It was crossover day today for the teams ranked 9-20. At the sharp end of Group H, with teams earning ranking spots against the nations ranked 5-8, Germany dumped Iran 22-6 and Australia defeated China 19-8. In Group G’s first round, Brazil toppled New Zealand 14-8 and Argentina outlasted Singapore 14-12. In Group H, Kazakhstan held off South Africa 7-6 and Canada downed Colombia 17-11.
Overview
By winning today, Germany gets to play winless Montenegro from Group A and Australia will clash with Italy, winless from Group B. Winners of those matches claim spots in the quarterfinals against the top two teams from Groups A and B. It means that Germany and Australia, who have won three matches each in the lower groups, go into their crossovers with a winning mentality while Italy and Montenegro will smell a first victory is possible. The goal is to be in the top eight in the world and here is the opportunity for all these teams.
Group G and H are contending for classifications 13-20.
Match Reports
Group G
Match 25, BRAZIL 14 NEW ZEALAND 8 (4-2, 5-1, 4-2, 1-3)
Brazil went 2-1 for the tournament and looking for a higher finish, pulling away from New Zealand in the middle of the match where it kept the Kiwis scoreless for more than 11 minutes. Brazil fired home the first three goals before New Zealand could settle. Goals were traded until the first buzzer (4-2) and then 5-3. By then Lucas Wulfhorst had converted two penalty fouls as the only double scorer. Cesar da Silva and Patrick Romanholi, for his second, pushed it to 7-3 before New Zealand took a timeout. The subsequent shot was unsuccessful and Brazil rattled home two more, thanks to Artur Diaz and Wulfhorst, for 9-3 at the turn.
The Brazilian tide continued in the third period, scoring the first four goals with Romanholi and Diaz both scoring from the bottom left. New Zealand replied after a drought of sorts through Harry Lambert in the deep left. New Zealand had a penalty attempt hit the right post and Ollie Schnauer lifted the score to 13-5. In the final quarter, there was some confusion over “who hit whom”. The referee sent Diaz for violence, but on a challenge, it was found that New Zealand’s Jacob Clements was the aggressor and he took over the card. Ashwyn Keshvara (NZL) and Luiz Zerbielli (BRA) traded goals for 14-6 and the last say in the scoring went to New Zealand’s Isaac Schuler from the deep left and then from centre forward.
Match Heroes
Brazil’s Romanholi, Diaz and Wulfhorst all scored three with the latter now on 12 goals in Zagreb. For New Zealand, Keshvara and Schuler scored twice each while goalkeeper Jax Martin made 10 saves.
Turning Point
From 5-3 ahead, Brazil slipped out to 13-3 by midway through the third quarter. This became insurmountable for the Kiwis.
Stats Don’t Lie
Brazil converted six from nine on extra compared to New Zealand two from seven. On penalties, Brazil converted both and New Zealand missed its one chance. Brazil creamed the steals statistic with 20-11 and shot one less time — 32-33.
Bottom Line
Brazil gains a second win while the Kiwis remain winless.
Match 26, ARGENTINA 14 SINGAPORE 12 (6-5, 3-4, 4-0, 1-3)
Argentina nearly let victory slip through its fingers after conquering the third period and then allowing Singapore a sniff of victory. Argentina had the better of the start with the first three goals with Singapore bringing it back to 4- and levelling at four and five before Brazil edged to 6-5 through a second Santiago Rivera goal, 33 seconds from the first break. Jaycus See scored twice for Singapore, once off the right-post position on extra and then from the top, also on extra. Joshua Ong scored the fifth goal and began the second quarter from the deep left, followed by Rhys Vaswani on extra to give Singapore the lead for the first time at 7-6. Argentina regrouped and retook the lead through Alejo Teijeiro on penalty and Tobias Deluca for his second with a strong turn at centre forward. Ong scored two more catch-up goals either side of a Teijeiro penalty strike.
