USA claims eighth women's water polo crown

How They Played

In the gold-medal final for Classification 1-2, United States of America went for an eighth title and survived a late scare from Hungary to win 8-7.

In the Classification 3-4 match, Spain clinched the bronze medal with a last-second goal for 10-9 over Greece.

In the Classification 7-8 encounter, Italy earned its Olympic berth — the final on offer — with a commanding 18-12 victory over a distraught Canada. Italian players are pictured in the main picture with their tickets for Paris.

Awards:

Most Valuable Player:
Rita Keszthelyi (HUN) — right

Best Goalkeeper:
Ashleigh Johnson (USA) — centre

Highest Goal-Scorer:
Morgan McDowall (NZL) — 31 — left

Media All Star Team

Goalkeeper:
Ashleigh Johnson (USA)
Centre Forward:
Maica Garcia (ESP)
Field Players:
Jenna Flynn (USA)
Rita Keszthelyi (HUN)
Morgan McDowall (NZL)
Eleftheria Plevritou (GRE)
Simone van de Kraats (NED)

Classification 1-2

Match 48. United States of America 8 Hungary 7

In the last two world championships, USA beat Hungary for fifth place and the year before for the gold medal in Budapest. Tonight, in a packed house, USA again inflicted pain on the Hungarians a narrow 8-7 defeat. 

A 3-0 start by USA appeared to set the scene for a lion’s-den scenario. Captain Maggie Steffens (above), Jordan Raney and Rachel Fattal did the damage However, Hungary shot back twice — through Krisztina Garda and Rebecca Parkes — and it was a one-goal match at the first break.

The second quarter was trading time as Fattal had her goal covered by captain Rita Keszthelyi and Maddie Musselman had hers replied to by Kamilla Farago for 5-4 at the half.

It took a long time for a goal to be scored in the third as Raney’s shot at 3:31 was denied by VAR. Hungary equalised through Greta Gurisatti at 1:59 to end the third period.

Rachel Fattal opened the last quarter for 6-5 from the wide left. Ryann Neushul lobbed from right-hand-catch while heavily guarded at 3:47 for a near-unassailable 8-5 advantage. Keszthelyi took it on her shoulders to shoot on extra for 8-6 at 2:28, keeping it low from the deep -left position. Ashleigh Johnson’s block at 1:28 brought the gold back home to the USA, or so we thought. Garda scored after a Hungarian timeout and it was oh, so close. USA went on attack and lost the ball. Hungary sent the ball to the centre forward and Jewel Roemer helped the centre forward push the ball under for a turnover. USA took the timeout and wasted the last three seconds to claim that elusive eighth crown.

Match Heroes
Johnson had 12 saves in the USA goal; Fattal sent in three for 12 in Doha; and Steffens, who won her fifth title from eight attempts, scored twice for 15, her team’s best. For Hungary, Keszthelyi sent in two for 20 in total and Garda made two. Greta Gurisatti, who scored once, finished with 17.

Turning Point
The 3-0 start that was only equalled at five before halftime.

Stats Don’t Lie
USA shot 38 to 24 per cent and converted just three from 10 on extra and defended four from six.

Bottom Line
USA has a history of winning and that came through tonight with the senior members stepping up.

What They Said

Adam Krikorian (USA) — Head Coach/Six Times World Championship Winner

On the high intensity of the match:
"What a thrilling game. I'm not sure we played our best. I think, in fact, we went 14 minutes without scoring a goal, but I'm incredibly proud of the group in showing their resilience and composure during a tough time and, obviously, huge congratulations to Hungary, as well.

“They're back on the scene and they're going to be very tough moving forward. I think our group has improved a lot since Japan a summer ago, but I know we still have a ways to go. It wasn't the cleanest game, but sometimes those are the most enjoyable, because you have to really dig deep and play for each other and that's certainly what we did."

Jovana Sekulich (USA) — First Time World Champion

On the joy of winning for the first time:
"Winning this world champs feels unreal and I'm so proud of how far we've come. Being a part of this group is so special and I hope we can use this as motivation to just keep getting better."

