USA-Hungary gold-medal final booked

How They Played Today

In the Classification 1-4 semifinals, Olympic champion United States of America defeated World League champion Spain 11-9 to be the first team in the gold-medal final and a record ninth final with seven victories to date. Hungary will be the opponent after defeating Greece 13-11 in a penalty shootout after the match was tied at 9-9.

In the Classification 5-8 semifinals, Australia downed Canada 10-8 with a 5-2 final quarter and Netherlands beat Italy 10-5, meaning that the two losers will clash on Friday for seventh place and the final berth for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In classification matches, New Zealand held off China 16-15 for ninth position and Great Britain beat Kazakhstan 8-6 for 12th.

Classification 1-4 Semifinals

Match 43. United States of America 11 Spain 9

Two unbeaten teams went head to head in the first medal semifinal with the Olympic champion playing the World League champion. USA started strongly and maintained its pressure and kept the differential throughout for victory.

USA shot out of the box with the first three goals to Jewel Roemer, Jenna Flynn and Ryann Neushul. Elena Ruiz responded quickly after the third but those goals cast a shadow over the match.

Pili Pena opened the scoring of the second quarter with a big bounce shot. Neushul became the first multi scorer on extra at 6:33. Isabel Piralkova, from the deep-left position, and Nona Perez on extra, had the match locked at 4-4. At 3:02, Flynn scored her second and three minutes later, and with the halftime looming, she notched her third goal, giving USA a 6-4 advantage at the long break.

Rachel Fattal on a quick one-two pass driving into the right side, followed by a Roemer shot on extra, took the margin to four. This was trimmed by two Elena Ruiz goals by 2:51 and Roemer sent in the easiest of her three goals when she found herself free near the right post. Piralkova replied on extra and Tara Prentice took USA 10-7 ahead with her centre-forward strike just 27 seconds from the final break.

Maddie Musselman skipped in a shot and Paula Crespi replied on the next attack for 11-8 at 6:16. Such was the tightness of the two teams’ defences, goals were hard to come by. USA went to a timeout at 4:07 with no joy. Flynn had a chance to finalise the match at 1:22 on penalty, but Martina Terre stopped the shot. Piralkova shot from the left for her third at 1:12 for a slim hope. However, nothing came and USA was back on the top stage after losing out last year.

Match Heroes
Flynn was named best in pool with her three goals and Elena Ruiz also grabbed three for Spain.

Turning Point
The opening period where the three goals put USA into a defining position.

Stats Don’t Lie
USA converted seven from 14 and defended eight from 12. It shot 50 per cent to 27  and total shots favoured USA, needing on 22 to 33.

Bottom Line
USA has been the impressive team and Spain not far away. However, those three opening goals made it tough for Spain to recover.

What They Said

Jenna Flynn (USA) — Three Goals/Player of the Match

On being named best in pool:
“This is a really big team sport and no-one can get player of the game like everybody else. So, I think I got lucky that my swimming set me up today and I got to score three goals. I think everyone did amazing today on offence and defence.”

On any pre-match doubts:
“Spain is a very talented team. I don’t know if there was doubt but some nerves. We had to execute on our plan and we did a great job tonight.”

Jewel Roemer (USA) — Two Goals

On how USA played today:
“I think we played great. It was a really fun game. We have been working really hard this tournament to get to this point. I’m really proud of us, how we played.”

On anything that went wrong:
“Spain is a really great team and they are going to throw a lot of different things at us so, I think we adjusted well to their double post, their different offences.”

Miki Oca (ESP) — Head Coach

On the loss:
“They were better than us, fast counter-attacks, so congratulations. We could have been better and we have to go on in the tournament.”

On what comes next:
“Now we think of the bronze-medal game. After that we will talk about the rest of the year.

Anni Espar (ESP) — Athlete

On not winning:
“We just did not have a good start and it was very hard for us to get back. We obviously tried but I think we played very bad man down.”

On resetting for the bronze:
“I think we have been playing great. We have to forget about today and go for the bronze.”

Match 44.  Hungary 13 Greece 11 in penalty shootout (FT: 9-9. Pens: 4-2)

This semifinal was between teams that finished sixth (Hungary) and eighth (Greece) last year, so it was a huge step up. Hungary was the silver medallist in 2022, so had the higher credentials, especially after taking Olympic bronze in 2021.

The match was tied six times, forcing a penalty shootout, which Hungary won.

