Quarterfinals dominated the day’s play with Iran, China, Germany and Netherlands breaking through to the top four. In classification matches, Turkiye took out ninth place with a 14-7 margin over Great Britain and Singapore downed South Africa 13-9 for 11th classification.
Overview
Iran will play Netherlands and China will clash with Germany in the semifinals of the competition. The winners of both matches will qualify for the finals series in April.
In the classification 1-8 quarterfinals, Iran had the better of Portugal 15-11, China usurped Ukraine 17-11, Germany stunned Slovakia 17-11 and Netherlands did away with Malta 18-4 — all definitive results.
In the classification 9-10 encounter, Turkiye bundled out Great Britain 14-7 and in the play-off for 11th and 12th positions, Singapore rumbled South Africa 13-9 — more considerable victories and the women’s competition, no match went to a shootout.
Match Reports
Classification 1-8 Quarterfinals
Match 17, IRAN 15 PORTUGAL 11 (1-1, 4-4, 8-3, 2-3)
Iran came through with a blistering third period to make sure of breaking into the top four and put it in the box seat for a finals campaign. Seven unanswered goals coming off the last goal of the second quarter meant all the difference in the match, as Portugal was a worthy adversary. It was just 1-1 at the first break and Iran slipped into 2-1 with Portugal turning the tables for 4-2 with Rui Martins completing the run on penalty. Alireza Mehrikohneshahri scored from a six-metre free throw on extra and then a shot from wide left, also on extra, for 4-4. Martins also scored a six-metre goal and Farbod Behzadsabouri equalised, 13 seconds from the halftime buzzer.
The magnificent Iranian run demoralised Portugal with Omid Aghai scoring twice and Arman Shams adding to second-quarter goal. At 12-5, Portugal was stunned into action, scoring two penalty goals and one on extra before Iran had the last say for 13-87 by the last break. Joao Barros from deep left and Martins on counter brought the match closer at 13-10. However, Behzadsabouri landed a penalty goal and one on extra for 15-10 at 4:08. Martins was the only scorer in the last four, tipping in a long ball off the right-post position on action.
Match Heroes
Mehrikohneshahri and Behzadsabouri with three apiece for Iran while Martins was best for Portugal with four goals.
Turning Point
Portugal taking a 4-2 advantage and Iran turning that into a 12-5 lead inside the final three minutes of the third quarter. Portugal struggled from there.
Stats Don’t Lie
Iran converted four from seven on extra and defended three from four. On penalties, both teams were perfect with Iran slotting three and Portugal four. Portugal had the edge on steals at 10-9 and Iran shot 29 to 28.
Bottom Line
Iran has looked one of the top two teams here and should go through to the finals. Portugal made waves and perhaps this will lift it in the European standings with more matches.
Match 18, CHINA 17 UKRAINE 11 (5-4, 4-2, 6-1, 2-4)
Ukraine was no pushover, although red cards proved its undoing at a crucial moment of the match and China cruised into the semifinals. China went to 3-1 thanks to two Chen Yimin action goals and Ukraine equalised through three different players. Goals were traded through to 5-5 at the start of the second quarter with Denys Gusakov scoring twice on extra. Chu Chenghao scored the two go-ahead goals that set China on the right path, slipping out to 8-5 and 9-6 with Chen Yimin grabbing a third on counter and Chen Zhongxian driving down the left to take in a cross pass and score. At 9-6 and 41 seconds remaining, Kostiantyn Alieksieiev was red-carded for a violent action.
China opened the second half through Wen Zijun on the deep left and then Danylo Sokolov allegedly grabbed the face and was red carded. He became the third Ukrainian to be fouled out of the match. China eased to 15-6, having a penalty attempt saved and Oleksandr Diadiura backhanded a centre-forward shot for 15-7 at the final break. Gusakov and Oktavian Veklyuk gained their third goals with Chen Zhongxian making it 16-11. Veklyuk scored his 14th goal, Denys Rakitin nailed a missile from the point position for 16-11 and Huang Xingyong closed all scoring on counter for the 17-11 victory.
Match Heroes
Chen Zhongxian and Chen Yimin both netted four goals. Veklyuk did the same for Ukraine and Gusakov made three.
Turning Point
The Chinese start for 3-1 was nullified at four and five before it became 8-5 and then 15-6, a gap too far for Ukraine to bridge.
