Serbia and Greece battled out the first penalty shootout of the tournament after being locked at 13-13. It took sudden death to decide the winner with Serbia surviving 21-20 in the Group B encounter. Spain beat Italy 16-13 in the other match. In Group A, Hungary snatched victory in the last second over United States of America 13-12 and Croatia did the same to Montenegro 15-14. Lower group winners included Iran, Australia, China and Germany.
Match Reports
Match 9, Group D, IRAN 15 NEW ZEALAND 13 (6-3, 3-4, 2-3, 4-3)
Iran opened its campaign with victory and for New Zealand it was a damning second close loss, diminishing its chances of a high finish in Zagreb. Iran was shepherded to victory through skipper Arman Shams with an incredible eight goals. Iran began the way it wished to carry on in its opening match in Zagreb by going 6-3 ahead at the first break. Iran went 3-0 up with Shams countering for the third goal. New Zealand replied with a pair; Shams scored on extra off the right-post position; Ali Abolghasemi netted his second, on counter and Iran was happily placed at 5-2 ahead. Liam Dodunski converted extra and Kiwi goalkeeper Zach Martin stopped an Iranian penalty attempt, but Shams claimed his third on extra, five seconds from the buzzer. Shams opened the second period with a short drive to the right post, accepting a cross pass, with Michael Rodgers replying from the top for 7-4. A Kiwi timeout worked with Rodgers finishing from the top for 7-5. Goals were traded with Shams (drive) and Rodgers (penalty) in the mix, until 9-7 by halftime.
The third period was most interesting with Kiwi skipper Cole Phillips converting a penalty and then VAR deciding a penalty should have been awarded earlier after Shams had swum away for a counter-attack goal. The goal was scrubbed and Gene Baggott equalised at nine from the penalty line. Shams had his revenge from two metres soon after for his sixth goal and the 10-9 advantage. Isaac Schuler levelled at 10 when he was unguarded at three metres. An Iranian timeout yielded nothing but two minutes later, Shams nailed his seventh on a counter after an ejection foul for 11-10 at 0:19.
In the final quarter, Soheil Pargari buried one from the bottom right with Phillips and Dan Ibbotson bringing the match back even. Farbod Borghei easily replied with Jacob Clements aggressive with a six-metre shot for 13-13. New Zealand lost a drive opportunity and then gave up a penalty foul with Abolghasemi converting for 14-13 at 1:06. A Kiwi goal was disallowed and then Iran earned another penalty foul with Shams slotting his eighth goal for 15-13 at 0:39. A Kiwi timeout led to a wayward shot. Iran missed its attempt, but the match was already won.
Match Heroes
Shams scoring eight goals for Iran and goalkeeper Amirhossein Amirian with 13 saves, made them the team’s heroes. Rodgers grabbed three goals for the Kiwis with four others scoring twice and goalie Martin stopping 10 shots.
Turning Point
The 3-0 start and the four-goal advantage early in the second quarter set Iran on the right track. New Zealand levelled four times, but could not deliver the fatal blow.
Stats Don’t Lie
Iran converted four from eight on extra and denied the Kiwis four from six. Iran missed one of three penalty attempts with New Zealand straight with three. New Zealand made seven steals to three and shot 39 to 34.
Bottom Line
Iran was brilliant on defence and shut down many Kiwi attacks thanks to the blocking and goalkeeping. The ability to deny the opponent a go-ahead goal was most admirable.
Match 10, Group E, ARGENTINA 11 AUSTRALIA 19 (1-2, 4-5, 4-6, 2-6)
Australia collected its second victory over a South American opponent and with it the group victory following a first-day 16-11 victory over Colombia.
Australia went 2-0 ahead and it could have been 3-0 if second goal-scorer Daniel Magasanik did not hit the left post on penalty. Alejo Teijeiro put Argentina on the card from the penalty line for 2-1 down at quarter time. Australia went 4-1 ahead before Teijeiro scored another penalty goal and Adriano Mazzoni drove in on a six-metre -foul play to narrow the score to 4-3 behind. Goals were traded twice and soon after captain Harper Stewart became the first double scorer for the Aussies, from the penalty line for 7-4. The shot of the match came from Teijeiro on extra with a tenth of a second remaining after cleaning up a poor pass and screaming the ball in low from well outside for 7-5 at halftime.