Both opening periods were tied at three, but Greece held a 3-1 lead five minutes into the first, only for Hungary to level. Erini Ninou, who came into the match with 17 goals, scored a triple in the eight minutes. There was more to come.

Hungarian centre forward Rebecca Parkes scored twice in the second quarter to go with  her two-metre goal in the first. The 4-3 goal was off a rebound that she shuffled in from the right-post position. Greece went three straight for 6-4 and Parkes replied with a tip in off the right -post position again and Krisztina Garda drilled one from outside to level at six with only five seconds left on  the clock. It was the fourth drawn score of the match.

Ninou erupted the crowd with her fourth goal a minute into the second half and it was not until more than seven minutes later that another goal would come — a missile from Dorottya Szilagyi at 0:41.

With the match tied at seven, goals could not be secured and Hungary went to a timeout at 4:36 with the result being Szilagyi converted the extra play for 8-7. The lead did not last long as Nikoleta Eleftheriadou converted extra at 3:33. Greece took a timeout at 2:01 for no joy and on the next Greek attack, the ball lofted to the far post where Maria Myriokefalitaki climbed high and dragged down into the goal for 9-8. Hungary called a timeout at 0:39 and whipped the ball around until Leimeter shot from the deep right at0:21. There was no further score, although a double exclusion did occur. The match went to a penalty shootout.

In the penalty shootout, Greece missed its first two chances and Hungary sent in four straight to win 4-2 and 13-11.

Match Heroes
Parkes buried three goals for Hungary from the two-metre line to be best in pool. Goalkeeper Alda Magyari made nine saves. For Greece, Ninou scored four and interestingly enough the leading shooters were not needed in the shootout.

Turning Point
Greece’s three consecutive goals in the second quarter and Greece coming back from one down to one ahead in the fourth. Dora Leimeter’s equaliser in the last 21 seconds proved the winner by getting into the shootout and finishing on top.

Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary went 38 to 35 per cent in shooting and only managed five from 11 on extra while Greece converted five from six.

Bottom Line
Hungary has the recent history while Greece was all but. Now there is Paris 2024 to think about and use the lessons learnt in Doha for further success.

What They Said

Greta Gurisatti (HUN) — Final penalty shooter

On what went through your mind:
“I don’t know what went through. I knew I had to go and shoot, just like in training and focus and stay relaxed and it went in.”

Alexia Kammenou (GRE) — Head Coach

On the match:
“I’m proud of my players In my opinion far too many exclusions but for us. We played against a nice team, a very capable team. It was a very close game but when it comes to penalties, it’s a matter of luck, also. We go on. We have to play well in the next game and we have to stay focused and be ready and better in Paris (Olympics). I’m really, really proud of my players.”

Classification 5-8 Semifinals

Match 42. Netherlands 10 Italy 5

While Canada was trying hard to beat Australia for the last Olympic berth, Italy was doing the same I this match. It did not look good early on when 6-1 behind before lifting to give some hope. Then the outgoing world champion controlled the latter stages of the match and left Italy to ponder the big clash with Canada on Friday with the winner going to Paris 2024 and the loser to stay at home.

Sofia Giustini gave Italy the best start, but at my quarter time it was 5-1 to Netherlands. Maartje Keuning had two goals and the Lieke Rogge scored twice in the last two minutes.

It went out to 6-1 and Italy’s hopes were thrown out the window — it appeared. Three Italian goals with Giustini scoring a second, brought the match much closer at 6-4. Lieke Rogge dimmed the Italian senses with a score from deep left at 4:01. Amazing no more goals eventuated in the quarter.

The third quarter was equally parsimonious with Italian skipper Valeria Palmieri receiving the ball from her left at two metres and then awkwardly backhanded in for 7-5 at 3:10, the first goal for nearly nine minutes. Simone van de Kraats converted the extra-man play at 1:41 in the third for 8-5 — the only other goal.

In the fourth period, van de Kraats shot from the right side of the pool and had the Dutch at 9-5 while captain Sabrina van der Sloot blasted from the very deep left at 4:15 — an insurmountable score in the context of the match. It proved to be the final score and Italy was left to dream of the Olympics for another two days where the berth will be settled in the 7-8 clash with Canada.

Match Heroes
Van de Kraats and Lieke Rogge had three goals each but goalkeeper Laura Aarts made a magnificent 11 saves and was named player of the match.