Rachel Fattal (USA) — Five Times World Champion

On being able to get better:
"It was a really hard-fought, good game for us, we were really focusing on defence and trying to play as a team and be the best we can and I think we can still get better, as we always hope to, but we're really happy that we won."

Attila Mihok (HUN) — Head Coach

On attaining silver instead of gold:
“Now, the first thing coming to my mind is the last moments as we came back from an absolutely hopeless situation and then… I’m referring on our shooters, they cannot feed the centre when they have the chance – we have to be calmer and more precise next time. I wouldn’t say we are sad, but we still could have got more out of this.

“Let me add that the footwork of the US players in defence is tremendous, something we are not used to, it’s extremely hard to outplay them. We got the silver at the end, however, we cannot get rid of the thought that the chance for gold was within an arm’s reach and we blew it. Of course, if you ask me about this championship next week, then I’ll be able to assess our performance in a lot more positive way.”

Rita Keszthelyi (HUN) — Captain/Most Valuable Player

On the match:
“I’m extremely proud of my team as we came a really long way. We held each other’s hand during this journey, and we did the same after this defeat and I think this is the most important we’ll bring home. The final was an extremely physical match, we put our hearts and souls to it, we couldn’t have done more. Maybe luck could have taken our side at the end, but you cannot gamble on that. We’ve got worn out towards the end as the matches against the Dutch and the Greeks also burnt a huge load of our reserves.”

Greta Gurisatti (HUN) — Goal Scorer

On being so close to gold:
“On the whole, this tournament has been a really great feedback on how much we possess in both physical and mental assets. We were able to grow game by game. We did know that, but it was good to prove that for the doubters. At the same time, an athlete barely has the opportunity to wake up on a given day to become a world champion. I had that privilege twice. I feel that this time we were a lot closer to the title than in Budapest (2022) and I really believed till the very last moment that we could equalise and have a happy ending.”

For The Record

Classification 3-4 — Bronze Medal

Match 47. Spain 10 Greece 9

There  is plenty of history for these teams, between an on the periphery. Today was another match for the ages, with an unusual finish.

Spain was leading easily, Greece came back and the match came to within a whisker of heading to a penalty shootout. Spain made sure that did not happen with a goal on the final buzzer.

Greece won the world title in 2011, beating China in Shanghai. It is the only trip to the dais at this level.

Spain is a four-time finalist, winning once, against Australia in Barcelona back in 2013. Its nemeses has been USA, losing the 2017 and 2019 finals. In Fukuoka last year Netherlands toppled Spain in that incredible penalty shootout match, won 17-16 after the match was tied at 11.

While Spain was losing to the Dutch, Greece finished eighth, bowing to Canada in their classification match. In Budapest 2022, Greece dispatched France for seventh. A pair of sixths a decade ago was Greece’s lot at this level.

Since Spain beat Australia in 2013, it has been to the dais three times and there were thoughts that it could make it again in Doha.

In the rounds the difference was 16-8 to Spain, who then won the group and rested a day while Greece played through.

Greece had improved a lot during the phases and it was no surprise that Spain led just 2-1 at the first break. In an action-packed second quarter, Judith Forca took the Spanish to 3-1 and Maica Garcia made it 4-2 before Greece went to 5-5 through a Nikoleta Eleftheriadou drill from the top. Paula Crespi, the silent assassin in Doha, nailed her 10^th goal for 6-5, the halftime score.

Paula Camus (7-5) and Eleni Xenaki (7-6) were the only scorers of the third with Eleftheriadou having her penalty attempt smacked down by Martina Terre.

Forca on penalty and Paula Leiton with a centre-forward backhand, made it 9-6. Eleftheria Plevritou, with a missile from the top right; Eirini Ninou from deep on extra and Ninou with a penalty conversion at 2:50, levelled the match. Spain took two timeouts with no joy at a time when Greek goalkeeper Chrysoula Diamantopoulou was dragged from the pool and needed medical assistance. She was replaced by Ioanna Stamatopoulou and Spain was relentless, but could not breach the wall.

