with Dimitrios’ brother Georgios Mavrotas.

Match Heroes:
Millot for France with three goals and Bogachenko for Israel with her four.

Turning Point:
Pulling away from 4-3 to 10-3 in the third period.

Stats Don’t Lie:
France converted five from nine and Israel four from nine. France shot 29-27 and both teams scored on penalty once.

Bottom Line:
France leaves its second World Championship with ninth placing, a far cry from its first visit at Budapest 2017 where it was 14^th. For Israel, 10^th place on debut is an excellent finish and bodes well for the coming year.

What They Said:

GUILLET Louise  FRA  Captain

“We make one match with Australia (Lost 10-8 on opening day), a biggy. One goal we could make and it could have been a tie or a win and we would not be playing for ninth today. This is a pity. After that we had China — we win — the USA and Spain, OK.”

On the new coach Theodoros Lorantos, a double junior men’s world champion coach:
“We’ve improved a lot. We have a new coach for only four months. If we work all the time, we will do better next year. He has a lot of knowledge of water polo. He pushes us in training all the time. We then have the next opens (Doha) and the Olympics (as host nation). We want to be a good team (in Paris). Not eighth. We want to win medals in Paris.”

MAVROTAS Dimitrios  ISR  Head Coach

“It’s a very big thing to be in the top 10 in the world. It gives us the motivation to continue. It’s a very big competition in January (Europeans) and there we have to give everything. With a little more work, we can make a big influence.”

On the competition in Fukuoka:
“Congratulations to the organisers for the fantastic conditions. Just amazing. It was our first World Championships and the experience was magic.”

PERES Ayelet  ISR  Captain/Eight Saves As Goalkeeper

“It was a n amazing tournament and experience at our first championships. It was a lot of fun, lots of ups and downs. We gave it our all, but it was not enough today. We compete a lot against France and won the last two games, but not today.”

On what’s next:
“We have the Europeans in Israel in January and we want to retain our sixth place or higher. We are all delighted.  It’s amazing to play in front of a home crowd and expose the sport to more people in Israel.”

Classification 11-12

NEW ZEALAND  24 SOUTH AFRICA 6

New Zealand went on the rampage against South Africa, trying to make up for some tough matches that reaped a victory over Japan and a two-goal loss to Canada. The four-goal loss to Israel also hurt. The Kiwis built victory on a 7-0 opening quarter that became 13-3 by halftime with nine different scorers.

The Kiwis only missed a couple of attacks in the first quarter as South Africa was slowly coming to realise that this could be a massive defeat in what was a historic encounter as the African nation has never made the top 12 before.

The second quarter was more to South Africa’s liking, bringing three goals through Chloe Meecham on extra-man attack; Hanna Muller from outside and Ruby Versfeld with an excellent centre-forward backhand. Emmerson Houghton netted the first two of the period, continuing where she left off in the first quarter. Bernadette Doyle grabbed a second for 14 in Fukuoka.

South Africa started well in the third period with Meecham scoring her eighth of the tournament from the wide right-hand-catch position. New Zealand, most of whom play in overseas teams, stepped up in the third with Houghton gaining four more for a tally of 18.

South Africa started well in the third period with Meecham scoring her eighth of the tournament from the wide right-hand-catch position. New Zealand, most of whom play in overseas teams, stepped up in the third with Houghton gaining four more for a tally of 18.

In the fourth, New Zealand went 5-2 with South Africa gaining successive goals through Versfeld at centre forward with a backhand and Annie Thornton-Dibb with a short drive down the right.

Match Heroes:
Houghton, with her haul of seven goals from seven attempts and 18 for the tournament, was a standout. McKenty claimed four and South Africa’s Versfeld and Meecham — eight for the tournament — had two.

Turning Point:
The opening whistle and then the 7-0 quarter.

Stats Don’t Lie:
New Zealand shot 37 to 25; converted six from eight on extra-man attack and defended a whopping nine from 11.

Bottom Line:
New Zealand has finished higher in the past, but it should be pleased with its all-round play and return to Doha next February with so much more experience. South Africa should relish 12^th place, having played Greece and Italy and had a crucial win over Argentina to get to the elite group.

What They Said:

HOUGHTON Emmerson  NZL  Seven Goals and 18 in Fukuoka

“It’s always a privilege to be here; It’s hard for New Zealand not getting tough international competition. We will find thigs to work on back home. The Olympics are a huge goal for us with lots of work to be done. We have a qualifying series with Australia. It’s what’s keeping everyone going.”

DOYLE Bernadette  NZL  14 Goals In Fukuoka

“We were good in spurts (this tournament) with good matches against Japan (17-16 win) and Canada (lost 11-13). We will go back home as a ateam and work on things in and out of the pool and the possible test series with Australia (Oceania Olympic qualification series) and then Doha (February).”

BARRETT Nicola  RSA  Head Coach

“New Zealand absolutely brought fire on attack. It proves how much they’ve grown. I respect Angie (NZL head coach Angie Winstanley-Smith) as one of the best coaches. I look up to her. They came within two of Canada. It’s a really great privilege to play them.”

On the match:
“We didn’t have a great game. We haven’t had a team play tight press like New Zealand. We’re a bit tired, as it’s the first time we have played six games. We will take back and learn as much as possible. One of the biggest things I learned as a coach was the tight press. We will have to work on that and our legs. I’m helluva proud of my team. Couldn’t be more proud. We are building positively.”

SILENO Megan  RSA  Captain

“Bit of a disappointing end for us. However, we will reflect on the positives. We are top 12 for the first time in our history. A massive impact from our coach and coaching staff. We will take all the positive to South Africa and will starting preparing for the worlds in Doha and if we get the Paris (Olympics) invite. We want to take water polo into the schools, academies and clinics. It was great playing teams we have never played before.”