Olympic champion Spain was toppled by Hungary 10-8 in the second semifinal and must play Netherlands for bronze on Sunday. Greece put paid to the Dutch charge 15-13 in the first medal semifinal. This means Greece has a chance for a first World Cup medal and Hungary a shot at a second crown since 2002. In the 5-8 semifinals, Italy pushed aside Japan 26-17 and Australia came from behind to defeat China 16-14.
Hungarian Twist
The Chinese bought the complete plan of the Budapest Duna Arena complex and constructed it in Chengdu. The Hungarian team practised in the Arena in Budapest (not on the Margaret Island) and felt at home here, for sure, relates Gergely Csurka, of the Hungarian federation.
Classification 1-4 Semifinals
Match 7, NETHERLANDS 13 GREECE 15 (5-3, 4-3, 2-5, 2-4)
Olympic bronze medallist Netherlands, also the world champion of 2023, fell at the penultimate hurdle as Greece won the second half 9-4 to overcome the 9-6 deficit at halftime. It was a thrilling encounter with Greece coming from 11-7 midway through the third period to win by two goals.
The Dutch sprinted to 3-0 before Greek head coach Haris Pavlidis called a timeout for Greece and blasted his team for allowing the score to progress so high in a little more than three minutes. It worked as Vasiliki Plevritou scored twice and Foteini Tricha converted a penalty foul for 4-3. Vivian Sevenich snapped on to a rebounded ball at two metres and backhanded for 5-3 ahead of the first break.
Greece continued its ploy to work the centre forward, but with too many balls stolen. However, Tricha scored from the top for 5-4 and Kitty Lynn Joustra on extra from the left-post position and Marit van der Weijden with a lob, took the Dutch out to 7-4. Eleni Xenaki from the right top and Athina Giannopoulou from deep right on the second rebound (third shot), narrowed the margin to one. Lieke Rogge from the right and Nina ten Broek with her second tipping the ball in on extra from the right post, gave Netherlands a 9-6 advantage by halftime.
The third period was virtually all Greece, winning 5-2 to level the match at 11 on the third-quarter buzzer. It was exciting and Greece showed its resilience and bounce-back ability. Eirini Ninou opened for Greece and two Dutch goals were followed by a lost challenge by Greece on Joustra’s second goal. Maria Myriokefalitaki backhanded from two metres and Stefania Santa scored while falling backwards from the top position. Captain Eleftheria Plevritou was ejected on three majors because of a mix-up. The Dutch called a timeout, but the next goal came from Myriokefalitaki on counter. Xenaki snapped in a centre-forward shot on the buzzer and the match was tied at 11-11.
Joustra gained her third from centre forward to gain the 12-11 advantage at the top of the fourth period. Greece went to a timeout and Tricha made the extra-player goal while Myriokefalitaki scored on extra off the left-post position for 13-12. Sevenich backhanded from the right-post mark at 2:25. Myriokefalitaki backhanded the ball to her right for Tricha to score at 2:10 and Santa scored on counter after gaining the extra for 15-13 at 1:43. Greece called a timeout at 0:44 and sent in seven field players. The first pass led to a snap shot over the top. Greece scrambled, made a turnover foul and the Dutch had the shot tipped away. Greece controlled until the end for the semifinal victory.
Match Heroes
Tricha topped the scoring with four goals for Greece with Myriokefalitaki netting three and Santa, Xenaki and Vasiliki Plevritou two each. Alexia Tzourka made eight saves for Greece. Joustra made three for the Dutch with pairs from van der Weijden, Simone van de Kraats, Sevenich and ten Broek. Britt van den Dobbelsteen dragged in nine saves form goal.
Turning Point
Netherlands’ mastery was usurped at 11-7 when Greece turned the tide and set sail to victory.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece converted four from seven on extra and defended seven from 13. Greece missed the only penalty shot and made eight steals to six. Greece shot 36 to 31.
Bottom Line
Greece has a point to prove after missing a medal in Paris last year. This will go some way to redemption and sets it up for Singapore 2025.
Match 8, SPAIN 8 HUNGARY 10 (1-3, 5-3, 2-2, 0-2)
Hungary, beaten by Spain for the bronze medal in Los Angeles two years ago, turned the tables tonight with a fascinating 10-8 victory over the Olympic champion. Not only was Hungary never headed, it was a close, low-scoring match in comparison to the other encounters in Chengdu.