Greece went on attack and eventually the ball went to the middle of the pool and a melee unfolded when the referee, blew his whistle. Elena Ruiz emerged from the ruck, picked up the ball and shot to the far end into an empty goal for the victory. Stamatopoulou had come up on the attack just before full time. Mayhem ensued with Greece calling for a penalty or something. It was hard to work out. However, Spain had the bronze medal.

If the match had gone to a shootout, Greece would have had to dig deep as four of its players had been sent for three majors and the main goalkeeper was out of the high-fouling match. .

Match Heroes
Forca with three goals topped the Spanish scoring in the match and the tournament, finishing with 10, one ahead of Elena Ruiz. Ninou’s three for Greece was the best and pushed her to 24 in Doha.

Turning Point
Spain going to 9-6 in the final quarter and then Greece coming back to 9-9.

Stats Don’t Lie
Spain went 29 to 35 on scoring percentage and converted just five from 16 on extra compared to Greece’s four from 11. This is where the stats do lie. Greece had the better of the match, but lost.

Bottom Line
Italy gains a fourth bronze to go with two titles and one silver. Greece was fourth for the first time.

What They Said

Anni Espar (ESP) — Seven Goals In Tournament

On finishing with bronze:
“It was a good tournament, very up and down. We didn’t have a good semifinal game (lost 11-9 to USA). Today we showed our character and we wanted to win this medal and that’s a motivation to keep working toward Paris (Olympics).”

On this being different from the day-two encounter when Spain beat Greece 16-8:.
“We knew it was going to be a completely different game. Also, when you are fighting or a medal it’s always very intense, especially with this team. They have a great team. They are improving a lot. They started the tournament in a way but they kept improving in every game. I think that medal for us is great excitement especially like the way  we finished the game.”

On Paris 2024:
“Right now, all we have thought about is winning. It’s a long way away and we just need to keep working and improving and keep fighting.”

Alexandra Asimaki (GRE) — Centre Forward

On coming back to 9-9:
“It is that moment in sport where you cannot believe it can end like this. We had the last seven seconds of attack. OK, it was the decision of the referee. It’s all blurred right now because the feelings are disappointment, to be honest. We had a really good tournament here. It was the third game we had with Spain. The first was in the Europeans and the second here in the world champs and the third was this final.

“We managed to keep the score low for such a good team like Spain and to come back in the last minute of the game, but in the end to miss in a glimpse of an eye, like it happened with Hungary because we were winning in the last seconds when we see the ball again, then we lost in penalties. OK, we tried to keep the good part, which  is the Greek performance, which was very good in both tournaments — European and world champs — we keep going and the next is the Olympics for all the teams. I think we are on a good path. We have to recover from this, and we will recover from this, and we will come back better and stronger.

Classification 5-6

Match 46. Australia 8 Netherlands 10

These two countries have a proud water polo history as two of the main protagonists of the discipline and the players have a link to earlier players. The team with the current form is the Dutch who won the world title last year and the European crowd last month. Tonight, the Dutch were battling for fifth spot and by restricting Australia to two goals in the second half, won the match.

Netherlands had the edge in the first quarter, scoring the first two goals through 2023 World Aquatics women’s water polo athlete of the year Brigitte Sleeking and Kitty Lynn Joustra with Australia responding through Bronte Halligan.

Dutch skipper Sabrina van der Sloot stretched the lead to two when she converted a penalty on the first attack. Things went awry for the Dutch from then on as the Aussie Stingers found their groove and rattled in five unanswered goals, including two to Tilly Kearns. (The other famous person in her family is two-time rugby World Cup winner Phil Kearns). Halligan, whose father Darryl Halligan is a rugby/rugby league legend, scored the first for her second with the others from Charlize Andrews with a rifle shot and captain Zoe Arancini, who mother and aunty (Wendy and Megan Meloncelli) are world and World Cup water polo champions from the 1980s, with an arrow cross cage to the top left for 6-3 at the halftime break.

