Overview

Japan and Croatia join the top four from Bucharest — Hungary, Greece, Montenegro and Spain — plus the two Division Two qualifiers — Netherlands and Germany — for the eight-nation tournament.

While all the focus was on who would qualify in the earlier matches, the evening clashes provided plenty of punch, especially for the victors who made sure they were going to be in the final. Hungary trampled Greece 20-10 and Spain pummelled Montenegro 15-8. Winning here is not the most important thing, but gaining a better ranking will help when the teams line up in Kotor.

In the battle of the classification 9-11 series, triple Olympic champion Serbia claimed ninth place with an 18-12 finish over France. It also beat Romania and now bows out and won’t be seen on the world scene until July in Singapore. Romania and France will play for 10th position on Sunday afternoon.

Match Reports

Classification 5-8 Semifinals

Match 25, GEORGIA 18 JAPAN 19 (1-3, 7-5, 4-6, 6-5)

Image Source: Vlad-Luca Georgescu (GEO)/olteanu.valentin/World Aquatics

Frustrations overflowed in the final stages of this clash, which proved to be a nailbiter, Japan just gaining the nod to go to the finals series. Japan deserved to win as Georgia gained two red cards in the final 90 seconds with one for throwing the ball out of the pool as Japan was given a decision three seconds from time. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water! It was an exciting match with Georgia managing to annex the lead twice for short periods while Japan generally had the upper hand. Japan raced to a 3-0 advantage and had a penalty attempt saved. It was 3-1 at quarter time and by 6:31 in the second quarter, Georgia was even.

Captain Yusuke Inaba and Mitsuru Takata made it eight different shooters and Japan ahead 5-3. Valiko Dadvani and Dusan Vasic levelled before Seiya Adachi became the 11th new scorer on extra from top left. Daichi Ogihara became the first double scorer on counter, catching a pass off a short drive into centre. There were still three minutes left in the period and Georgia scored twice with Stefan Pjesivac turning at centre for 7-7. Giorgi Magrakvelidze rammed one in from the top and Georgia had the lead for the first time. Kenta Araki scored off the left-post position on extra for 8-8, 28 seconds later and five seconds from halftime.

It took until 4:54 in the third period for Georgia to break through again, this time to Vasic on extra from the top. Adachi scored twice and goals were traded to 11-11 before Adachi tipped in a centre-forward goal at four metres as the goalkeeper advanced. The shot was sublime, stretching toward the ball and seemingly deflecting it into goal at a right angle for 12-11. Toi Suzuki made it two ahead from the right side of the pool and traded goals took Japan ahead by two, just two seconds from the buzzer.

The final quarter was set up to be a thriller and it did not disappoint. Araki scored at two metres but the three-goal advantage was wiped out as Georgia scored three goals in 8- seconds with Vasic netting his third from the penalty line. With the score at 15-15, Japan stepped up and scored four straight with Inaba firing in an 11-metre shot when he had no-one to pass to at 2:54. Nika Shushiashvili from the deep right and Sandro Adeishvili with a stunning centre forward turn with the goalkeeper in his face brought it to 9-17. Japan challenged and gained a violent play that sent Vasic from the match. Georgia was overheating but took a timeout and Luka Chikovani scored his first goal of the tournament with a six-metre, free-throw goal for 19-18 at 1:00. Japan took a timeout and lost the ball. Play turned over in favour of Japan and Akhvlediani threw the ball over the back line, earning a red card and gifting Japan three seconds to waste the ball and gain the finals berth. It was a nasty end to what was a very exciting encounter.

Image Source: Yusuke Inaba (JPN)/olteanu.valentin/World Aquatics

Match Heroes
Adachi
with five goals, Inaba with four and Araki with three. Both goalkeepers contributed to 12 saves for Japan. Akhvlediani and Pjesivac scored four each and Vasic three. Probably the best Georgian player was Irakli Razmadze with 12 saves in goal.

Turning Point
There were eight levelled scores and Georgia even had the lead twice — for 28 and 19 seconds either side of the half. However, Japan held sway for most of the match and the real difference was progressing from 15-15 to 19-15 with less than three minutes remaining.

Stats Don’t Lie
Japan rattled in seven from 11 on extra and Georgia five from nine. Japan missed one of its four penalty chances and Georgia nailed both. Georgia stole the ball seven times to four and Japan went 39-37 on overall shots.

Bottom Line
Japan has been on the edge of the big time for some years. Qualifying for Kotor cements that hard work.