Australia had its best quarter at 6-4 in a period full of trades. Magasanik started the trading with the eighth goal, chimed in with the 10th and sent in his fourth goal at 12. Argentina kept responding to Australia’s go-ahead goals but the Aussies nailed the last two to go into the final quarter four up. Argentina had four different scorers with Teijeiro gaining his fourth at 9-7. Zachary Izzard opened the fourth quarter on counter, nearly two minutes in for a five-goal margin. The pendulum swung firmly in Australia’s favour in the final quarter with Stewart gaining two more and three other scorers compared to Argentina’s pair to Teijeiro. Australia took a timeout on extra at 0:49 and Cory Webber snared his second of the quarter for 19-11.
Match Heroes
Stewart and Magasanik scored four each for Australia with Izzard contributing three while Argentina relied heavily on Teijeiro with his six goals. Oliver Purcell grabbed 10 saves for Australia and Argentina’s Martin Del Rosso pulled in nine.
Turning Point
The final quarter, which Australia won 6-2 after three close quarters.
Stats Don’t Lie
Australia converted nine from 15 on extra and stopped seven from 10 Argentinian attempts. On penalties, Argentina sent in four while the Aussies missed one from three. Both teams made nine steals and Australia shot 36 to 35.
Bottom Line
Australia made sure of group supremacy and now takes a day off before tackling the harder matches to come. Argentina will play Colombia for second spot.
Match 11, Group F, CHINA 13 SINGAPORE 8 (3-2, 7-1, 3-3, 0-2)
China opened its campaign successfully with a five-goal victory over Asian neighbour Singapore. After a tight first quarter, the second period showed just what China is capable of and as it is its first match at these championships, more can be expected. However, Singapore had the better of the second half. First-quarter goals were traded with China on the front foot and captain Cai Yuhao gaining his second for the one-goal advantage before the first break. Four unanswered goals ripped past the Singaporean defence before it took a timeout and scored from the penalty line by Matthias Goh for 7-3. Three more goals were whipped in by China before halftime with Li Diheng gaining his second, this time on counter.
Singapore bounced back in the third period going 3-3 and scoring consecutive goals by 11-5. Joshua Ong speared in a six-metre-foul shot and then for 12-6, Samuel Neo muscled in a goal from two metres. Cai picked up a third to start the quarter and Ouyang Haiyuan scored on the buzzer off a cross pass on counter for 13-6. The final period was tighter with Goh scoring for Singapore from the top on extra at 7:16 and the next goal not coming until 0:52 and that was also to Singapore, through captain Cayden Loh on counter. China was kept to 5-3 behind in the second half.
Match Heroes
Li Wanxiang, Ouyang and Cai topped the Chinese scoring with three each. Goh was Singapore’s best with three and Hong Wong dropped in a pair.
Turning Point
The second quarter that had China in control at 7-1 and seven clear by halftime. Singapore turned the tables in the second half, but that second quarter was the stumbling block.
Stats Don’t Lie
Both teams went two from four on extra. China converted all four penalty shots and Singapore one. China stole 13-12 and overall shooting was 26-25.
Bottom Line
China has the runs on the board internationally and has plenty of players to draw upon. Singapore gained more international experience and showed spirit with that second half.
Match 12, Group C, GERMANY 30 SOUTH AFRICA 1 (3-1, 11-0, 5-0, 11-0)
Germany opened with a stunner, allowing all its players to experience the occasion with 11 of its field players scoring goals and only one with a single. South Africa was outclassed in all areas and the two goalkeepers made only three saves each while the German goalkeepers dragged in seven shots on target. The first quarter was a “feeling-out” period and the final goal was at 3:11, two penalty goals coming for Germany. The second quarter was a romp, Germany amassing 11 goals with three on extra and one on penalty for 14-1 at the halftime buzzer. Lennox Metten took a six-metre shot from halfway after stealing the ball to score as the buzzer sounded, just six seconds after Elias Metten scored.