Turning Point
The 6-1 start said it all. It might have been Italy in the middle but the Dutch controlled the end.

Stats Don’t Lie
Netherlands went 45 to 17 on shooting percentage with its 22 shots to 29. It also converted five from six and defended four from five.

Bottom Line
Netherlands wanted a play-off victory and Italy tried perhaps too hard to get that qualification berth two days earlier than expected.

What They Said

Laura Aarts (NED) — Goalkeeper/Player of the Match

On differing motivations today:
“We are two teams who have a different motivation, but ultimately we are all motivated by winning a game. That’s what you want. For us it was our goal to show to ourselves that we are a good team. We keep going. It is what we do, keep going, keep playing. That’s the motivation. I saw that Italy  wanted it so much; maybe a little too much; then we were really focused, we were really calm and the had high strokes, chest level. It’s hard to play like that.”

On winning three major titles in a year a crown too many:
“It was our goal to win all three gold medals. It didn’t work out this tournament but this doesn’t mean anything for the future. It’s the same that the European championship didn’t mean anything for this. And the meaning that we have the Olympics in the end of this year, it says that  this is the end goal. This is what we were working for all the time and, yeah, we wanted to win Europeans and worlds again but eventually it’s the Olympic Games where we do everything for.”

Sofia Giustini (ITA) — Two Goals (Above)

On not winning Olympic berth today
“We are a little bit sad, but we have another chance for Olympic Games and now it is time. We are a big team, but sport has its downs and ups.”

Match 41. Australia 10 Canada 8

This match had a lot going for it and not just to see who could make the play-off for fifth. Canada was yet to qualify for the Olympic Games and was in a duel with Italy for the last position. Victory for Canada would keep it in the mix while a loss could shatter those dreams. Canada came close so many times but an Aussie revival in the final quarter and five goals to two turned the match and left Canada wanting.

Australia was looking to make the higher play-off and looked the better in the first quarter, leading 3-1. Canadian captain Emma Wright  scored twice in two minutes to level the match and keep the Aussie Stingers scoreless in the period. A third goal and a potential match leader was shot down by VAR, seven seconds from halftime.

The third period lit up in favour of Canada as Australia kept struggling with its extra-man conversion (two from 11 at the end of the period). Alice Williams shot her second goal from the penalty line and Serena Browne sent in a swift shot after a rebound on extra for 4-4. Abby Andrews put away a goal on extra, followed by Wright with a third and Alyse Lemay-Lavoie off a cross pass to centre forward for a Canadian 6-5 lead at 0:18.

Bronte Halligan improved that extra-man count to three at the top of the fourth for 6-6, the fifth tie. Australia earned a penalty foul and Williams made it two from two for her and 7-6 at 6:57. Tilly Kearns scored off the deep left wing and VAR was needed to confirm. The extra-man plays were improving and the score was 8-6. Kindred Paul had no trouble with Canada’s fifth extra-man goal for 8-7. Charlize Andrews shunted one in off the left-post position at 4:24 for 9-7. Canada’s Verica Bakoc had her shot deflected by the defence, which did not help goalkeeper Gabi Palm.

That was 3:14. Canada went to a timeout at 1:37 and had three desperate shots at goal. Australia called a timeout at 1:06 and eventually shot and hit the crossbar. Canada brought goalkeeper Jessica Gaudreault up on attack; had the ball stolen by Kearns, who swam a few metres and then shot from halfway into the empty net for 10-8 at 0:06. Canada’s shot went wide and the Olympic berth was still hanging in the balance.

Match Heroes

Williams (above) collected the goodies with three goals, including two penalty strikes. Canadian captain Wright was best with three and Gaureault made 12 saves in goal.

Turning Point
Canada going 6-5 up just before the final break. Four quick goals by the Aussies turned the match to 9-7 and onwards to victory.

Stats Don’t Lie
Canada was better on extra and six from 11 while defending nine from 14. Australia pipped Canada 30-29 on shooting percentage. In the steal department, Australia went nine from three, which made the difference. Having two from three penalty goals also helped.

Bottom Line
Australia, seven times a semifinalist, wants to prove it is in the top six and showed that today, despite some poor elements.

What They Said

Rebecca Rippon (AUS) — Head Coach

On extra-man deficiencies:
“We’ve got a lot of work to do in that area and we know that and we’re trying a few things. We’re just not quite all on the same page at the same time. Then we know that’s an area we need to improve on, but what we’re really proud of is finding other solutions, as well, putting ourselves in position to earn those is one thing, and then finding other solutions is another option. Just extra man.”