What They Said

Yoshinori Shiota (JPN) — Head Coach
On the match:
“Another very well fought match by my team. We did a great job playing our style of water polo and controlling how the match was played. However, I am disappointed about the end of the match and the unsportsmanlike actions shown. Georgia gave us a great game and it did not need to end like that.”

Seiya Adachi (JPN) — Player of the Match
On the physical nature of the match:
“That was a very difficult and physical match. I am very tired, but happy and proud for my team-mates that we were able to win and advance to play for fifth.”

Match 26, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 6 CROATIA 15 (3-7, 0-3, 1-2, 2-3)

Image Source: Marko Zuvela (CRO) looks to pass with Dom Brown (USA) defending/Aniko Kovacs/World Aquatics

Croatia was all over USA, scoring the first two and running out to 5-1 and finishing a very busy first quarter at 7-3 ahead. Marko Zuvela, Konstantin Kharkov and Jerko Marinic Kragic had two each. Kharkov opened the second quarter on counter, Marinic Kragic scored a penalty and USA hit the crossbar with its five-metre attempt. Vlaho Pavlic scored from deep left for 10-3 in a much quieter second quarter.

Chase Dodd countered for the first goal of the second half with Marinic Kragic and Pavlic both scoring from the deep left for 12-4 heading into the final quarter. Alexander Oprea gave USA hope two minutes into the fourth until Croatia fired in a hat-trick by 0:28. Corbin Stanley scored his first goal of the week with four seconds left with an excellent, well-covered drive in from the bottom left.

Match Heroes
Toni Popadic
with his 12 saves in goal while Marinic Kragic scored four goals and Zuvela, Kharkov and Pavlic adding three each for Croatia. USA goalkeeper Bernardo Herzer was best in goal with 13 saves while No 1 goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg watched from the team bench.

Turning Point
As early as 5-1 in the first quarter.

Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia scored two from four on extra and USA only one from six. Croatia netted its one penalty attempt and USA missed its sole chance. Croatia stole the ball eight to seven and shot 36 to 31.

Bottom Line
Croatia was not there to make up numbers but fervently wanted to maintain its world-champion status and attend the finals series.

Image Source: Dylan Woodhead (USA)/Aniko Kovacs/World Aquatics

What They Said

Toni Popadic (CRO) — Player of the Match, 12 Saves in Goal
On his performance:
“It was a very easy match for me to play well in because my team played such good defence in front of me. We will continue to be successful as a team if our defence plays like this.”

Max Irving (USA) — Captain
On the experience:
“We have a young group at this tournament and it’s our first time playing together. I think there was a lot of good experience for our younger players, and we have a lot of time between now and world championships this summer. We’re definitely getting adjusted to the new rules. There will be some things that we can do defensively moving forward, that should be able to help us. We're definitely learning from other teams as I'm sure teams are learning from us. You know this is everyone's first tournament with these new rules and we’re just trying to adapt as much as possible so we can add some things into our arsenal.”

Classification 1-4  Semifinals

Match 27, HUNGARY 20 GREECE 10 (5-3, 5-3, 4-2, 6-2)

Image Source: David Tatrai (HUN) and defender Aristeidis Chalyvopouls (GRE)/Aniko Kovacs/World Aquatics

Hungary’s youngsters had the better of the Greek veterans in all facets of play. It was a wonderful showing by the Magyars while Greece will put this one down to experience and tiredness. Greece went 2-1 ahead, levelled at three and trailed at 5-3 by the first-quarter break. Greece kept close at 7-5  and tried to hang on at 9-6 before Hungary closed the half at 10-6 when Zsombor Ekler claimed his third goal from the top right, utilising his left arm to excellent effect.

Hungarian skipper Krisztian Manhercz scored his second to start the third period and Gergely Burian made sure of a penalty shot for 12-6. Konstantinos Kakaris was gifted a ball above his head, which he swatted in from centre forward. The shot had come from the top and the defender took off the pace, leaving Kakaris to do the rest with aplomb. Goals were traded and Burian closed the quarter on extra from deep right for 14-8. Vendel Vigvari started the fourth on extra — the first of six straight goals for Hungary — taking the score to 20-8. Greece finished with two consolation penalty goals in the last 90 seconds.

Match Heroes
Manhercz
, David Tatrai, Ekler and Vigvari scored three each as nine players scored for Hungary. Viktor Gyapjas dragged in a magnificent 13 saves, well earning player-of-the-match status. Dimitrios Dimou scored twice for Greece.

Turning Point
It came in increments for Hungary — overturning the 2-1 deficit; going 6-3 ahead and 10-6 by halftime. The 4-2 third period assured Hungary of success.

Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary produced a tournament-best nine from 10 on extra-man attack and stopped a tournament-best nine from 14 — the match in a capsule. Both teams scored their two penalty shots; Greece made seven steals to three and Greece shot a huge 46 times to a more economical 35 by Hungary.

Bottom Line
Hungary’s defence was huge and its penetration on extra was enormous. Hungary wants to go all the way with its new-look team.

What They Said

Zsolt Varga (HUN) — Head Coach
On the match and advancing to the finals:
“First of all, I must say congratulations to my team because today, they almost played a perfect match. On the other side, I think Greece, who is one of the best teams in the world, were having an off day. This is normally a match that would be much closer, but today we played much better than Greece was able to, so it was a 10-goal difference.
“However, we must stay humble, keep both feet on the ground, and continue to move forward as a team. We must be realistic that this was the difference between a good and bad day and focus on our match tomorrow against Spain (or Montenegro). There is always a different opponent, so we must prepare ourselves to play against a different style of water polo and adjust to our opponent’s tactics.”

Viktor Gyapjas (HUN) — Goalkeeper and 13 Saves
On the match:
“We are very excited about our performance in today’s match because Greece is a very strong team and we played so well. Our defence was very good with so many field blocks so they made my life much easier in the goal. I am excited to see if we can play the same way tomorrow.”

Image Source: Greek head coach Theodoros Vlachos/Aniko Kovacs/World Aquatics

Theodoros Vlachos (GRE) — Head Coach
On the match:
“Today, Hungary had much better rhythm than us and in every attack, they had great opportunities to shoot and score. We did not have any balance in our defence or make any field blocks, while Hungary made so many blocks to stop our attacks. They played incredibly today and deserved the win. For Greece, this will be a great lesson for the rest of the tournament and the rest of our lives.”

Match 28, MONTENEGRO 8 SPAIN 15 (2-4, 0-2, 1-5, 5-4)

Image Source: Montenegro v Spain/Aniko Kovacs/World Aquatics

Spain ruined Montenegro’s recent run to get through to the final against Hungary. Montenegro was not playing as well as in previous matches, but still is in the process of rebuilding under a new coach. Spain went 2-0 ahead, 3-1 and then 4-2 by the first break with six different scorers. Vasilije Radovic was copped for a wayward elbow and deemed bad enough for a violence foul and out for the match. Alvaro Granados missed the penalty shot  and Pol Daura scored off the left-post position on extra for 5-2 — the only goal of the four-minute exclusion time. Spain did not take advantage of the extra man. Bernat Sanahuja finished with a nine-metre shot for 6-2 at the long break.

Spain scored the next five goals before Miroslav Perkovic unleashed a monster centre-forward goal for 11-3, a minute from the final break. Daura scored three more goals in the final quarter while Perkovic scored a beautiful controlled goal centimetres from the right post and Savo Cetkovic, who opened the quarter on extra, scored the 15-7 goal from the same position. Balsa Kuckovic made it two in a row for Montenegro on extra, 14 seconds from full time.

Match Heroes
Daura
blasted home five goals and goalkeeper Unai Aguirre was again in fine form with a huge 15 saves. For Montenegro, Cetkovic and Perkovic scored a pair each and captain and goalkeeper Petar Tesanovic claimed an admirable 14 saves.

Turning Point
Radovic’s
red card did not make a huge difference within the four-minute suspension period, but it did spur Spain to a seven-goal avalanche — 11-2. That and the extra-man count.

Stats Don’t Lie
Spain converted a superb eight from 11 on extra-man attack and defended eight from 12. Spain struggled on penalty, missing two of three chances while Montenegro scored one. Montenegro stole the ball six to three and shot 37 to 36. 

Bottom Line
Spain is the more secure and experienced team and Montenegro’s three-win run was stopped. Montenegro will be better for the match.

Image Source: Unai Aguirre (ESP)/Aniko Kovacs/World Aquatics

What They Said

David Martin (ESP) — Head Coach
On Spain’s defence:
“Today, we were very good on defence between our field blocking and Unai’s (Aguirre) performance in the goal. It’s very difficult to give up three goals in three quarters and I’m so very happy with our team’s attitude on defence. We are a very good team when our defence plays at this level. However, tomorrow will become very difficult for us because Hungary is a very talented team on offence, so we will have to wait and see until the game happens.”