Kearns gained her triple with a backhand for 7-3. Not long after, the Dutch re-awoke and Simone van de Kraats converted the penalty and Maartja Keuning accepted a pass on the right-post position on extra to turn and score the trim the margin to two. This became one as van de Kraats used her left arm to perfect unison with the ball into the goal from the left-hand-catch position. A boost for the Dutch was getting Kearns out on three majors with 41 seconds remaining.

Van de Kraats levelled the match on counter when an Aussie shot was blocked up to halfway. She swam on to the ball and made sure of the goal. Iris Wolves flipped one in from centre forward to regain the lead for Netherlands. Danijela Jackovich survived a two-metre tussle to flick in the ball to level the match at 8-8. Bente Rogge speared a shot low from top left to bottom right to put the Dutch ahead again. It proved worse for the Stingers as Wolves bounced one in from top left and the Dutch had a two-goal margin with 2:33 in hand. Netherlands had a late timeout and wasted the ball, giving Australia 27 seconds to score at least one goal, which it couldn’t. Having Kearns tipped in the second quarter seemed to have changed the dynamic of the Aussie attack.

Match Heroes
Van de Kraats scored three goals for 17 goals in Doha, two behind team-mate Joustra. For Australia, Kearns for 12 in Doha. Alice Williams was Australia’s best 17 and Abby Andrews with 15. Both were kept scoreless tonight.

Turning Point
Australia turning from 3-1 down to 7-3 ahead, which could have been a match-winning differential. However, Netherlands’ 7-1 second half was a killer combo.

Stats Don’t Lie
Netherlands converted two from six on extra and defended all four Aussie attempts. Netherlands shot 34 to 29 on percentage.

Bottom Line
Australia was fourth last year and now is sixth. Netherlands, meanwhile, slipped four positions.

What They Said

Eve Doudesis (NED) — Head Coach

On coming back from four down:
“They did very good that last one and a half periods. We ran out of energy. For us it was very difficult to recover after the Europeans (last month). It was a mission impossible. We played the last games with what we have in our heart. They did a good job. Actually, we did some very good steps with the team. Big steps, actually, here at the world championships. We will come back.”

On suggesting that two golds in a year would be good — European and Olympic:
“There could be worse things.”

Rebecca Rippon (AUS) — Head Coach

On finishing better:
“That match was a good one to learn from and it showed that when we are at our best, we can match it with the top teams and find a way to do that for four quarters and not just  two or three quarters, which we have been doing here. Some really great water polo and then some lapses that we’ll definitely work on. Tilly (Kearns) was outstanding today and we were unlucky to lose her. Again, some good defence at times would have saved that.”

On the tournament and having a poor preparation for Doha:
“We’ve had a really different preparation to the Europeans who are really match ready. I’ve had the team for about a month, so even for myself it’s new. We’re trying to get consistency at the moment and bring together a team that has some old familiar faces and some new ones. We’ve been working on a lot of moving parts like, no excuses, we just have to pull all those  together and we have to do it now going through to Paris. Yeah, a lot of learning.”

Tilly Kearns (AUS) — Three Goals

On the tournament
“It’s a great step in the right direction for us. Brand new coach and I think we’ve made big strides forward. Our goal is just to play at a world-class level and we’re sticking it to the world’s best teams at the moment.”

On the team dynamic changing when she left the pool:
“Maybe we were expecting calls we weren’t really working for. The kickout count was uneven, but we weren’t doing anything to earn kickouts…the centre out of the pool… we need to start moving them to earn those kickouts. We need to just be more of a threat on offence. They definitely out-defended us today.”

Classification 7-8

Match 45. Canada 12 Italy 18

This was not just about finishing seventh, it was the final chance for both teams to advance to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. To punch a Paris ticket you had to win this match and that’s what Italy did after a spirited match.

Both teams had their chances to qualify and Italy probably had five before today, stretching back to the last year’s worlds. Italy started strongly and deserved to win on today’s evidence. It had the match won before a Canadian violence foul inside the final four minutes.

