Hungary and Spain won their leading groups unbeaten and progress to the quarterfinals alongside the runners-up in Groups A and B — Hungary and Serbia. In final group matches today, Hungary downed Croatia 15-11 and United States of America blasted Montenegro 16-10 in Group A while in Group B, Spain fended off Greece 18-17 for top spot and Serbia accounted for Italy 14-12 in a match where 10 players were ejected. In the lower groupings, Australia and China won Groups E and F respectively while Germany and Iran topped Groups D & E and are still in the medal hunt.
Overview
The competition has reached the critical stage where the wheat is being sorted from the chaff. The leading Groups A and B have been ranked and the top two teams earn direct access to the quarterfinals. The lower two teams in each group — Italy, USA, Montenegro and Greece, await the winners of the Crossovers 1 groups — Iran and Germany and Australia and China, who play on Tuesday. The winners of Wednesday’s matches go to the quarterfinals. Groups G and H enter round-robin series, eventually to decide rankings 13-20.
Match Reports
Match 17, Group E, COLOMBIA 5 ARGENTINA 13 (1-2, 1-6, 1-2, 2-3)
Argentina outplayed Colombia and channelled shots to the goalkeeper, who had a fantastic day. The slow start gave way to an excellent second quarter and the match then cruised to its finalisation. Argentina opened and closed the opening quarter and denied Colombia a penalty success. Alejo Teijeiro, who scored six goals against Australia on day two, blasted in a seven-metre shot for 2-1 inside the last minute. He was in the mix of five different players who progressed the score to 7-1 in the first five minutes of the second quarter with the last three all coming on counter. Juan Castillo broke the near 10-minute famine and Santiago Rivera scored his second on counter as Argentina turned at 8-2.
Felipe Merino opened for Colombia in the third period and Juan Zuluaga, a five-goal hero on day one, hit the crossbar on penalty. Argentina sent in two more to go the final quarter 10-3 ahead. Rivera cross-caged his third goal from the right and Thomas Arias converted a Colombian penalty attempt for 11-4. Enrique Olano made it 11-5 with his six-metre-foul shot, leaving Argentina to close out the match with the final two goals, the last to Teijeiro from five metres for 13-5.
Match Heroes
Teijeiro and Rivera made three each, but the real hero was goalkeeper Martin Del Rosso with a spectacular 17 saves.
Turning Point
Argentina shaking off the 1-1 shackles to race to 7-1 and 8-2 by halftime.
Stats Don’t Lie
Argentina made just three from seven on extra but stopped 11 of 13 Colombian attempts. Argentina made its one penalty shot and Colombia missed two of three. Argentina had the better of steals at 10-8 and was more parsimonious on shooting at 25 to 39.
Bottom Line
Argentina gained its first victory for second in the group behind Australia and Colombia is winless.
Match 18, Group F, CANADA 12 CHINA 13 (1-3, 4-5, 5-2, 2-3)
China gained its second win to win the group and set it up for the harder matches to come. The win took its toll as China had to work hard to maintain the lead after a wonderful start and then a damaging third period where Canada forced its way into the reckoning, levelling by the final break. Canada started the scoring with China landing the next four goals with Yang Yiheng netting a pair either side of the first break. Giancarlo Marquez scored off the left-post position on action for 4-2 while Liu Jinyi went on counter for 5-2. Nicholas Furneaux and Marquez scored their second goals for 5-4. However, Yang and captain Cai Yuhao lengthened China’s margin to three. Marquez hammered in his third and Deng Zirui scored on extra from the right-post position for 8-5 by halftime.
Canada allowed Yang to make it 9-5 and then scored the next three goals. Li Diheng stopped the rot on counter and Leo Hachem and Ion Diacenco scored their second goals for 10-10 before the final break. Canada was back in the match. Li Chang countered for the first goal of the fourth and Kyson Becker was naughty enough to gain a red card with substitution. Yang scored his fifth on the subsequent extra-man play for 12-10. Marquez was equal to the task with two smashing goals from two metres for 12-12 at 2:39. scored from the post at 1:35 and despite both teams having a timeout, no further goals came. Canada had the last two shots with one forcing a corner. Both were stopped by the goalkeeper and China had survived the resurgent Canadian tactics.
Match Heroes
Yang top-scored with five goals for China and captain Cai landed two. For Canada, Marquez also scored five and goalkeeper Harrison Labrosse made 10 saves.
Turning Point
China led 4-1 and then 9-5. Canada swung the pendulum in the third for 10-10, but could not cross the line in the final quarter.