Unai Aguirre (ESP) — Player of the Match
On his team’s defence:
“I think our defence today was amazing. Yesterday, it was nothing like today, but honestly, we played really good defence that was focused for the whole match. I think that Montenegro is a really good team and even better than us, but today we showed that we can play water polo with anyone at a very high level. The pressure means a lot in this sport and we are playing our best in this tournament because of that.
“With all of our new players that are here for the first time, they are doing a phenomenal job because there is no pressure on them. Our team has succeeded the most when there was no pressure on them to do well like World Cup ‘23 and European Championships ‘24. If we continue to keep the pressure ourselves and just play our water polo, we will be successful tomorrow.”

Dejan Savic (MNE) — Head Coach
On what went wrong:
“We had an absolute disaster in our attack and did not have a solution or a realisation of the right scoring opportunities. As well, we allowed 15 goals. It was a very similar game to what we saw in Hungary and Greece because the defence of Spain was incredible and Unai had a great game. Tomorrow, against Greece, I expect a much different game from when we played them on the first day. I wanted to play against Hungary because in that way, we would have played all of the teams needed to see where we currently are as a team and prepare for the next tournament.”

Classification 9-11 Series

Match 24, SERBIA 18 FRANCE 12 (6-3, 5-4, 3-4, 4-1)

Image Source: Luka Gladovic (SRB)/olteanu.valentin/World Aquatics

Serbia had the better of France from the outset and when Thomas Vernoux was red-carded for a violence foul midway through the second quarter, Serbia quietly made use of the situation to head on to victory and take ninth place in the competition. Shades of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA when Yugoslavia finished eighth and the team travelled home only to be mostly axed. Let’s hope that won’t happen to this team. Serbia went 1-0, 3-1 and 6-2 with Romain Marion Vernoux pulling one back for France before quarter time. Goals were traded at the top of the second quarter and Vernoux allegedly committed his indiscretion. The penalty was slotted and Serbia scored three more in the four-minute suspension period. This was mitigated by Alexandre Bouet with a pair of goals, meaning the damage was only two in real terms. Bouet snared a third to keep France within reach at 11-7 by halftime.

Serbia started the seconds half with the first two strikes and France nabbed four unanswered goals, Marion Vernoux and skipper Ugo Crousillat adding to their tallies. Nikola Lukic made it 14-11, 10 seconds from the third-quarter buzzer. Four different Serbians scored in the fourth period for 18-11 with Denis Do Carmo grabbing his second two minutes from time, which proved to be the final goal.

Match Heroes
Milan Glusac
made 11 saves in goal for Serbia while Vasilije Martinovic and Marko Radulovic scored three goals each as nine players made the sheet. Bouet was best scorer with four and Marion Vernoux notched three for France as Arshak Hovhannisyan claimed a brilliant 14 saves in goal.

Turning Point
Serbia building a 6-2 advantage and then watching as Vernoux was red-carded progressed the score from 7-4 to 11-6 in the four-minute exclusion period. It sent Serbia to the victory.

Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia had to work hard on extra for seven goals from 16 attempts and France made four from 11. Serbia converted all four penalty chances and France one. Both teams made three steals and Serbia shot 43 to 34.

Bottom Line
Serbia had a point to prove on the way out the door.

Image Source: Serbia v France/olteanu.valentin/World Aquatics

What They Said

Uros Stefanovic (SRB) — Head Coach
On the tournament:
“First of all, I would like to thank Otopeni for hosting in this incredible facility. This was not a very good performance for Serbia as we lost the first three matches and did not perform to our standards. This was our first time playing with the new rules and it took us too many matches to adjust. As well, we used this tournament to prepare some younger players and learn how to adjust our play with the new rules. By the last two matches of the tournament, we did a much better job of that and I am proud that we could end with two victories. Now, we must focus our preparation on the final eight of the World Cup in Kotor, so we can put forth a better result than we did here.”

Marko Radulovic (SRB) — Player of the Match
On the team’s progression in Bucharest:
“Today was another good match for our team as we have started to play much more together, and I am proud we could end the tournament with a victory. This was a very difficult tournament because we started with two very hard matches in the group phase — against Greece and Montenegro — with the new team that we brought here. I think that we ended with a good result after these last two wins, but I hope we can do much better in the future with this team.”

Day 6 Schedule

Classification 9-10
Match 29. 13:00. Romania v France
Classification 7-8
Match 31. 14:30. Georgia v United States of America
Classification 5-6
Match 32. 16:00. Japan v Croatia
Classification 3-4
Match 33. 17:30. Greece v Montenegro
Classification 1-2
Match 34. 19:00. Hungary v Spain