Four-time Olympian, Serbian flag bearer and now seven-goal hero Dusan Mandic as dual champion Serbia was pushed to the limits by defiant Japan, winning 16-15 in their Group B encounter. Nine-time champion Hungary squandered a 6-1 lead over host France before winning 13-12 and European champion Spain downed Australia in the opener 9-5.
In Group A, the margins were more extended with Italy bypassing United States of America 12-8, world champion Croatia beating neighbour Montenegro 11-8 and Greece put Romania to the sword 14-7.
But it was the second match of the day where Japan threw everything at Serbia, led twice in the second quarter and levelled the scores an incredible eight times, including 15-15 just inside the final two minutes. It was 202cm tall Dusan Mandic (main picture) — probably the same height as the Tokyo Tower in comparison to the smaller Japanese —who provided a masterclass with four goals in the final period to secure the right to play for a third successive gold medal.
The record full-time score at Olympic level for men is 16-16 from London 2012, so one more goal by Japan could have equalled that and forced a shootout.
The closeness of the matches shows just how good this tournament will be with upsets on offer every day. Look at how close France came to Hungary, the 2023 world champion.
DAY 1 MATCHES
Match 1, Group B, AUSTRALIA 5 SPAIN 9 (1-2, 2-3, 1-3, 1-1)
European champion Spain, also a perennial visitor to the world championships dais, took time to settle to fend off the Aussie Sharks, who finished 11th at the February World Aquatics Championships in Doha. The relative closeness of the margin could be seen as a victory for Australia against one of the best teams in the world.
It was a busy first quarter with Australia firing in seven shots to three, but Spain had the better of the conversion rate, scoring on extra through Alberto Munarriz and on counter thanks to captain Felipe Perrone in his fifth Olympic Games. Milos Maksimovic converted extra for Australia to level at 6:46. Perrone’s go-ahead goal came at 4:29. Munarriz delivered again at the top of the second period, spearing into the bottom right from right-hand catch. Aussie Angus Lambie created a pair of his own, shifting at centre forward and lobbing Unai Aguirre and, after Alvaro Granados scored a reflex shot on extra, Lambie muscled his way to the right post and tapped in a cross pass for 4-3 behind at 1:25. Perrone (38) once again scored on extra for 5-3 to close the half’s scoring.
Marc Larumbe scored the third counter-attack goal a minute into the third period and soon after Jacob Mercep had his penalty attempted smothered by Aguirre. Munarriz took a six-metre shot for his third while Mercep replied on extra before Roger Tahull turned at centre forward with three defenders on him for 8-4 — the last score of the period.
Maksimovic buried the ball from top left for 8-5 to open the fourth quarter. Three minutes later, Granados responded with a doughnut over goalkeeper Nic Porter on extra for 9-5. Spain’s last chance for double figures came at 0:24 when it took a timeout. However, Munarriz’s shot went high and Spain had to settle for a four-goal win.
Match Heroes
Munarriz with his three goals and pairs to Perrone and Granados. Aguirre made 12 saves before leaving the pool ahead of the final quarter. Lambie and Maksimovic scored twice each for Australia and Porter saved six attempts.
Turning Point
Really, it was in the third period where Spain managed to get the four-goal differential twice.
Stats Don’t Lie
Australia scored two from five and defended seven from 10 — fantastic statistics. Both teams shot 29 times and Australia missed the only penalty shot awarded.
Bottom Line
Spain is the classier team with a haul of medals Australia could only dream of achieving. However, Australia will work on the lessons learnt and should come out stronger in the next match.
What They Said
Felipe PERRONE (ESP) — Captain and Two Goals
On competing at his fifth Olympic Games:
“It's so beautiful. It's so special to play at the Olympic Games. It's totally different to all the other competitions. Like it is for every athlete, it's a dream, and to do it five times fills me with a lot of great emotion.
“I’m 38 years old, so it hasn't been easy to make it here. I really need to take care of myself in order to keep playing alongside these guys.”
On his team’s performance against Australia:
“Australia is a young team, whereas we have played together for a lot longer. They're growing. We were the favourites to win the game and we were able to control the game."