South Africa managed to stem the tide in the third period but could not find a way through. Germany was restricted to five goals — one on penalty, one on counter to senior World Cup international Till Hofmann and an extra-man goal to Andrei Covaci. Lennox Metten repeated his last-gasp effort of the previous quarter when he scored on the buzzer, this time accepting a pass well outside and shooting while on his back. Covaci opened the fourth and Fynn Janke scored consecutive goals to take him to four at the 24-1 mark. Florian Burger scored three in the period and Vukasin Simic brought up his third just inside the final minute for the 30-1 scoreline.
Match Heroes
Janke topped the scoring with four while seven others all slotted three goals for Germany. Mitchel Garreau was the sole scorer for South Africa.
Turning Point
The 2-1 position from which Germany went rampant and denied Germany any access to the goalmouth.
Stats Don’t Lie
Germany cleaned up as expected, converting five from nine on extra and denying South Africa all seven attempts. On penalties, Germany sent in all six. Steals had Germany in front 13-5 and on shots, Germany went 42 to 23.
Bottom Line
Germany was too strong for the African team, containing senior internationals and an all-round ability of players who have competed in tough senior competitions.
Match 13, Group B, GREECE 20 SERBIA 21 in sudden-death penalty shootout. FT: 13-13 (2-5, 6-2, 2-3, 3-3. Pens: 7-8)
This match was levelled seven times with Serbia in control at 6-5 midway through the second quarter but then had to play catch-up on four occasions before taking the lead again late in the fourth, only to see the match go to a penalty shootout. It was a thrilling encounter with both teams shining in the hole and with the big outside shots. In the end senior international Luka Gladovic made the difference with his four goals coming in the second half when most needed.
Greece opened the scoring only for Serbia to race to a 3-1 advantage with a pair of Vuk Conkic goals off the right post on extra. Greece responded and then Strahinja Krstic plundered his second centre-forward goal while Rodoljub Gajic made his mark from the same spot for 5-2 at the quarter break. All five goals came from the two-metre line. Dimitrios Chatzis started the second quarter with his second goal coming on extra after his first-period penalty conversion. Serbia maintained the lead at 6-4 but then Greece struck, sending in four unanswered goals — three on extra with two from Apostolos Georgaras — for 8-6 ahead. Serbia snared one back for 8-7 at halftime.
Semir Spachits scored his second from two metres to start the third period. Then Gladovic made his mark with two goals — one from nine metres and the other from the penalty line for 9-9. Goals were traded with Gladovic making it 10-10 from the top left. Goals were swapped at the top of the fourth period with Spachits taking a pass at centre forward to score his third at 12-11. Vuk Kojic countered to level and Gladovic nailed his fourth, on extra to give Serbia the lead at 2:40. Georgaras converted a penalty at 2:24 for 13-13 and neither team could adjust the score before the final buzzer, sending the match to a shootout.
Serbia started and both teams scored their first two shots and had their third shots saved. The rotation went to 17-17 and we entered sudden death. Serbia slotted four and Konstantinos Belesis had his second penalty shot stopped by David Dimkovic, who did not play the four quarters but made two brilliant stops in the shootout to give Serbia two points for the shootout victory.
Match Heroes
Dimkovic with his penalty saves that sealed the win. Gladovic netted four goals with Conkic and Krstic getting two each. Mihailo Gosic pulled in nine saves from goal. For Greece, Dimitrios Partsoglou was the undoubted star with a magnificent 15 saves in goal. Georgaras and Spachits finished with three goals each.
Turning Point
So many, with Serbia deserving to regain the lead in the final quarter after trailing since the second quarter.
Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia managed just five from 15 on extra while Greece converted four from 11. On penalties, Greece scored twice and Serbia once. On steals, Greece made 11 to five while Serbia out-shot Greece 40-35.
Bottom Line
Serbia used its centre-forward strength and mental capacity to overcome Greece, who will not be out of the reckoning when quarterfinalists are found.
