Iran made the most of its two matches, winning both to take out the group on day one while the leading teams in the other groups all have to play on Thursday. Iran was troubled against Ukraine before winning 16-14 and then down South Africa 21-4.
Overview
In Group A, Iran won both matches to clinch a quarterfinal berth, although the match with Ukraine required some hard work, coming back from 10-6 behind to secure the win.
In Group B, China eclipsed Great Britain 19-10 and Portugal also beat the Britons, 18-10, giving China the edge in the standings.
In Group C, Germany went 24-3 over Singapore and Malta beat the Asian team 21-7, giving Germany the ladder lead.
In Group D, Netherlands beat Slovakia 21-13, who went on to defeat Turkiye 19-17 with a come-from-behind victory, leaving the Dutch on top.
Match Reports
Match 1, Group A, SOUTH AFRICA 4 IRAN 21 (0-8, 1-3, 2-4, 1-5)
Iran had little trouble settling into the new rules and taking advantage of the shorter pool to slam in a variety of goals. Spearheaded by Mehdi Yazdankhah, who was all over the front line, Iran made most attacks telling. Yazdankhah, in particular, was there to finish of moves from close in and turned beautifully and centre forward and made some agile movements towards goal to score. Iran had the quarter-time score at 8-0 It became 9-0 in a slower second quarter as Yazdankhah finished with that superb turn and lob for 11-1 at halftime. South African goalkeeper Jacob Nathan stopped two penalty shots in the period, with either hand.
The third period went to 12-3 with South Africa having the upper hand for five minutes, then four Iranian goals, including a pair to Omid Aghai off his left arm gave Iran a 16-3 scoreline heading into the final period. Five Iranian goals came in four minutes with Dean Sneddon the last scorer at 3:55 from the deep left to bring South Africa’s tally to four.
Match Heroes
Yazdankhah claimed six goals and Aghai four. For Iran. South Africa’s best was goalkeeper Jordan de Sousa with eight saves.
Turning Point
Being 9-0 up halfway through the second quarter describes everything.
Stats Don’t Lie
Iran fired home seven from nine on extra and defended all three South African chances. Iran missed two of its four penalty attempts and South Africa made sure of its one chance. Iran stole the ball 15 times to five and shot a whopping 48 times to 24, such was the shortness of the pool.
Bottom Line
Iran is big and strong and will do well in Istanbul while South Africa has a lot of new talent fronting at this level.
Match 2, Group B, PORTUGAL 18 GREAT BRITAIN 10 (5-4, 3-0, 4-5, 6-1)
Portugal opened its campaign with a solid victory over Great Britain. Portugal was in a trading war with Great Britain until 4-4 at 1:16. Rui Martins made it three for him as he took his team into the lead by the first break. He scored two from the penalty line. Pedro Moura, someone who likes to blast from the top like an NBA three-point shooter, decided to lob for his second. Martins fired a missile and Tiago Ferreira completed the second-quarter scoring that involved a no-goal sensations for the Brits.
Moura started the third period and Reuben Powell collected his second goal for Britain and first for 11 minutes. Martins and Moura took it to 11-5 with Lewis Gilmour and Reuben Powell bringing the margin down to 11-7. Portugal went to 12-7 before Great Britain went to a timeout, producing nothing on the return but two goals soon — to Reuben Powell and captain Kameron Powell for 12-9 at the last break. Martins and Moura both had penalty attempts rejected by Thomas Manley but two minutes after he missed, Martins converted another. Moura and Martins (counter) scored again and Salvador Rodrigues closed the scoring with goals either side of Reuben Powell’s last (penalty) goal at 18-10.
Match Heroes
Martins scored seven goals with four coming from the penalty line. He even missed one penalty attempt. Captain Moura shunted in another four. Reuben Powell scored five and captain Kameron Powell two for the Britons. The two goalkeepers combined for 14 saves.
Turning Point
Portugal coming from 4-4 to 9-4 in the middle of the match.