On scoring against club team-mate (goalkeeper) Nic Porter (AUS):
“Nic is an amazing guy and we all love him. It was funny, as when I was giving my team-mates instructions, Nic was telling the Australian guys what I was saying in Spanish. I had to put my hand in front of my mouth to make sure he couldn’t understand what I was saying.”
Nathan POWER (AUS) — Co-Captain
On playing up to European champion Spain:
“Spain is probably one of the most well-rounded teams here; playing them is like playing a game of chess, and it really takes a full team effort. For us today we had really long periods of game play; we had some great defence; there was probably just a couple of momentary lapses, which gave them a couple of goals.
“For us there’s a lot of encouraging signs as we approach the rest of the group stage. Looking forward, hopefully we can get better at finishing off opportunities and create some more opportunities.
“We had them today and with one or two more goals the game looks really different.”
Angus LAMBIE (AUS) — Two Goals
“It was incredible. I had some special supporters in the crowd — my parents, my godparents, some friends from school and some of their parents as well. It meant a lot to be able to score those goals and look at those people in the crowd and know that I was making them proud.
“The support from back home has been fantastic. I have had my phone on Do Not Disturb all morning, but I’m sure there’s a bunch of messages wishing me luck. I’m looking forward to reading those and using them for the next game.”
Match 2, Group B, SERBIA 16 JAPAN 15 (4-4, 3-4, 5-3, 4-4)
Serbia notched and incredible victory while Japan nearly caused a huge upset. The match went close to the Olympic record for men (16-16 in 2012) and Japan was a whisker away from equalling that and forcing the shootout. This was probably Japan’s finest Olympic moment and more promises to eventuate in the coming week.
What an enthralling first quarter — 4-all. Dusan Mandic (above), playing his fourth Olympic Games, scored the first two goals from six-metre fouls and Yusuke Inaba replied with a pair for 2-2. Serbia went 4-2 by the four-minute mark and Seiya Adachi replied with identical consecutive extra-man plays with the second requiring a VAR decision for 4-4, a clear 1:17 from the quarter-time break. The thrills continued in the second quarter with Inaba dropping the ball on a penalty shot and captain Toi Suzuki snapping in a short cross pass to the near post for a 5-4 advantage for Japan. Mandic and Viktor Rasovic regained the lead. Keigo Okawa, who captained Japan to the last Olympics, converted extra for 6-6; Nikola Dedovic was caught free on extra in the bottom right for 7-6 for another Serbian lead. Inaba made sure of his second penalty attempt and Mitsuru Takata converted extra for the 8-7 advantage, 39 seconds from the buzzer. Uros Stevanovic, the Serbia coach, was angry and gained a yellow card two seconds from time.
Serbia won the third period 5-3 with Mandic kept at bay as his team-mates took the margins out to 10-8, 12-9 before Suzuki and Okawa narrowed the score to 12-11 by the final break. It was the Mandic show in the final quarter as he slotted four goals with three from his favoured position and the other from the penalty line. Inaba initially dragged it back to 12-12 and it stretched to 15-14 before Okawa and Inaba, for his sixth goal, lobbing in a spinning ball for 15-15 at 1:35. Mandic grabbed the winner at 1:35.
Match Heroes
Mandic, with seven goals, showed why he is such a huge man, making huge statements. Radoslav Filipovic was busy in goal with eight saves. Inaba scored six from eight attempts with Okawa netting three for Japan.
Turning Point
Japan leading at 5-4 and 8-7, only for Serbia to return the sentiments. The match was tied at two, four, five, six, seven, eight, 12 and 15. Therefore, the big turnaround, and most critical, was the 16th goal by Mandic, for Serbia.
Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia converted four from eight on extra while Japan managed seven from 11. Serbia scored its one penalty chance and Japan missed two from four. Serbia shot 33 times to 28.
Bottom Line
Japan’s defensive style played havoc with Serbia who found their obvious height and weight advantage was not useful against the smaller, faster and front-marking Japanese. However, it was the first step towards retaining its crown and a big step for Japan’s intention to smash into the top eight.
What They Said
Dusan MANDIC (SRB) — Seven Goals
On how competitive the match was:
"It was an expected game. Japan was always a tough opponent, and we played a lot of them in the last two years, and it was never an easy match. The way they play water polo - that is completely atypical to every other nation that is here in Paris, so it was a tough game.