When 17-year-old Panna Tiba went on counter and accepted a cross pass to score, it set the scene for what was to come. Kamilla Farago scored from the top and the Olympic champion Spanish were on the ropes. However, at 3:15, Paula Crespi scored from point blank off a cross pass for 2-1. Farago unleashed a missile from well outside for 3-1 and no more goals came in the final two and a half minutes, although the chances were there, for both teams. Even a counter by Hungary’s Vanda Valyi was stopped by goalkeeper Martina Terre.
It was catch-up water polo for Spain in the second quarter, gaining the first two goals for 3-3 and then levelling at four, five and six by halftime. Crespi scored a second, captain Bea Ortiz scored a penalty goal and shot from wide left; and Elena Ruiz nailed two penalty goals. On the other side of the ledger, Farago was creating waves with a penalty goal and a shot from the top and Dora Leimeter converted extra with her left arm.
In the third period, Nora Sumegi with a lob from the deep right and Farago from the top gave Hungary a two-goal advantage by 1:40. Then came Paula Camus into the match with a pair of wonderful Spanish goals from centre forward. The first was with a stiff arm and then with a scooping shot from the left-post position, a minute apart and the 8-8 equaliser at 0:11.
While the third period is normally the “money period”, Hungary decided to leave that until the final period when it would collect. This it did with Valyi countering three minutes in and Leimeter gaining her second from the deep left for the two-goal separation just inside the three-minute mark. Spain was perplexed and with a minute remaining went to a timeout to mastermind the Houdin escape. The first shot was blocked and later, with 20 seconds remaining, when hopes of equalising were dying, the last shot was saved and Hungary controlled until the closing buzzer, for the victory and a shot at the gold medal and World Cup crown. Spain, not only lost, but could not score in the final quarter, meaning it sent in two goals in 16 minutes of play.
Match Heroes
Farago was the toast of Hungary with five goals and Leimeter netted twice. Ortiz, Crespi, Ruiz and Camus were double scorers for Spain. Both goalkeepers had a lot to do in the match with Spain’s Terre making 11 and Hungary’s Boglarka Neszmely taking in seven while her defensive team-mates made many blocks.
Turning Point
Hungary scoring the first two goals and never relinquishing the advantage, even though it was squared by Spain on five occasions.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary managed only four from 11 on extra but, more importantly, it denied Spain all six attempts, something Spain is not used to in recent years. Spain loved the penalty shots, converting all three to Hungary’s one chance. Hungary made six steals to three while the shooting statistic was relatively even at 30-31.
Bottom Line
Hungary wanted to prove it could win without some of its superstars of previous years and show that cohesion and patience can earn important wins. Let’s see what it can do on Sunday against Greece. Either way, there will be a new World Cup champion as United States of America is not here to defend its crown.
Classification 5-8 Semifinals
Match 5, JAPAN 17 ITALY 26 (4-5, 3-8, 3-4, 7-9)
You could saw Italy swam away with the victory, however, Japan was always on its tail, as the final quarter shows. Italy used the counter on Japan to excellent results with an abundance of goals and the lob became the fashionable shot to get over the outstretched arms of Japan’s two goalkeepers. There were plenty of fouls and a mind-numbing 43 goals.
Japan started with two extra-player goals only for Italy to respond in spades with four consecutive goals — a pair to Sofia Giustini from each of the deep wings and one on extra to Dafne Bettini and another to Chiara Ranalli on counter. Goals were traded with Lucrezia Cergol lobbing at 11 seconds and then Eruna Ura replying from the top on the buzzer for 5-4, favouring Italy.
Italy poured on the pressure in the second quarter and lifted the halftime score to 13-7 thanks to its counter-attacking ability. Japanese captain Yumi Arima gained her second goal, from the penalty line, to start the quarter with Giustini pushing Italy ahead and Fuka Nishiyama levelling at 6-6 on penalty. Italy, with Ranalli scoring twice, shunted the score to 10-6. Nishiyama responded and Morena Leone netted twice, one on counter and the second with a lob on a short drive. Paola di Maria scored her second on counter to close the half at 13-7.