Stats Don’t Lie
Portugal did not fare well on extra with Great Britain shutting it down nine times from 12 attempts while scoring two from six. However, on penalties, Portugal made five from seven and Great Britan three from three. Portugal had the better of the steals at 7-2 and shot a copious 49 times to 27.
Bottom Line
Portugal may prove to be an upset team here if it can keep up that shooting record.
Match 3, Group C, MALTA 21 SINGAPORE 7 (3-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1)
Malta slowly but surely overcame the Singaporean threat, breaking away from 1-1 to 3-1 at the quarter and 9-3 by halftime. With Jayden Cutajar and Nikolei Zammit scoring twice each, Malta was safely through its first match.
Singapore sent in three goals in the third spell with Cayden Loh scoring consecutive penalty goals. Zammit and Cutajar added to their tallies and Steven Camilleri scored twice to give him three penalty goals for the match. He added a fourth in the final quarter, this time from the field. Loh brought up his triple in the fourth but Malta drew away, slotting the last three goals.
Match Heroes
Camilleri topped the scoring with four while Cutajar and Zammit took three each for Malta. All 12 field players had a hand in the scoring. Goalkeeper Jake Tanti pulled in nine saves. Loh was the best for Singapore with three goals.
Turning Point
The 7-1 start for Malta and then a five-goal spurt over the final break.
Stats Don’t Lie
Malta’s 40 shots to 25 was telling, as was the penalty scoring at five from six for Malta. Singapore scored both chances. Malta stole the ball 14 times to 12 and scored one from two on extra while defending all three Singaporean chances.
Bottom Line
Malta is a water polo nation with a proud record and it will want to prove that in Istanbul. Singapore would have enjoyed playing at this level.
Match 4, Group D, NETHERLANDS 21 SLOVAKIA 13 (6-6, 6-2, 5-2, 4-3)
Netherlands came good against Slovakia with some snappy goals and the excellent and sometimes deceptive, shooting of Lars Ten Broek. The experienced international was in top form as his team duelled in the first quarter, neither side gaining the ascendancy. Ten Broek had two of the first three Dutch goals and then nabbed his third to start the second quarter, drilling the ball from point on extra. Slovak Lukas Durik, who dragged in a high ball in the first quarter, then scored a magnificent goal with four defenders on him. He flipped the ball up with his left arm and seemingly pushed the ball into goal for 7-7. The verve and punch in the Slovakian died there despite his heroics as the Dutch rattled in five goals to finish the half at 12-8 ahead.
Durik began the second half with a reflex centre-forward backhand off a rebound only for another five goals to be peeled off by the Dutch. It was 17-9 and Tomas Bielik came to the fore on extra from deep left to make it 17-10, 11 seconds before the buzzer. Samuel Balaz and two Durik goals gave some hope to Slovakia but Ten Broek and two Benjamin Hessels goals were part of the last four Dutch goals for the 21-13 victory.
Match Heroes
Ten Broek finished with five goals and Mart van der Weijden with four. Goalkeeper Miki Buitenhuis grabbed 10 saves for the Dutch. Durik scored five and Adam Furman and Balaz three each for Slovakia.
Turning Point
Netherlands coming from 6-5 down to lead 12-8 at halftime and 17-10 at the final break.
Stats Don’t Lie
In a staggering 24 extra-man plays, Netherlands converted 11 from 14 and Slovakia six from 11. Both teams scored a penalty goal and the Dutch stole the ball nine times to one. On shooting, the Dutch pipped Slovakia 38-37.
Bottom Line
The extra time in the quarters on attack leads to many extra-man chances, which teams have to exploit. The Dutch showed how good they are on this. Slovakia started strongly but could not stay with the powerful Dutch.