"I could say that we maintained control of almost the whole match, but they simply didn't want to let it go, and they were coming back. I am not worried. This is our first game. It's normal for it to be hard.
On his match-winning tally of seven goals:
"I was calm. I didn't panic. I knew that they were making everybody nervous, this Japan team, so I knew that I needed to stay calm and to, let's say, play a little bit slower in some moments when people usually rush."
Yusuke INABA (JPN) — Six Goals
On his team's narrow defeat in their Paris 2024 opener:
"I am not satisfied about the game because we lost by just one goal. We must improve or learn or do something more. So, now we must focus on the next game."
On whether he expected his team to run the defending Olympic champions close:
"No, obviously not (smiles). Before the game, we were saying, 'OK, just do it. Play a good game, maybe not for the win, but play a good game.' And we played a good game."
On his sixth goal, a lob scored with a direct shot from outside six metres in a free-throw situation that helped Japan pull level at 15-15 in the closing minutes of the last quarter:
"I would say it was a good goal. I didn't myself think I could score that goal from about eight-nine metres. It was too difficult, but I did it. It's a memorable goal for me and one of my best goals of the year."
Match 3, Group B, ITALY 12 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 8 (4-2, 1-1, 4-1, 3-4)
Italy pulled no punches with a fantastic start to its campaign, racing to 4-1 and then cruising to victory with a four-goal margin. USA could never recover from the four unanswered goals after opening the scoring. It was only in the final quarter that USA took control to win 4-3.
Four different Italian scorers made sure of the 4-1 start with Alex Bowen narrowing it to 4-2 by the first break and Max Irving narrowing it to one goal — the last close score — two minutes into the second period. Going back to Italy’s second goal, USA goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg charged well out of cage to foul the Italian attacker, earning an exclusion foul. He then dragged the ball away and was given a penalty foul, meaning Johnny Hooper had to defend goal, only for Andrea Fondelli to score. Hooper was involved in more penalty drama at the top of the third period when the ball slipped from his hand at the height of his lunge, similar to what happened on day one for one of the women players.
Matteo Iocchi Gratta scored twice in the second period as the score edged out to 9-4. The sole USA Bowen goal needed a VAR review. When Tommaso Gianazza nabbed his second for 10-4, goals were traded to 12-7, with Irving making a penalty stick and Hooper converting extra at 0:26 to finalise scoring, giving Italy a huge victory.
Match Heroes
Francesco Di Fulvio, Gianazza and Iocchi Gratta scored twice each for Italy and goalkeeper Marco del Lungo pulled in nine balls and was taken from the pool in the dying minutes with a possibleleg injury. For USA, Daube was best with three goals, followed by Bowen and Irving with two apiece. Weinberg made eight saves in goal.
Turning Point
The 4-1 opening stanza that set the tone and gave Italy plenty of swing room.
Stats Don’t Lie
Italy converted two from four on extra-man attack and defended seven from 12. Italy put away its penalty and USA missed one of two.
Bottom Line
Italy is a top-tier team with USA knocking on the door. The fast start made for a disrupted match, upsetting USA’s rhythm.
What They Said
Alessandro CAMPAGNA (ITA) — Head Coach
On restricting the United States to just four goals in the first three quarters:
“For three quarters, we played excellent in defence. They couldn't score, only from when they had an extra man. We were performing at a very high level. Ben Hallock is the key for their team, so the plan was to make sure he couldn't receive too many balls. We also had to be careful with Hannes Daube because he is such a good shooter and in the end, he still made three goals.”
Francesco DI FULVIO (ITA) — Captain and Two Goals
On winning the match:
“It was a tough match; we knew that because USA is a team who is growing lately. They always try to play more than what they have. We knew that, we prepared this match very well. We are just at the beginning. The competition is so long, we didn’t do anything (so far), we have to keep the focus, keep working day by day and we’ll see at the end of the tournament.”
Match 4, Group A, CROATIA 11 MONTENEGRO 8 (3-1, 2-4, 3-1, 3-2)
World champion Croatia came through with a three-goal margin that should have only been two had not Miroslav Perkovic scored an own goal in the dying seconds. It was a tight encounter that that had Croatia 4-2 ahead and yet 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 as Montenegro refused to be shrugged off. Montenegro had a spectacular second quarter with Bogdan Durdic netting three goals as his team won the period 4-2.