Stats Don’t Lie
China went four from six on extra to Canada’s one from one. On penalties, China converted two and Canada one. China stole the ball 11 times to nine and outshot Canada 37-3.
Bottom Line
China wins the group and Canada has to settle for second, ahead of Singapore.
Match 19, Group C, BRAZIL 9 GERMANY 18 (2-5, 2-3, 2-4, 3-6)
Germany cruised into the next stage with two victories with four positive quarters at the expense of Brazil. Germany had bigger men lurking and some swift shooters as the score kept amassing. Artur Diaz started the scoring for Brazil. Germany slotted the next three and then the last two after another Brazilian strike. Senior international Till Hofmann scored on extra and then hit the bar on penalty. First-day hero Lucas Wulfhorst began the second period on extra for Brazil as goals were traded to 7-4. Finn Taubert nabbed his second on a cross pass to the left post to bring up the 8-4 halftime scoreline in favour of Germany.
Luk Jaschke and Taubert made it 10-4 early in the third period before trading continued until Tobias Scherrieble blasted from the top for 12-6 by the buzzer. Come the final quarter, the goals kept flowing with Elias Metten and Wulfhorst trading; Vukasin Simic and Taubert lifting Germany to 15-7 and Diaz having his penalty attempt stopped. He made up for it with a score on extra at the left-post position. Then Scherrieble scored identical shots with Andre Freitas firing from the top for Brazil and Fynn Janke slotting his second on a cross pass to centre forward.
Match Heroes
Taubert scored four and Scherrieble three while goalkeeper Max Spittank took in eight saves. For Brazil, Wulfhorst nailed three and Diaz two. Lucas Gomes made nine saves in three quarters in goal for Brazil.
Turning Point
From 3-1 to 5-2, setting the tone of the match early on.
Stats Don’t Lie
Germany converted five from eight on extra and Brazil five from nine. Germany missed one of three penalty attempts and Brazil one from two. Germany made 20 steals to 12 and shot 39 times to 23.
Bottom Line
Germany easily won the group with two wins, setting it up for the crossovers. Brazil finished second ahead of South Africa.
Match 20, Group D, KAZAKHSTAN 9 IRAN 16 (1-1, 2-7, 3-4, 3-4)
Iran made it two from two thanks to an abundance of goals in the second quarter that spearheaded the victory. Iran had a 15-13 win over New Zealand already in the bag and wanted more glory, achieving that with some precision shooting and excellent extra-man statistics. The first quarter was tight as the score attests and the first few minutes of the second quarter were also close. The breakthrough came after the 2-2 scoreline when Iran rattled in a pair with Aldiyar Akimbay — a four-goal scorer in the first match — slotting a penalty goal for 4-3 down. Then Soheil Pargari scored his second and third goals in a four-goal spurt that had Iran at 8-3 by halftime.
Mehrab Golestanirad opened the second half from two metres for his second strike with second-day hero Arman Shams, who scored eight goals against New Zealand, putting away a penalty. The next Iran penalty attempt was stopped and Kazakhstan seized the opportunity to score twice with the first the best goal of the match when Al-Farabi Kubaidolla steered in a high pass at centre forward. Almat Madimar converted a penalty for his second and the margin was trimmed to five. Goals were traded until the buzzer with Iran holding a commanding 12-6 lead going into the final period. Madimar converted two extra-man situations at the top of the fourth period with Farbod Borghei replying from the top after a timeout. Madimar brought up his fifth goal of the match and eighth of the tournament from the deep left for 13-9, but Iran fired in the last three with Golestanirad claiming his fourth at 14-9 off the right-post position on extra.
Match Heroes
Golestanirad racked up four goals with Ali Abolghasemi and Pargari netting three apiece for Iran. Amirhossein Amirian was once again on form, pulling in 11 saves for Iran. Kazakhstan’s best scorer was Madimar with five to go with the three from the first match. Akzhan Aday made 10 saves in goal.
Turning Point
Iran going from 2-2 early in the second quarter to 8-3 by halftime.
Stats Don’t Lie
Iran plundered seven from 12 on extra and Kazakhstan only two from four. On penalties, Kazakhstan sent in both chances and Iran missed one of its two. Both teams were in stealing mood with Iran edging Kazakhstan 16-15. Kazakhstan shot 35-34.
Bottom Line
Iran has been impressive with big players and big shooters and this shone through today with the group victory. Kazakhstan did well to target Shams and restrict him to one goal.