On the next match:
”We’ve just had the Canadians and knowing they were fighting for their Olympic spot and the Italians are the same. And then there are the Dutch being world champions and European champions coming. I know it’s going to be a tough and exciting game. I don’t care who we play.”

Alice Williams (AUS) — Player of the Match

On the match:
“Very emotional. They were trying to qualify for an Olympic spot, so they had a lot of fight, a lot of effort and we had to match that, so it was really exciting to come out with the win.”

On the poor extra-man count:
“We were just trying to force the shots and we’re trying to play extra passes at the moment and look for each other and I think we took that too far initially. We were shooting last second, but I think we adapted a bit in the second half in that if we were on and we felt we were on, we  took the shots and that seemed to work better.”

Match 40. Classification 9-10

China 15 New Zealand 16

This was an exciting encounter with plenty of goals with such a thrilling finish in which it is thought was the first victory by the Kiwis over China.

China started with two and the Kiwis won the next stage 4-2 as the quarter-time break stopped the scoring at 4-4. Lu Yiwen scored twice for China with the second needing VAR to confirm it had crossed the line. Four separate scorers showed the breadth of New Zealand’s scorers, not just relying on 27-goal hero Morgan McDowall.

New Zealand opened the second quarter with a pair, including McDowall’s second after she stole the ball midfield and scored on counter. Goals were traded until halftime as Lu boosted her numbers to four and Deng Zewen to two. Emmerson Houghton and Bernadette Doyle both netted their seconds as the Kiwis had a 9-7 advantage.

There was no let-up in the third with the Kiwis taking a three-goal lead three times and making it four when Nicholson backhanded for 13-9 and her second of the period. When McDowall finished an extra-man attack for 12-9, it was her third of the match and 30^th of the tournament — clearly the highest of any player in Doha. Xiong Dunhan repeated Nicholson’s goal at 2:16 for 13-10, the last scoring of the quarter.

China nullified New Zealand’s three-goal lead in a flash with Lu, Deng and Zhang Jing making it 13-13 by 3:55. McDowall earned a penalty after hoping to get two earlier and Houghton converted for her fourth. McDowall scored from centre forward on extra and it was 15-13, only to be trimmed to one on the next Chinese attack by Xiong with a brilliant turning goal. McDowall earned another penalty and Houghton prevailed again. Xiong immediately scored at two metres for 16-15 at 0:31. New Zealand controlled until two seconds. China went to a timeout and the resulting shot hit the left upright, meaning a Kiwi victory.

New Zealand was 11^th last year, 10^th in 2022 and four positions of 12th and one of 13^th going back to 2011. It was 10^th in 1994 and seventh of nine in the second edition of 1991.

China won silver in 2011 when hosting in Shanghai and recent finishes include 13th in 2023, 11^th in 2019 and 10^th in 2017.

Match Heroes
Houghton gained the trophy as best in pool with her five goals, thanks to four penalty conversions. She took her scoring tally to 18. McDowall is one of the standout players in Doha and her scoring prowess was shown to full extent, gaining four today to finish with 31 in the tournament. Doyle’s pair sent her to 12. Lu, scoring five, lifted her to 14 in Doha and Zhang’s pair made her the most prolific with 16.

Turning Point
New Zealand shifting from the quarter-time break of 4-4 to 9-7 at halftime. It meant the Kiwis always had the higher ground, with China only levelling at 13.

Stats Don’t Lie
New Zealand had 52 to 44 percentage on shooting; went five for eight on extra to China’s six from 10 and converted all four penalty attempts.

Bottom Line
New Zealand is a little more advanced in its training and experience than China and this tournament is its highlight, while China can now move on to the Olympics.

What They Said

Angie Winstanley-Smith (NZL) — Head Coach

On finishing ninth:
“For me, the ninth place feels like a gold medal. We’ve worked so hard and everyone can acknowledge the hard work we have put in with very, very limited funding and the girls paying still a lot of money to play for New Zealand. For me, it’s so special because it showed a lot of strength of character. I hope that when opposition teams match up with New Zealand, we’re here to play and be competitive. And for any neutral players and neutral support it was  a spectacle and a beautiful game of water polo, so I was just so proud of the girls.”