When Loren Fatovic blasted in from the left for 8-6 two minutes from the final quarter — his third goal — Croatia looked more comfortable. The fizz had seemed to have drained from Montenegro. Marko Zuvela on extra and Konstantin Kharkov on penalty, took the margin to four, two minutes into the final quarter.
Montenegro went to a timeout and this helped yield two goals through Vlado Popadic from a six-metre foul and big man Vladan Spaic with the easiest of turns at centre forward for 10-8 at 2:19. Montenegro was back in the match. Croatia took two timeouts with no subsequent goal, but with three seconds on the clock, the ball was slipped into Rino Buric at centre and defender Perkovic climbed high and scooped at the ball, sending it past his own goalkeeper for 11-8 — a sad ending for what was a truly fantastic Montenegrin effort. The slippery ball on penalty struck again in the first quarter as Jerko Marinic Kragic fired high over the crossbar as his hand lost control of the ball late in the first quarter when it could have been 4-1.
Match Heroes
Fatovic with his hat-trick, Buric, Luka Bukic and Zuvela with two each. Durdic netted three for Montenegro and Popadic two while goalkeeper Dejan Lazovic nailed 11 saves.
Turning Point
Croatia always having the lead and then withstanding those three drawn positions straddling halftime; then shooting to a four-goal margin early in the fourth. That’s what won the match, and those better statistics.
Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia did the damage on extra-man statistics with five from 10 and defending six from eight. Croatia put away two from three on penalty and two extra shots in the match.
Bottom Line
Croatia is the world champion and Montenegro finished eighth in Doha at the recent world championships. Seven ranking positions and only three goals the difference.
What They Said
Maro JOKOVIC (CRO) — Captain
On his team's performance:
"We couldn't have asked for a better start to the Olympic tournament. I think we can be more than satisfied with how things are going so far. We had some ups and downs during the game, but when we were down, we weren't losing our heads.
"We gave some easy shots to our opponents, and they scored some easy goals, which is not what we should be doing, especially if we want to move forward in this tournament. These kind of mistakes get punished easily, and it can cost you points in the group stage and even more important things in the later stages."
On competing at his fifth Olympic Games:
"My role now is maybe to stay on the ball a little bit and calm situations when things may start getting out of hand. I try to keep the tensions low and give advice to the younger players. The most important thing is we have each other's backs, and this is the only way to move forward in the tournament.”
Stefan VIDOVIC (MNE) — Goal Scorer
On Montenegro's performance:
“We had a good rhythm for most of the game and we were really fighting, but it’s very difficult to get a good result when we had so many 'man-downs' (exclusion fouls) go against us. It’s normal that we had some bad moments in the game as we were playing against the world champions. We’re sad because we lost, but we always try to look at the positives.
“We didn’t play too well, but we still have big dreams for this tournament and we will continue to chase them.”
Match 5, Group B, FRANCE 12 HUNGARY 13 (1-5, 4-4, 2-1, 5-3)
A one-goal difference, similar to the quarterfinals in Doha last February. This time France could not get over the line as Hungary had built up so much momentum and an arsenal of goals that it virtually could not be surpassed. Tell the French that.
Denes Varga, in his fifth Olympics, opened the scoring for Hungary with Alexandre Bouet levelling. Then Vince Vigvari, playing his first Games to continue a fine family tradition, plundered three goals to give Hungary a 5-1 quarter-time advantage. It did not look good for the French, at home, with a patriotic crowd in the stands. Michael Bodegas on a short drive to the centre and then a seven-metre turn and shot had the margin trimmed to 6-3.
Hungary scored on extra and counter for 8-3 before Thomas Vernoux scored from 10m and the more-sedate five-metre penalty line. Krisztian Manhercz closed the half for 9-5.
French skipper Ugo Crousillat, who had an earlier penalty shot saved, and Manhercz converted extra plays for 10-6 in the third and Romain Marion-Vernoux became the third family member to score in Paris, scoring off extra from the top right. Cousin Thomas Vernoux scored earlier and cousin Ema Vernoux scored for France during women’s first-day action.