Match 21, Group B, SERBIA 14 ITALY 12 (4-5, 4-3, 5-2, 1-2)
Serbia emerged the victor in a spiteful match in which 10 players failed to make it to the final whistle. It all started in the second quarter when Rodoljub Gajic gained his third major foul. Filippo Gandolfo did the same a minute into the third period. Then senior international Luka Gladovic allegedly mouthed off once too often and was sent for the match at 6:11. Enrico Tringali Capuano gained a red card, followed soon after by Serbia’s Kosta Bodiroga even though he had only two majors against his name.
The fourth period was where it all happened as the volcano started to erupt. Emanuele Marini joined the burgeoning list of departees, alongside Filip Novakovic in a double exclusion. With the match 13-11 to Serbia, Augusto Massa collected a third foul, as did Mattia di Corato. Tommaso Cora, Italy’s top scorer with four goals, went at 1:40 on three fouls. Serbia was 14-12 up at this stage. Come the final minute and Italian goalkeeper Jacopo Rubini left the pool in pain and slammed his fist on the referees’ rostrum, earning a red card. This meant, substitute goalkeeper Federico Castrucci had to go on attack, as Rubini had, and he played out the last 30 seconds at centre forward. The referees were taking no nonsense as the substitute benches were swiftly depleted.
The score was level at two, three and four in the first quarter and all the numbers from five to eight in the second quarter where Alessandro Gullotta grabbed a pair of goals for Italy and Gladovic collected his third.
The third period was tied at nine and 10. Then Miljan Dokanovic scored twice either side of a timeout and Strahinja Krstic scored his second with a brilliant catch and turn at centre forward for 13-10, 15 seconds from the break. Italy pulled two back with Cora taking his fourth at 2:49. Vuk Andelic responded on extra at 1:38 and Italy, despite taking a timeout, could not narrow the gap, even with Rubini up on attack.
Match Heroes
Gladovic topped the Serbian roster with three goals with four others hitting two. Goalkeeper Mihailo Gosic made 12 saves. For Italy, Cora topped with four goals with three others on two.
Turning Point
The three-goal difference at the end of the third period.
Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia was strong on extra with 10 from 16 to Italy’s six from 13. On penalties, Italy scored the only two. Italy stole the ball eight times to five and shot 43 to 34.
Bottom Line
Serbia had less players ejected — four to six — and managed to win without Gladovic in the second half. It was the battle for second in the group and for kudos for later rounds.
Match 22, Group A, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16 MONTENEGRO 10 (5-5, 4-1, 3-3, 4-1)
USA broke through for its first win in Zagreb, recovering from two goals down to win the rest of the match 16-8. USA’s progression is going in the right direction with the tougher matches yet to come. After Montenegro went two up, USA captain Ryder Dodd, an Olympian, scored from the penalty line and then from low inside on the left after two snap passes. Montenegro regained the lead and USA snatched it back with consecutive goals for 4-3. Montenegro regrouped and Ivan Markovic and Tim Perov made it 5-4. William Schneider scored off the left-post position on extra for 5-5 soon before the break. Dodd had his penalty stopped at 4:59 in the second quarter as goals were hard to come by. On the next attack, Drasko Samardzic scored the first goal for four minutes to put Montenegro in front, for what was the last time. A USA juggernaut was unleashed with four goals — two from Max Zelikov — closing the half with USA in front 9-6.
Perov and Markovic both scored on extra to start the third period. USA went to a timeout with no effect but soon after Schneider buried twice on extra and senior international Ben Liechty added another for 12-8. Danilo Dragovic blasted from the top before the buzzer. USA’s Bode Brinkema converted three penalty fouls in the final quarter and team-mates missed two more as did one Montenegrin attempt. The goalkeepers were on fire. Srdan Janovic’s stop by Charlie Mills rebounded to halfway.
Match Heroes
USA’s Schneider with his four-goal haul, followed by Dodd and Brinkema with three each. Mills made 11 saves in goal. Perov and Markovic were double scorers for Montenegro.
Turning Point
USA busting free in the second quarter and maintaining that three-goal difference through the third quarter.
Stats Don’t Lie
USA managed four from seven on extra to Montenegro’s slightly better four from six. USA put away an incredible six penalty goals while missing three. Montenegro gained one from two. On steals, Montenegro was sneakier with 10-6 and it also shot more at 35-30.
Match 23, Group A, HUNGARY 15 CROATIA 11 (4-1, 3-2, 3-5, 5-3)
Hungary kept its title hopes alive with group victory and a third straight win in Zagreb. It was a match packed with 35 major fouls with Hungary giving up the most. Hungary was in control from the start at 4-1 at the quarter and then 7-3 by halftime. Hungary used six different scorers and another missed a penalty attempt. It was Zsombor Porge who closed the first-half’s scoring for his second goal. On the other side of the ledger, the tournament’s most prolific shooter, Vlaho Pavlic, had three goals and a missed penalty attempt.