Stats Don’t Lie
Both teams had to work for the extra-man goals with China getting three from nine and Ukraine two from four. On penalties, China converted three from four and Ukraine two from two. Both teams stole five balls and China had more shots at 39-29.
Bottom Line
China is warming up nicely for the semifinals and looks a contender for the finals. Ukraine has produced some wonderful water polo, especially with Veklyuk on fire with his 14 goals.
Match 19, GERMANY 17 SLOVAKIA 11 (4-3, 4-1, 3-3, 6-4)
Germany shuffled off the Slovakian shackles in the first quarter and by halftime was well placed to surf into the semifinals. Germany was 1-0 and 3-1 up with Slovakia equalising both times. It was left to Zoran Bozic to score off the top-left position with a buzzer beater to give Germany the quarter-time advantage at 4-3. Adam Furman equalised for his second at the top of the second quarter and three Till Hofmann goals helped get Germany to halftime at 8-4 in front.
A three-goal spurt, with Hofmann leading the charge, punched Germany out to 11-5. Slovakia’s Patrick Tisaj scored his first goal of the tournament from deep right and captain Samuel Balaz converted extra from deep right on extra to close the period at 11-7. Lukas Durik scored his second to begin the fourth period. A pair of Germany goals rattled the cage and Tisaj scored his second on extra from the wide, top left to start a trade war that became 16-11. At 1:59, Luka Kueppers put away his second from the point position for 17-11 at 1:05, the final score.
Match Heroes
Hoffman with four and three each to Denis Strelezkij and Fynn Schuetze for Germany. Felix Benke made a match-winning 13 saves in goal. Durik topped the Slovakian scoring with three and goalkeeper Tomas Hoferica pulled in nine shots.
Turning Point
Germany’s 3-1 advantage was equalised before heading out to 8-4 at halftime and 11-5, which was enough to keep Slovakia at bay.
Stats Don’t Lie
Germany landed six from 10 on extra and Slovakia five from eight. Neither team gained a penalty foul and Germany made just the steal in the match. Germany shot 34 to 35.
Bottom Line
Germany has the one loss to China but has recovered from that to be a contender. Slovakia should be happy with parts of the match.
Match 20, NETHERLANDS 18 MALTA 14 (7-4, 2-3, 7-3, 2-4)
Malta worked hard until the last and turned a six-goal deficit at the final break into only a two-goal defeat. Netherlands had control and was never equalled or headed in a sublime display. The use of Lars Ten Broek at the top with his rocket arm, was part of the reason the Dutch came through. Mart van der Weijden was another reason Netherlands was so potent. He scored two of the first four goals as the Dutch shot out to 7-3. That goal came from penalty through the normally high-scoring Kas Te Riele. Malta challenged a decision and was caned for the wrong challenge request, which meant a penalty foul. This is the first such call in world water polo since the new rules came into effect the previous weekend. Some little bit of history! The Dutch had the quarter by the scruff at 7-4. Goals were traded in the second quarter for 9-7 at halftime.
Liam Galea scored his third to start the second half for Malta, scoring from the left-post position on extra. Three Dutch goals, including the last two by van der Weijden, made it 12-8. Malta responded and three more Dutch goals had the match comfortably wrapped up at 15-9, it seemed. Steven Camilleri converted a penalty and van der Weijden drilled from the point position to close the period at 16-10. Camilleri opened the fourth and Darren Zammit fired in a hat-trick as Ten Broek responded with a pair for 18-14 and entry to the semifinals.
Match Heroes
Van der Weijden was best in pool with five goals and Ten Broek followed up with four. Miki Buitenhuis made eight saves in goal for the Dutch. Galea, Camilleri and Zammit scored three each for Malta.
Turning Point
Netherlands advance to 7-3 and Malta’s comeback to 9-7 behind by the final break. A 6-1 Dutch burst had the match in hand at 15-9.
Stats Don’t Lie
Netherlands converted five from seven on extra and defended six from 11. On penalty goals, Netherlands claimed one and Malta two. The Dutch stole the ball eight times to one and took more shots at 37-34.
Bottom Line
Netherlands is here with one thought — to make the finals and probably win this tournament. It was scared by Turkiye in the final group match, but otherwise on target for the big prize. Malta improves with every international outing.