Hungarian captain Szilard Jansik scored his second extra-man goal for 11-7 and goals were traded to 12-9 with Enzo Khasz netting twice. Vernoux converted a penalty for 12-10 and had a second attempt smashed back by Soma Vogel three minutes later. Marton Vamos fired in a missile from eight metres for 13-10 at 1:11. Vernoux did the same at 1:00. Time was ticking down and shots were rebounding off the Hungarian defence as France desperately tried to get one through. The last big shot bounced off Vogel, down for Bodegas to flip in with his left hand over his head for 13-12, but at 0:04 — too late.
Match Heroes
Vigvari with his hat-trick in the opening quarter and goalkeeper Vogel’s 12 saves. For France, it was Vernoux with four and three to Bodegas. Goalie Hugo Fontani claimed 11 saves.
Turning Point
The 5-1 opening quarter that became 6-1. Then France came back like it did at the Doha world championships in the dying stages. From that 6-1, France won the remainder of the match 12-6, showing it will be a major force in Paris.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary converted five from eight on extra-man attack and defended seven from 12. Hungary’s Vogel also denied France two of its four penalty attempts. Hungary shot twice more than France.
Bottom Line
Hungary has put Doha behind it and now has sights on a 10th Olympic gold, something it is quite capable of, having won the world championships in Fukuoka last year.
What They Said
Vince VIGVARI (HUN) — Three Goals
On making his Olympic debut:
“It's just, for me, a beautiful moment. It was one of the best atmospheres I have ever experienced in a water polo game. My debut at the Olympics at 21 years old, yet I don't know how long I've been waiting for this.
“I want to soak in all the memories and the experiences from the beginning. I'm so happy it went like this. We got the three points, but from now on, we are focusing on the next games.”
On scoring three goals and helping steer his team to victory:
“I’m just really happy for this group of guys that we started so strong; as you can see in the last couple of years that the French team has really developed and now they are also one of the top teams.”
On his grandfather (former Hungary president Pal Schmitt, an Olympic fencing gold medallist at Munich 1972 and Mexico City 1968) and grandmother (former gymnast Katalin Makray-Schmitt, who won silver at Tokyo 1964) watching from the stands:
“It was like the cherry on top that they could experience this with me here. They both competed at the Olympics and both won medals, so I’m now trying to catch up. My aunt was also here, along with my godmother, my sister, my cousin, my girlfriend and her mum. I can’t miss anyone out.”
Match 6, Group A, ROMANIA 7 GREECE 14 (2-4, 3-5, 1-2, 1-3)
Greece started strongly and used that goal imbalance to unsettle Romania, going to the quarter at 4-2 and being five up at halftime. By shooting to 8-2, Greece used eight different scorers, as it happened It used a ninth while Stylianos Argyropoulos finished the period with three goals and 9-5. Romania fired in three goals to one in the last five minutes and even opened the third period through Tudor-Andrei Fulea. Dimitrios Skoumpakis drilled from seven metres and Argyropoulos made it 11-6 on extra off the right hand.
Vlad-Luca Georgescu opened the final period for Romania scoring on extra from top left, but it was one-way traffic until the final whistle as Alexandros Papanastasiou, Argyropoulos for a fourth and Angelos Vlachopoulos tapping in a cross pass at centre forward for 14-7 at 4:35 — the last goal of the match.
Match Heroes
Argyropoulos with four goals and Papanastasiou and Vlachopoulos with two each for Greece. Andrei Neamtu and Georgescu with two goals each for Romania and goalkeeper Marius-Florin Tic’s 10 saves.
Turning Point
The opening surge of 4-1 made this match what it was.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece went eight from 14 on extra and stopped three from seven. It scored the only penalty awarded and shot 36 times to 27.
Bottom Line
Greece is thereabouts and fifth in Doha while Romania was 10th. Greece also has the advantage of having played the last Olympic final.
Progress Points
Group A: Greece 3, Italy 3, Croatia 3, Montenegro 0, USA 0, Romania 0.
Group B: Spain 3, Serbia 3, Hungary 3, Japan 0, France 0, Australia 0.
Day 4 Schedule — Men
Match 07. 10:30. Group B, Australia v Serbia
Match 08. 12:05. Group A, Croatia v Italy
Match 09. 15:00. Group B, Japan v France
Match 10. 16:35. Group A, United States of America v Romania
Match 11. 19:30. Group A, Montenegro v Greece
Match 12. 21:05. Group B, Spain v Hungary