Croatia came back strongly in the third period, scoring the first two goals before Mor Benedek, son of the late legendary triple Olympic champion Tibor Benedek, converted a penalty for Hungary. Maro Susic squeezed in a pair for Croatia on extra and the margin was one. Hungary called a timeout to no avail and Ante Jerkovic slotted his second goal for the 8-8 score. Botond Balogh and Andras Toth scored their second goals to give Hungary the ascendancy at the final break. Luka Penava traded goals with Benedek and Balogh for 12-10 and Pavlic nailed his fourth at 2:39 to trail Hungary by one. Balogh, captain Oliver Leinweber and Porge laid in goals on three consecutive attacks while keeping the door shut at the other end for the victory.
Match Heroes
Hungary’s Balogh lifted his tournament tally to nine with four goals and Porge netted three to double his score. Pavlic (CRO) is the tournament’s best with four goals pushing him out to 16. Both goalkeepers snared 13 saves — Hungary’s David Szitas and Croatia’s captain Mauro Cubranic.
Turning Point
Hungary’s 6-1 two minutes into the second quarter and then Croatia’s resilience to level at eight and then 12-11 inside the final three minutes. Hungary’s final triple sealed the deal.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary converted six from nine on extra and denied Croatia a humbling 14 from 20. Bothe teams missed one of their three chances on penalty; Hungary led the steals 6-5 and both shot 37 times.
Bottom Line
Hungary is the reigning champion and made sure with that late burst. Croatia has more work to do.
Match 24, Group B, GREECE 17 SPAIN 18 (3-5, 5-5, 4-2, 5-6)
The real action in this match was saved for the final quarter, or so it seemed. Spain was chasing group supremacy and Greece was hoping for a second win. It came down a five-minute period in the final quarter. Spain started with the first two goals and maintained that differential until quarter time for 5-3. Greece levelled midway through the second quarter for six, but Spain kept sneaking out to two goals, making Greece play catch-up. Oier Aguirre became the second highest scorer in Zagreb, scoring twice in the first quarter and three more in the second while big man Semir Spachits was making waves with a hat-trick for Greece.
It was Spachits who drew Greece level at 2:58 in the third period screaming one in from the four-metre line. Apostolos Georgaras levelled at 12 to close the third period after Biel Gomila had taken Spain ahead at 12-11. Spain led the way in the fourth with Greece catching up twice for 14-14. The rhythm was lost as Greece did the unthinkable and Nikolaos Giannatos took Greece into uncharted territory and one goal ahead. It was short-lived as Greece pounded in the next four goals with Albert Sabadell scoring twice, Aguirre with his seventh and Eudald Flaque with his third. In two minutes, Spain changed the face of the match and had a three-goal advantage with 1:05 on the clock. Spachits scored at 0:48 and Spyridon Lykoudis, who had an excellent match, converted a penalty at 0:09 — too late to force a shootout.
Match Heroes
Aguirre with a fantastic seven goals to lift him to 13 from three matches. Flaque and Perrone scored three each. For Spain. Spachits notched five, Lykoudis and Georgaras three each for Greece.
Turning Point
There were six levelled scores — six, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. Spain scored four straight to come from one down to three ahead in just on two minutes that saw it clear by three a minute from time.
Stats Don’t Lie
Spain went four from eight on extra and denied Greece a huge nine from 15. Spain missed its one penalty chance while Greece scored three from four. Spain won the steals 7-5 and Greece the overall shots 41-38.
Bottom Line
Spain is unbeaten and Greece was looking for way out of the bottom two. Still, there is plenty of time to redress this situation.
Final Points
Group A: Hungary 9, Croatia 6, United States of America 3, Montenegro 0
Group B: Spain 9, Serbia 5, Greece 4, Italy 0
Group C: Germany 6, Brazil 3, South Africa 0
Group D: Iran 6, Kazakhstan 3, New Zealand 0
Group E: Australia 6, Argentina 3, Colombia 0
Group F: China 3, Canada 3, Singapore 0
Day 4 Schedule
Group G
Match 25. 09:00. 2C Brazil v 3D New Zealand
Match 26. 10:30. 2E Argentina v 3F Singapore
Group H
Match 27. 16:00. Group H, 3C South Africa v 2D Kazakhstan
Match 28. 17:30. Group H, 3E Colombia v 2F Canada
Crossovers 1
Match 29. 19:00. 1D Iran v 1C Germany
Match 30. 20:30. 1E Australia v 1F China