Match 14, Group A, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 12 HUNGARY 13 (3-2, 3-1, 2-6, 4-4)
Hungary had a look of disbelief and relief at the same time on its faces after a last-second goal secured victory over USA. USA led by three at halftime and then 7-6 before having to play catch-up for the last 11 minutes as Hungary gained control. Botond Balogh was the hero, scoring from the top left on extra with just 1.2 seconds left on the clock to give Hungary its second victory.
Hungarian senior international Vince Varga struck first before USA scored a double through Jon Carcarey and Ryan Ohl, who made his senior debut at this year’s World Cup. Ohl’s shot beat the buzzer. Goals were traded, leaving USA 3-2 up at the quarter break. Csongor Lugosi scored from centre forward but captain Ryder Dodd, well embedded in the USA senior team, scored twice with the first on extra and the second a sneaky turning movement deep left. Carcarey followed suit off a cross pass to the left-post position for 6-3 just before halftime.
In the third period, Hungary scored three straight as Ohl had his penalty attempt rejected. William Schneider found himself open at two metres to score the easiest of goals for 7-6 up. Hungary regained the lead at 2:49 through Marton Zeman, with his second, from deep right on extra. Dodd and Lugosi traded goals leaving Hungary 9-8 up at the last break. USA levelled four times for 12-12 by 2:45, including and outside shot from Ben Liechty, who has also made his senior debut. Lugosi gained his third at 11-10. Both teams took a timeout with Hungary’s coming at 0:13. Balogh had the ball in hand on extra when he slotted the goal with nano-seconds left on the clock, winning the match 13-12.
Match Heroes
Lugosi with three while goalkeeper Gergo Szabo made eight saves for Hungary. USA’s Dodd and Carcarey scored three each and goalie Charlie Mills pulled in nine saves.
Turning Points
From 6-3 ahead to 6-6, USA went 7-6 and then had to come back five times only for Hungary to snatch the winner on fulltime.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary scored just three from nine on extra to USA’s six from 12. Hungarian made both penalty attempts and USA’s missed its sole chance. USA edged Hungary on steals 9-8 and shot once more at 31-30.
Bottom Line
Hungary has the history of the big time. USA had three senior internationals who stepped up and more can be expected from this team after a disappointing nine-goal loss to Croatia. Today it was a different team.
Match 15, Group A, CROATIA 15 MONTENEGRO 14 (5-5, 2-2, 5-5, 3-2)
Croatian senior international Vlaho Pavlic showed true class with wicked outside shots that mesmerised the Montenegrin defence. Pavlic finished with and amazing eight goals from 14 attempts with the statistic at 8/11 earlier on. He was the rock on which Croatia based its victory. Nothing Montenegro could do — and it was plenty — would break the deadlock, which had the match tied 12 times. The winner came 27 seconds from time.
It was the big trade-off in the first quarter with Croatia scoring and Montenegro levelling at every number to 5-5. Montenegro grabbed the first two scores of the second quarter — the equal biggest margin of the match as it turned out. Pavlic, who opened for Croatia with the first two goals, scored the last two in the second quarter to level at seven.
Pavlic was unstoppable in the third with Croatia’s first two go-ahead goals. Srdan Janovic scored his second in between and after Pavlic brought up the 9-8 score, Danilo Stupar on extra and Meldin Hadzic, with a centre-forward backhand, took Montenegro into the lead. After a timeout, Ivan Markovic gave Montenegro the second two-goal separation, beating the buzzer on extra for 11-9 and his third strike. Pavlic on extra and Viktor Toncinic, with a backhand from two metres, levelled. Markovic plundered another on extra from the top left, leaving Pavlic to score the equaliser, for his eighth goal, from the top with seven seconds left in the period. Maro Susic gave Croatia the 13-12 lead at the top of the fourth quarter with a deep-left shot on extra. Stupar replied from the other side on extra. Goals were traded by 1:41 for 14-14. Luka Penava drilled his second from the top right at 0:27 for 15-14, a score that couldn’t be changed despite Montenegro taking a timeout at 0:22. Croatia had its second win and Montenegro a second loss.
