On the opening day, there was plenty of incredible action from some very talented players and just the one penalty shootout as Egypt finished atop Slovenia 17-15 after the match was tied at 14-14 The next closest match was Brazil’s 11-10 win over China.

The biggest statements of the day were the two opening matches where Serbia put Peru to the sword for 25-1 and Italy sent off Mexico 25-5.

Group A

SERBIA 25 PERU 1 (8-0, 4-0, 8-0, 5-1)

Serbia made its intentions clear with a 25-1 victory over newcomer Peru. The difference between the two teams was seen on the referees’ platform during the national anthems with the Serbs towering over their smaller adversaries. It was like that in the pool with the Serbian press making it hard for Peru to advance the ball anyway near attacking players. Serbia forced mistakes and countered for a handsome margin. Luka Andjelic nailed six goals with Strahinja Neskovic scoring four. Nikolas Narvaes scored Peru’s only goal on the final buzzer on extra after a timeout. It was the first pass that found the goal.

CHINA 11 BRAZIL 12 9 (4-2, 2-4, 3-5, 2-1)
Brazil worked hard to hold off China 11-10. The score flattered China with its single-man battering ram Yang Yiheng scoring his eighth goal in the final quarter when China was two down. The real damage was done late in the third period when Brazil scored twice in the final two minutes, the second coming off an extra-man play from deep right. Niklas Capellana and Marcelo Winter scored three each for Brazil. In an amazing statistic, China scored from all 11 shots taken while defending five of 17.

Group B

SPAIN 13 CZECHIA 3 (3-0, 3-0, 3-1, 4-2)

Spain controlled the match from the start before allowing Czechia some freedom. Spain’s main shooters were Marc Comabella with four goals and Tiago Carrio with three. Czechia’s three goals came from only four shots while Spain was deadly with 13 from 16 attempts.

BULGARIA 14 ZIMBABWE 11 (4-2, 2-3, 5-2, 3-4)

Bulgaria made it a rare Europe-Africa clash with Zimbabwe coming on to the international scene to taste the experience. It did not disappoint with multiple goals in every quarter and winning the final period. In the shooting department, Georgi Venov, Anastas Vitkov and Niki Tsvetkov, all scored three goals for Bulgaria. Liam Chicksen responded with four and Blaise Scheepers with three for Zimbabwe. Both teams were perfect on extra with Bulgaria converting all five chances and Zimbabwe three. The other statistic that is worthy mentioning is that both teams only missed one of their scoring chances.

Group C

HUNGARY 12 GERMANY 7 (2-1, 4-1, 4-1, 2-4)

Reigning champion Hungary patiently withstood the German determination with solid quarters, only lifting the foot off the accelerator in the final quarter. Hungary has high expectations for a repeat performance and has Poland a first-day winner Singapore to surpass for group supremacy. Botond Gedra and Benedek Rabb scored three each while Germany responded through Marian Kob and Dimitrij Vasilev with two apiece. It was a low-fouling match with Germany scoring both extra-man opportunities and Hungary one from one.

SINGAPORE 14 POLAND 9 (3-0, 3-3, 5-3, 3-3)

Singapore made a push for a top-two position with a resounding victory over Poland, built on a fantastic start before the Europeans awoke. The importance of the start is paramount, especially at this level. It maintains the mental stability and dominance over your opponent. Jamie Xie and Jaycus See fired in three each for Singapore and Poland trio Mario Cacopardi, Adrian Pawlak and Jan Zabski scored twice each. Singapore converted two from four on extra while Poland did not gain a chance.

GROUP D

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 15 ISRAEL 8 (5-2, 3-3, 2-1, 5-2)

USA utilised nine players to score goals with Kenly Axline and Jett Taylor grabbing three each. Yuval Gal-on replied with four. Israel was tough throughout with the 3-0 start and 5-1 lead provided the fulcrum for success. Israel can be proud of bringing the match to 7-4 and 9-6 before slipping away. There were plenty of extra-man goals with USA converting six from 12 and Israel three from five.

NEW ZEALAND 4 NETHERLANDS 12 (0-3, 1-4, 1-1, 2-4)

Netherlands showed the benefits of a clean opening quarter and how 7-1 at halftime leads to an excellent victory. The Kiwis looked tired and rusty after their long trip and after the turn produced some better water polo, levelling the third period. Teun Blankhorst and Luuk Silvis were in the goals with four and three respectively while New Zealand’s best was Sabastian Dunn with a pair. Both teams shot 50 per cent on extra with the Dutch making five from 10 and New Zealand two from four.

GROUP E

ITALY 25 MEXICO 5 (6-1, 7-2, 5-2, 7-0)

Italy relished the chance to play Mexico. Would that be a first? Mexico found it hard getting past the half as Italy pressed hard, snapped up loose balls and scored at will. Mexico was always seeking to get the ball to the centre forwards, who were set too far out, and wayward passes were caned. However, persistence meant some did get through and to score twice in each of the middle quarters was commendable. By the final break, Mexico was spent and Italy scored on most attacks for victory. Leonardo Madaschi blasted in five and Bruno Bordone, Francesco Maffei and Antonio Chianese netted four each for Italy. Paris Ponce and Julia Dominguez replied with a pair each. Two Mexican goals came from extra plays.

GEORGIA 10 UKRAINE 8 (2-1, 3-1, 2-3, 3-3)

Georgia established a 5-1 lead with 90 seconds left in the second quarter and this became 7-2 before Ukraine scored three straight to close the third period at 7-5, within striking distance. A penalty goal and a score from centre forward Oleksandr Rychun levelled the match at 2:28. Goals were traded for 8-8 with 1:18 remaining. However, Georgia went ahead on extra at 0:49 and Giorgi Abesadze rammed in his fifth goal with nine seconds remaining to cement the victory. Ukraine’s best was Oleh Siliukov with three goals, including the 8-8 equaliser. Georgia nailed both extra-man chances and defended a magnificent seven from nine.