Match 5, Group A, IRAN 16 UKRAINE 14 (4-6, 4-4, 4-2, 4-2)
Iran struggled against Ukraine, shaking off some of the lactose from the morning encounter with South Africa. Ukraine was having its first match and turned the 2-1 deficit to 3-2 in its favour with Oktavian Veklyuk firing one in from a six-metre foul. A VAR review was needed to check if Mehdi Yazdankhah’s tap-in of a rebound was good, which it was, making it 3-3. Veklyuk scored twice more for 6-3 and Omid Aghai converted a penalty foul for 6-4 at the first interval. A score on counter and one from the top brought Iran level, then Velyuk dominated proceedings, scoring two penalty goals, missing the third and scrambling in the rebound for 9-6. Goals were traded and Alireza Mehrikohneshahri, a first-quarter scorer, was the second consecutive scorer for Iran to trail 10-8 at halftime.
Goals were swapped at the top of the third period and Mehrikohneshahri lowered the margin to one from top left. Ukraine had two penalty attempts rejected either side of a Aghai goal for 11-11. Oleksandr Diadiura, who had just missed the second attempt, retook the lead for Ukraine. Iran had two penalty attempts rejected with the second coming after a VAR review showing the goalkeeper had denied a rebound score by Iran. The second shot was also sent back by Ukraine’s Kostiantyn Nikolskyi, but Farbod Behzadsabouri regained the ball and scored for 12-12 — the last-break score. Iran scored three straight and even had another penalty denied for 15-12. Veklyuk scored on extra and from the very deep right for 15-14 at 0:20. At the other end, Iran gained an extra play and Seyedefan Sadrnia converted from the deep right at seven seconds left, giving Iran the match at 16-14.
Match Heroes
Mehrikohneshahri with four goals and Aghai with three. Goalkeeper Hamed Karimi made eight saves in the Irani goal. Veklyuk was the star for Ukraine with eight goals from 13 attempts.
Turning Point
Ukraine shooting out to 6-3 and 10-6 before Iran drew level late in the third and again by the final break. Iran then scored three at the start of the fourth to construct the victory.
Stats Don’t Lie
Iran buried seven from nine on extra and defended three from four. Both teams had a horror day with penalty attempts — thanks to great goalkeeping — with Iran missing three of its four chances and Ukraine three from six. Iran stole the ball six times to three and twice two less than Ukraine at 30-32.
Bottom Line
Iran was tired after the first match and Ukraine fresh. However, Ukraine had the players to earn the win. Ukraine needs more matches and more players to step up.
Match 6, Group B, GREAT BRITAIN 10 CHINA 19 (3-6, 3-5, 2-4, 2-4)
This was Great Britain’s second match of the day and China’s first. China went 3-1 up and held the quarter-time advantage at 6-3. It could have been higher but for two missed penalty chances. The score shot to 8-3 at the start of the second quarter and 10-4 interrupted by a British goal via Louie McKie on counter. The ninth and 10th goals came from Xie Zekai from the right side of the pool. Reuben Powell grabbed his second for Britain on penalty; Xie shot from the right again; Zhu Biele missed a penalty chance and Ben Alderson went on counter for 11-6 by halftime.
Like Biele’s shot before, Wen Zijun took a penalty shot and found the goalkeeper’s head with no chance of a rebound. Reuben Powell and Alderson scored either side of a Chinese pair, including Zhu’s counter, for 14-8. Chen Zhongxian completed the quarter scoring on extra from the right side for 15-8. Three Chinese goals pushed that margin to 10 goals with Richard Waller from the point position and Reuben Powell from top left covering a Gao Yingyi extra-man goal for 19-10.
Match Heroes
Captain Chen Zhongxian topped the scoring with five goals while Li and Xie netted three each. Reuben Powell grabbed four goals for Great Britain while both goalkeepers pulled in a total of 11 saves.
Turning Point
The 3-1 start by China and a four-goal haul over the final break was where the match was won.
Stats Don’t Lie
Great Britain converted four from six on extra and defended four from seven. It scored its sole penalty chances and defended all four Chinese shots. China, however, hammered in 39 shots to 24 and stole the ball 11 times to two.
Bottom Line
China is the classier team and was playing its first match compared to Great Britain’s second.