On New Zealand’s status in the world:
“I’ve seen a little bit in the press around on all the top eight are set, but I think both China and New Zealand have proved that we’re not here just to participate, we’re here to knock on the door of the top eight in the coming years.”

Emmerson Houghton (NZL) — Five goals/Player of the Match

On controlling China throughout:
“I think just pushing was good, but China put up a good fight. They kept pushing it until the final whistle, so ups to them. This showed how much we wanted to win the game. I’m proud of them (her team-mates).”

On wonderful teamwork:
“Today really showed how we are as a team, very committed and playing as a team for each other, so getting that result just proves how we are as a team. It’s really good to get the result and after the game against Canada (lost 14-12) was a bit rough and to come back, we’re really proud of ninth place; go back, regroup and look forward to the next one.”

Yan Jing (CHN) — Athlete

On the tournament:
“Firstly, I wish to give congratulations to New Zealand, who played with a very good heart, but we made some little mistakes, so we lose the game, but we had a good chance to get ready for the Olympic Games.”

On good progression in Doha.
“Yes, we got better as the games went on. Now we have five months to prepare for Paris.”

Match 39. Classification 11-12

Great Britain 8 Kazakhstan 6

Great Britain had the best result at a world championship in what has already been a stellar year. It left five teams in its wake in Doha and promises a new era of play in the country. Great Britain last played the world championships in 2013, finishing 13^th. Previous to that it was 16^th in 2003 and was ninth of nine in the inaugural championships in 1986.It was the second victory in Doha, having beaten South Africa 14-5 in the rounds.

Kazakhstan is a regular at the championships and was 15^th last year, 11^th in 2022 and 10^th in 2019.

The match started with a three-goal spurt for Great Britain in just under three minutes. With seven seconds left on the clock, Kazakhstan opened for 3-1.

Goals were traded in the second quarter with eight different scorers as the Brits led 5-3.

In the all-important third period, Kazakhstan shut out Great Britain as Madina Rakhmanova flipped in a rebound for her second and Rakhmanova was free on the right-post position to level at 5-5. Anna Novikova slid into open space in front of goal and tipped in the high pass for 6-5 at 1:47. Great Britain had been denied a goal for more than 12 minutes. On defence, British goalkeeper Sophie Jackson had 12 saves and Kazakh goalie Mariya Martynenko was not far behind with 10.

The fourth period started strongly for Britain with Brooke Tafazolli scoring twice from the left-hand-catch position by 6:52 and regaining the lead at 7-6. Tafazolli fired another rocket and it took VAR to show that it had crossed the line at 0:33 for four goals and the ultimate 8-6 victory.

Match Heroes
Tafazolli  topped the scoring for Great Britain with four goals and  nine for the championship but it was goalkeeper Jackson who stole the show with an incredible 16 saves. Cecily Turner was denied a goal today and finished best scorer at 11. Novikova and Rakhmanova scored twice with Novikova and Anastassiya Tsoy once as they finished their championship at eight each. Martynenko pulled down 14  saves in goal.

Turning Point
Kazakhstan coming from 5-3 down to lead 6-5 at the end of three periods. Then Great Britain, or more precisely Tafazolli, turned the match on its head with her three goals in the final period.

Stats Don’t Lie
The stats weren’t that high with Great Britain scoring at 27 per cent to 19. GB then shot one from three on extra and defended seven of 10.

Bottom Line
Both teams worked hard, but it was Great Britain who seemed to have the edge, probably because of its recent experience at the European Championships. The players deserve a rest.

What They Said

Nick Buller (GBR) — Head Coach

On the result:
“Yeah, very pleased with that. Super happy. Our programme hasn’t had any funding for a long time. We've been at it.  Made the European championships. Really big surprise coming seventh. Qualified for this. Could we do better than last time when we came 13th with a fully funded programme? We have become 11th.”

Anya Clapperton (GBR) — Two Goals 

On the match:
“We need to like go back and look at the game. Like, we're proudly finished and 11th place is what we, like we came here to come top 12 and we did achieve that”.

Brooke Tafazolli (GBR) — Four Goals

On the success:
“ I'm really, really happy. It's good to play against this opposition.” 

Day 13 Schedule

Match 45. 10:00. Classification 7-8, CAN v ITA
Match 46. 11:30. Classification 3-4, ESP v GRE
Match 47. 16:00. Classification 5-6, AUS v NED
Match 48. 17:30. Classification 1-2, USA v HUN