GROUP F

MONTENEGRO 18 SOUTH AFRICA 6 (5-1, 4-1, 5-3, 4-1)

Three big quarters gave Montenegro an expected victory over South Africa, who scored in each period and made a fight of it in the third quarter. Both teams had success on extra-man attack with Montenegro converting five from six and South Africa two from four. Marko Milinic and Petar Brnovic scored three apiece for Montenegro and Matthew Fenn also scored three, for South Africa. Montenegro scored two penalty goals and South Africa one.

SLOVENIA 15 EGYPT 17 IN PENALTY SHOOTOUT; FT: 14-14, Pens: 1-3 (3-6, 4-3, 4-1, 3-4, 1-3)

This was the closest match of the day with a shootout needed to find a winner. Seven times the match was tied, but Egypt did itself some harm after leading 8-3 two minutes into the second quarter only to squander the advantage by leading just 9-7 at the long break. By this stage the only draw was 1-1. It became 9-9, 10-10 and then Slovenia regained the lead (after 1-0) just before the final break. Egypt equalised a minute into the period and went ahead a minute later. Goals were traded and then Marcel Lipnik levelled at 13 and 14 — the last with a long shot at 0:58 for his fifth strike — to set up the shootout. Slovenia did not fare well, having its first, second and fourth shots saved. Egypt’s Yassin Mohamed Wael Elnemr was equal to the task with five goals in the match and the final penalty conversion. Slovenia converted all three extra-man chances and defended three from five, yet it was not enough to win. The undoubted star was goalkeeper Yassin Sherif Ramadan Eladly with his stunning three saves.

GROUP G

CROATIA 10 TURKIYE 4 (3-0, 2-1, 3-2, 2-1)

Croatia was another team to use a strong first quarter to set the tone for the match.  From there on in it was a hard slog to keep Turkey at bay. Both teams worked well on extra-man attack but the real damage was done by the strong Croatian defence that restricted Turkey to only 11 shots. That and the five saves from goalkeeper Nikola Batos. Nardo Dragas finished with five goals for Croatia and Demir Gulsoy netted three for Turkiye. Croatia converted two from three on extra and denied Turkiye twice from five attempts.

Image Source: Canada v Australia/Timmy Cutugno/World Aquatics

CANADA 6 AUSTRALIA 12 (1-1, 1-4, 1-5, 3-2)

The first quarter produced a penalty score for Australia and one on extra for Canada. Then the dam burst as Australia rebounded from 2-2 to have the halftime lead at 5-2. Another productive third period closed the match as a contest with Australia 10-3 ahead. Canada worked tirelessly in the fourth and brought the score to 11-6 before Australia scored the final goal, a minute from time. Savo Todic (AUS) and Ivan Khramtsov (CAN) each scored three goals. There was nothing in the extra-man statistics with Australia converting two from three and Canada two from four. Alexander Woolfe smacked down seven shots in the Aussie goal.

GROUP H

Image Source: Romania v Greece/Timmy Cutugno/World Aquatics

ROMANIA 4 GREECE 13 (1-5, 1-4, 1-2, 1-2)

Greece is keen to finish on the podium, and in the highest position, and the quarter score showed that. The extra-man count showed how a match can be won with this statistic. Greece converted all eight attempts and defended an impressive six of seven. Greece will be a strong contender and should easily win its group and do damage in the second half of the tournament. Persefs Portokalis led the Greek scoring with three as eight team-mates made the sheet. Marc Angelescu score three of Romania’s goals. Greece’s eight from eight on extra was lauded and shutting down six from seven makes for a 14-goal difference there.

Image Source: Malta v Kazakhstan/Timmy Cutugno/World Aquatics

KAZAKHSTAN 6 MALTA 16 (0-4, 2-3, 2-3, 2-6)

Malta turned it on for the home crowd in the final match of the night and took top honours in the group. A blistering start that became 7-2 by halftime had the crowd in raptures and Sam Engener was the star with his six goals, followed by four from Max Lanzon. Kazakhstan’s best scorers were Ramazan Abilkassym and Abdurashid Namazov with two each. Malta was impressive with its five from seven on extra.

Progress Points

Group A: Serbia 3, Brazil 3, China 0, Peru 0.
Group B: Spain 3, Bulgaria 3, Zimbabwe 0, Czechia 0.
Group C: Hungary 3, Singapore 3, Germany 0, Poland 0.
Group D: Netherlands 3, United States of America 3, Israel 0, New Zealand 0.
Group E: Italy 3, Georgia 3, Ukraine 0, Mexico 0.
Group F: Montenegro 3, Egypt 2, Slovenia 1, South Africa 0.
Group G: Australia 3, Croatia 3, Canada 0, Turkey 0.
Group H: Malta 3, Greece 3, Kazakhstan 0, Romania 0.

Day 2 Schedule

Cottonera Indoor Pool
09:00, Group C, Germany v Singapore
10:15, Group C, Poland v Hungary
11:30, Group D, Israel v New Zealand
12:45, Group D, Netherlands v United States of America
15:15, Group A, Peru v China
16:30, Group A, Brazil v Serbia
17:45, Group B, Czechia v Bulgaria
19:00, Group B, Zimbabwe v Spain

Tal-Qroqq Sport Complex:
09:00, Group C, Turkiye v Canada
10:15, Group G, Australia v Croatia
11:30, Group H, Greece v Kazakhstan
12:45, Group E, Mexico v Georgia
15:15, Group E, Ukraine v Italy
16:30, Group F, South Africa v Slovenia
17:45, Group F, Egypt v Montenegro
19:00, Group H, Malta v Romania