Classification Matches
Classification 9-10
Match 16, GREAT BRITAIN 7 TURKIYE 14 (1-4, 1-1, 2-3, 3-6)
Turkiye came good for ninth place, as expected, in a match where VAR seemed to overtake the action and two red cards were issued. Other possible violent actions were interrogated. Turkiye, with former Greek Olympic captain and four-time Olympian Kostas Loudis coaching, was the superior team throughout and could have made the top eight. It took out the first period 4-1 and had a 5-2 advantage at halftime, such was the British defence. Lewis Gilmour was the red-carded Briton in the second quarter with an apparent elbow to the head of his opponent. Selcuk Caner, who had three goals in the bag, had his penalty attempt bounce off the left upright just before halftime.
Turkiye went to 7-2 and 8-3, through a Caner score from deep left. British skipper Kameron Powell was not to be denied a brilliant goal near the right post, when underwater and smothered by two defenders, he popped the ball up with one hand and scored with the other, much to the delight of head coach Nick Hume, the much-travelled former international. On a coach’s challenge, Kameron Powell squared away a penalty foul to open the final quarter at 8-5 behind. Turkiye went to 9-5 and Alexander Sharp was caught out by VAR and given a red card. VAR came in handy several minutes later as Reuben Powell had three consecutive and unsuccessful shots at goal. VAR was used to deem that one of his first two attempts actually did cross the line at 10-6. Three consecutive Turkish goals with two from Atakan Destici pushed the margin to seven with Kameron Powell and Destici trading goals in the last 71 seconds for the final score of 14-7.
Match Heroes
Destici and Caner grabbed four each and Huseyin Kil made eight saves in goals for Turkiye. For Caner it was 25 goals from the four matches. Captain Kameron Powell blasted in four goals for South Africa.
Turning Point
The Turkish 3-0 start and a three-goal haul in the final quarter was where the match was won.
Stats Don’t Lie
Turkiye made five from 10 on extra and Great Britain four from eight. Turkiye converted two from three on penalty and Britain one from one. Turkiye made 10 steals to four and shot 36 times to 28.
Bottom Line
Turkiye should have been in the top eight and Britain did well to stick with this talented line-up.
Classification 11-12
Match 15, SOUTH AFRICA 9 SINGAPORE 13 (1-4, 1-2, 5-4, 2-3)
Singapore finally struck a victory at this level for the first time, downing South Africa in an engrossing match at the other end of the scale. Singapore went 3-0 up and closed the period at 4-1. The South African goal was scored by Kelly Geldenhuys who found a rebound land in his lap for his first goal in Istanbul. A pair of extra-man goals gave Singapore a 6-1 advantage with Wen Zhe Goh and Yee Heng Tang collecting their second goals. Gregory Pryce pulled one back for 6-2 at the halftime.
South Africa scored twice; Singapore scored twice and goals were traded until the final break with Singapore 10-7 in front. Ryan Sneddon scored both his goals from the left side — outside and deep — while Wai Chun Fong nabbed his second on counter to close the period. Ryan Sneddon brought up his third on extra and goals were traded before Cayden Loh rubber-stamped the victory with a pair of penalty goals and 13-9.
Match Heroes
Singapore had six of its seven scorers on two goals while Ryan Sneddon hit three for South Africa.
Turning Point
The 6-1 Singapore lead almost three minutes into the second quarter. South Africa went 8-5 from there only for Singapore to score the last two goals.
Stats Don’t Lie
Singapore nudged in four from seven on extra and South Africa three from five. Singapore scored two from three in the only penalty shots and stole eight to four balls. Singapore also shot more at 27-20.
Bottom Line
It could have gone either way, but kudos to both teams with players all new to this level of competition.
Day 4 Schedule
Classification 5-8 Semifinals
Match 21. 09:00.Portugal v Malta
Match 22. 10:30. Ukraine v Slovakia
Classification 1-4 Semifinals
Match 23. 12:00. Iran v Netherlands
Match 24. 13:30. China v Germany
Classification 7-8
Match 25. 16:00. L21 v L22
Classification 5-6
Match 26. 17:30. W21 v W22
Classification 3-4
Match 27. 19:00. L23 v L24
Classification 1-2
Match 28. 20:30. W23 v W24