Match Heroes
Pavlic by far with his incredible eight goals. Panava was next best with two for Croatia. Markovic fired in four with Stupar and Janovic claiming three each for Montenegro.
Turning Points
Montenegro going two up twice and then Croatia winning the last period 3-2.
Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia converted six from 10 on extra to Montenegro’s eight from 12. Croatia missed the only penalty awarded and made 10 steals to seven. Total shots were low at 30-28.
Bottom Line
Croatia started with a victory and Montenegro a loss. Croatia emerged with two wins. The attitude of Croatia to win and come back twice was a considerable achievement. Don’t lose faith in Montenegro’s chances for the quarterfinals, though.
Match 16, Group B, ITALY 13 SPAIN 16 (3-3, 3-3, 4-3, 3-7)
Spain survive a violence foul, having to play four minutes down, and needed a 7-3 final quarter to defeat Italy by three goals. The match was tied 10 times with both teams having the ascendancy. However, the man up for four minutes only assisted in a 2-1 period, not the big advantage it could have been.
Italy opened and Spain took the 2-1 lead thanks to two Oier Aguirre goals on extra. Italy brought the match even by quarter time and went to the lead at 4-3 through Emanuele Marini, for his second. Aquirre levelled; Italy went two up and Spain replied with a penalty before halftime.
Albert Sabadell, a three-goal scorer on day one, converted the first extra-man play of the third quarter before Marini and Alessandro Gullotta (five goals against Greece) regained the lead at 8-7 for Italy. Tomas Perrone responded on counter and then Unai Lema was bundled out of the match for an alleged violence action, giving Italy a super chance to increase the margin after a successful penalty score. Enrico Tringali scored his second and third goals but Sabadell replied for 10-9 at the final break after actually having a man up at one stage and scoring when five on five with a field player acting as temporary goalkeeper.
Sabadell made it three to begin the fourth period after the four-minute exclusion zone had evaporated. Aguirre snatched a penalty goal for 11-10 and another on action for 12-11 as Gullotta and Marini scored equalisers. Spain scored twice more in quick succession forcing Italy to a timeout at 14-12 behind. Nothing came of the break and it was Biel Gomila who scored his second of the period and fourth of the match for 15-12 at 1:40. Gullotta pulled one back on penalty but Perrone closed all scoring for 16-13 with a blast from the top.
Match Heroes
Aguirre — younger brother of Spanish senior goalkeeper Unai Aguirre — was the difference with his five goals from seven attempts, a far cry from his one from six on day one. Gomila scored four and Sabadell three for the Spanish while goalkeeper Aran Pina made a superb 13 saves. For Italy, Marini buried four goals and Tringali and Gullotta three apiece. Jacopo Rubini grabbed nine saves in the last three quarters he played.
Turning Point
The final quarter when Spain threw in seven goals to three when Italy thought it might have had the match in the bag.
Stats Don’t Lie
Spain converted only six from 14 and Italy five from nine on extra. Italy put away five penalty shots and Spain two. Italy won the steals 6-5 and shot 37 to Spain’s 39.
Bottom Line
Spain proved dynamic and having a star shooter perform, helped immensely. Spain has two wins and Italy two losses.
Progress Points
Group A: Croatia 6, Hungary 6, Montenegro 0, United States of America 0
Group B: Spain 6, Greece 4, Serbia 2, Italy 0
Group C: Germany 3, Brazil 3, South Africa 0
Group D: Iran 3, Kazakhstan 3, New Zealand 0
Group E: Australia 6, Colombia 0, Argentina 0
Group F: Canada 3, China 3, Singapore 0
Day 3 Schedule
Match 29. 09:00. Group E, Colombia v Argentina
Match 10. 10:30. Group F, Canada v China
Match 11. 12:00. Group C, Brazil v Germany
Match 12. 13:30. Group D, Kazakhstan v Iran
Match 13. 16:00. Group B, Serbia v Italy
Match 14. 17:30. Group A, United States of America v Montenegro
Match 15. 19:00. Group A, Hungary v Croatia
Match 16. 20:30. Group B, Greece v Spain