Match 8, Group D, SLOVAKIA 19 TURKIYE 17 (5-5, 5-7, 4-3, 5-2)
Turkiye was 12-9 ahead near the end of the second period and still lost the match. Slovakia was coming off a 21-13 loss to Netherlands and took time to regroup. All the numbers were drawn in the first quarter at 5-5 and in the second teams swapped the lead, but it was always by one goal only. Turkiye had the advantage and Slovakia levelled at nine through Adam Furman. Mehmet Yutmaz scored a second extra-man goal and Selcuk Caner scored his fourth on penalty. Nadir Sonmez goaled from deep left and Turkiye had what could have been a match-winning 12-9 score. However, Slovakia gained one before the break and another soon after, the second through Samuel Balaz for his third.
Caner and Balaz traded goals and Maros Tkac grabbed his fourth for 13-13 with a rocket from the top left. Yutmaz wasted time on his penalty attempt but Caner scored on counter. Goals were traded to end the period with Turkiye one up. Balaz and Caner traded; Tkac converted extra and Efe Naipoglu gained his second for the 17-16 lead. Tkac spirited in consecutive goals from the same position as the others and Slovakia was 18-17 up. At 1:21, it had the luxury of a timeout and converted the play for 19-17 through Furman, much to the disquiet of the huge Turkish crowd. Turkey shot wide, saved a counter and went to a timeout. The shot was saved by the goalkeeper and Slovakia played out the last 20 seconds for victory.
Match Heroes
Tkac with seven goals, Balaz with five and Bielik with three led the charge for Slovakia. Goalkeeper Tomas Hoferica dragged down 12 balls in goal. For Turkiye, Caner was the hero with seven goals and the two goalkeepers combined for 11 saves.
Turning Point
The match was level at the first nine numbers; Turkiye stretched it to three late in the second Slovakia had it back level at 13 to 17 and then scored the last two for victory.
Stats Don’t Lie
Slovakia slammed in seven goals from 12 attempts on extra while Turkiye had the better percentage at five from seven. Turkiye made the most of six penalty calls, converting four while Slovakia gained nothing. Slovakia stole six to three and shot 40 times to 38.
Bottom Line
Slovakia is looking good and to be able to come back in its second match to Turkiye’s first was remarkable.
Match 7, Group C, SINGAPORE 3 GERMANY 24 (0-5, 1-6, 1-5, 1-8)
Germany made sure of the day’s biggest margin against Singapore. Starting with a 5-0 quarter, it soon became 11-0 with Singapore registering its first goal on extra, two seconds from the halftime buzzer. Four of Germany’s goals came on counter.
Jayden See was the only successful shooter for Singapore. Niclas Schipper scored three in a row to lift him to five and Germany was 16-2 up at the final break. Schipper scored a couple of early goals as the team went to 19-2 before Wen Zhe Goh landed a third for Singapore. Till Hofmann scored twice to make him four for the match and added the last goal, nine seconds from time for the easiest of victories.
Match Heroes
Schipper ended up with seven goals, Hofmann four and Mark Gansen three for Germany.
Turning Point
Up 11-0 with three seconds remaining in the first half is a tough nut to crack. Germany started well, being an understatement.
Stats Don’t Lie
Germany scored both extra-man attempts and Singapore converted two from three. Germany went four from six at the penalty line and Singapore blew its once chance. Germany made 11 steals to four and shot 34 times to Singapore’s lowly 16.
Bottom Line
Germany was more experienced at this level with a handful of players who have played on the national team for some years.
Progress Points
Group A: Iran, 6 Ukraine 0, South Africa 0
Group B: China 3, Portugal 3, Great Britain 0
Group C: Germany 3, Malta 3, Singapore 0
Group D: Netherlands 3, Slovakia 3, Turkiye 0
Day 2 Schedule
Match 09. 10:00. Group A, Ukraine v South Africa
Match 10. 11:30. Group B, China v Portugal
Match 11. 13:00. Group C, Germany v Malta
Match 12. 14:30. Group D, Turkiye v Netherlands
Classification 9-12 Crossovers
Match 13. 18:00. Group D, 3A v 3B
Match 14. 19:30. Group D, 3C v 3D