The first quarter was a ripper with Italy applying the afterburners very quickly. Following a Shae La Roche strike for Canada, Italy  went on the rampage with four unanswered goals, including two from veteran Roberta Bianconi. At 4-1, Italy was looking grand but a minute later Canada put in a spurt with three goals to three different players before Sofia Giustini collected her second goal of the quarter to go to the first break at 5-4.

Breathless as that was, the second quarter was no different. It was more about shooting and scoring than defending, it seemed. There were 10 goals in the period, one extra than the first. Italy went out to 7-4 and 9-5, going to 10-6 with Canada scoring consecutive goals for 10-8 by 3:29. In the longest period of non-scoring and where Italy took a timeout, it was Giuditta Galardi who broke the drought with a backhand shot from two metres for 11-8 at 0:14.

The action slowed appreciably in the third period as Italy fired in the first two for a five-goal margin, so far away that Canada could only see the Tricolor flying from atop the Eiffel Tower over the horizon. It was Bianconi who scored the first, from penalty, for her fourth. Marilla Mimides, a late-blooming find for Canada, rocketed in a long shot for 14-9, her second at 3:59 and ninth of the tournament. There were no more goals as the blood-rush of the first half took its toll.

Silvia Avegno grabbed her third on extra-man attack to start the fourth quarter and Verica Bakoc replied for her fourth at 6:02. At 3:24, Bakoc was ejected from the match on a red card and VAR confirmed it was violence, so Italy went to the penalty line and converted and then played the rest of the match a player up. Canadian captain Emma Wright nullified that goal just before she was fouled out on three majors.  Giustini for her fourth, Avegno for her fourth and Bianconi for her fifth, all scored on extra and 18-11. Hayley McKelvey converted a penalty in the last minute, meaning the four-minute exclusion period only benefitted Italy by two goals.

Match Heroes
Bianconi topped the scorers with five goals giving her to 16 in Doha. Giustini’s four also gave her 16 and Avegno’s four lifted her to 13. For Canada, Bakoc, who gave so much in the match, scored four to take her tally to 13. Wright topped the scoring with 15 and Axelle Crevier, scoreless today, had 14.

Turning Point
The initial 4-1 surge, then the three-goal spurt over the first break. Another was the three goals over the halfway break. They all added up to a healthy, winning margin.

Stats Don’t Lie
Italy shot 53 to 40 per cent, converted seven from 12 on extra attack and defended six from nine.

Bottom Line
Italy won the Olympics on its first attempt in 2004, then finished sixth and seventh before losing to USA in 2016 and failed to qualify in 2020. Now it is back in the fold. Canada appeared at the Olympics in 2000, 2004 and 2020 where it finished seventh. Now it has another gap in its CV.

What They Said

Carlo Silipo (ITA) — Head Coach

On playing your best water polo at the last chance:
“It was the most important period of our life, because it was the last chance for us. We did it and now we enjoy that.”

On playing clinically like the Italian men’s team the day before:
“I spoke with the ladies before the match that we had to take inspiration from the men for they played a very important match and now we had to do the same.”

Roberta Bianconi (ITA) — Four Goals/Heading To Third Olympics

On what it means to her:
“It means a lot because the last Olympic Games we didn’t go, so it was a chance to rebuild the dream and catch the dream again. We did it and I have to say thank-you to my team because they helped me out today. It’s a dream that’s come true for the third time and I’m very happy because I wanted to finish my career at an Olympic Games, so the dream came true. I can’t be any more happy.”

Silvia Avegno  (ITA) — Four Goals

On what it means to her:
“What can I say? It’s incredible Now we can say we are going to Paris this summer and we will play for the Olympic Games. It’s incredible, especially because most of the team has never played an Olympic Games and finally we get to play the Olympic Games.”

On what the coach said before the match:
“It was so important, so mental, because it was the last game, the last opportunity and we made it, finally."

Final Rankings

1. United States of America
2. Hungary
3. Spain
4. Greece
5. Netherlands
6. Australia
7. Italy
8. Canada
9. New Zealand
10. China
11. Great Britain
12. Kazakhstan
13. France
14. South Africa
15. Brazil
16. Singapore