She started the third period on extra off the right-post position. Goals were traded with Giustini nailing her fourth in an incredible display by her. Di Maria brought up the 17-8 score from centre forward and then two Japanese goals made double figures for 17-10 at the final break. All hell broke loose in the final quarter as goals were thundered in from all parts, but mainly on counter and close in to the goal. Bettini opened and three Japanese goals brought the margin to five. Goals were traded to 20-15 and Giustini led a three-goal spurt for 23-25. Shoka Fukuda scored either side of Giustini’s seventh goal by 1:27 with Italy scoring the last two and the 26-17 score to Giustini for her eighth strike.
Match Heroes
Giustini with eight goals, although goalkeeper Giuseppina Condorelli was magnificent with 12 saves. Di Maria and Ranalli netted four each and Bettini finished with three goals. For Japan, Arima slotted four with triples to Kako Kawaguchi, Nishiyama and Fukuda.
Turning Point
The second quarter was where Italy put space between it and Japan.
Stats Don’t Lie
Italy gave Japan plenty of chances on extra, Japan converting 10 of 22 while converting four from nine. Japan scored both penalty chances and Italy one. Italy stole the ball 11 times to four and shot 41 to 35.
Bottom Line
Italy played with cohesion while Japan had a multitude of chances blocked, saved or missed. The huge foul count against Italy will need sorting before Sunday’s fifth-place play-off.
Match 6, CHINA 14 AUSTRALIA 16 (3-5, 6-3, 3-7, 2-1)
Australia survived a Chinese onslaught to make it through to the fifth-place play-off on Sunday, mainly thanks to a 7-3 third period which turned the tables on China who led by two goals three times in the second quarter.
The Aussie Stingers had the better of the first quarter, starting with the first two goals and then, with trades, was 5-3 up at the first break. Danijela Jackovich and Sienna Hearn scored twice each for Australia with three of those goals coming from the two-metre line. Alice Williams, MVP at last year’s Paris Olympics and today’s rotating captain, had her penalty goal attempt rejected. China scored one goal on extra and Nong Sanfeng fired in from the top.
The second quarter switched in favour of China with four unanswered goals — Nong and newcomer Zhang Qishuo gaining their seconds. Williams pulled one back from the top after a timeout but goals were swapped with Nong on a hat-trick and Jackovich lifting her tally to four, the last off an Abby Andrews rebound on the buzzer. The Stingers persisted with passes into the centre, which were stolen by China with regularity.
It was a different story in the third period as the Stingers lifted a notch, winning the period 6-3 with Jackovich opening on a short drive for her fifth goal and burying her sixth later in the period. Abby Andrews was a huge influence on the match with a hat-trick in the last 70 seconds, including a buzzer-beater that had the Stingers three goals ahead. Alexie Lambert scored the 11-11 equaliser for her debut goal at this level and later learnt what it is like to gain three major fouls on the international stage.
In the fourth period, Pippa Pedley, a newcomer to the team this year, bounced in from the top to start the fourth period and it was left to China to narrow the gap, Nong scoring twice for her fourth and fifth but well apart. She had an excellent lob chance at 1:50, but it was the final chance as Australia played out the final minute after surviving a seven-field-player charge by China, that lasted until the final whistle. Only one shot was taken against the fielding goalkeeper, hitting the upright. It was noted that both teams called upon their second goalkeepers in the third period with the topliners returning for the fourth.
Match Heroes
Jackovich was the undoubted star, bringing the Stingers back from the brink with her six goals. Abby Andrews made sure of the victory with her triple in the third period for four goals. For China Nong was persistent with five goals and Yan chimed in with three.
Turning Point
Firstly, Australia’s two-goal lead; then China’s reversal for 8-6, then Australia’s four-out-of-five goals late in the third quarter.
Stats Don’t Lie
Both teams had a hard time on extra with China converting six from 13 and Australia only one from five. China missed the only penalty attempt. China won the steals four-two and Australia pipped China on shots at 32-31.
Bottom Line
Australia is the Paris Olympics silver medallist despite the vast changes to the team. China was well drilled on extra and took excellent chances while Australia was denied much access to the centres. However, Australia per severed at the ploy and came through the winner.
Day 3 Schedule
Classification 7-8
Match 09. 10:00, Japan v China
Classification 5-6
Match 10. 11:45, Italy v Australia
Classification 3-4
Match 11. 14:30, Netherlands v Spain
Classification 1-2
Match 12. 16:15, Greece v Hungary