Argentina shut out Singapore in the third period as Teijeiro added to his tally with a third penalty goal; Bautista Calcagno scored from centre forward; Adriano Mazzoni converted from the five-metre line and Ivan Saavedra scored his second from the top left cross cage for 13-9. Goh scored on counter and had a penalty attempt saved. Yong Jun Chow closed the gap to 13-11 on extra. Argentina had a penalty shot hit the right post and after a timeout in the final minute, Ong scored for 13-12 at 0:36. Argentina made sure of victory when Deluca accepted a deep cross pass to centre forward and score at 0:11 for the 14-12 victory.
Match Heroes
Teijeiro (12 for the week) and Deluca with three goals each for Argentina. For Singapore, Ong was all class with five goals and goalkeeper Ivaac Lee took in nine saves.
Turning Point
The third period with four unanswered goals and then the final score to just make sure.
Stats Don’t Lie
Argentina did not score on extra from one attempt while Singapore made the most of nine chances to get five goals. Argentina scored four from five on penalty and Singapore none from one. Argentina stole 19 to 16 incredibly and on overall shots it was Singapore higher at 34-32.
Bottom Line
Thrilling match with Argentina deserving to win. Come to think of it, Singapore was unlucky not to grab some points.
Group H
Match 27, SOUTH AFRICA 6 KAZAKHSTAN 7 (0-1, 2-2, 4-4, 0-0)
This was the lowest-scoring match of the tournament to date with eight of the 13 goals coming in the third period. It was all about defence as the statistics show with Kazakhstan hard-pressed to penetrate on extra-man and penalties. Aldiyar Akimbay gained his sixth goal of the week when he slotted a penalty goal early in the first period. Team-mate Almat Madimar could not find his ninth as his penalty attempt was saved by Nathan Jacob. Neither team could find a field goal for the rest of the quarter. Marc Smith equalised from the deep left early in the second period and Akimbay had his penalty attempt rejected by the two hands of Jacob. Tristan Grimett, the only South African with senior international experience, gave up his third penalty foul and left the match. Warwick Field scored from the deep left on extra to give South Africa the lead. It was short-lived as Madimar and Nurzhas Nurtaza scored from identical low positions by 3:18. It was to be the halftime score.
Nurassyl Satbergen and Smith traded centre-forward goals in the first half-minute of the third quarter and Mitchel Garreau did the same to level at four. Madimar drove left to score and followed up with a penalty strike for a 6-4 advantage inside 30 seconds. Timothy Young stood up from the left-hand-catch position and scored twice in a row for 6-6. Deniz Dronin converted extra from the deep left with VAR confirming it had crossed the line. The goal came after South African captain Karabo Mamaregane gained his third major foul. South Africa called a timeout but had the subsequent shot saved. The rest of the quarter had five steals and no goals. The final quarter was intriguing with neither team able to find the net. Madimar missed his second penalty attempt, hitting the crossbar, half a minute into the period. Four shots failed to make their mark as South Africa called its second timeout at 4:35 only to have the ball stolen. Steals, turnovers and a few saved shots came before Kazakhstan went to a timeout at 0:50. Satbergen’s backhand shot was saved and a challenge was needed to prove it should be a corner. No further shot came and Kazakhstan had survived.
Match Heroes
Madimar wrested three goals for 11 in three matches. Goalkeeper Akzhan Aday took in 13 saves. For South Africa, Smith and Young scored two apiece and the two goalkeepers made 11 saves between them.
Turning Point
Kazakhstan taking back the lead before halftime and then keeping South Africa out of scoring for the last 10 minutes.
Stats Don’t Lie
South Africa had the better of the extra-man stats with two from four and denying Kazakhstan five of six. Kazakhstan struggled on penalty with two from five while South Africa did not earn a penalty foul. Both teams stole plenty of ball — 16-13 to Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan was one better than its rival — 27-26 — in overall shots.
Bottom Line
Kazakhstan is riddled with senior internationals and should have won easily, except for the dogged defence of South Africa.
Match 28, COLOMBIA 11 CANADA 17 (2-3, 3-6, 2-3, 4-5)
Canada charged home against Colombia with four positive quarters to win the Americas contest and sets itself up for a higher ranking. Canada had two in the bag by halfway through the first quarter and led 3-1 before Colombia converted an extra-man play — its only — through Enrique Olano. Canadian skipper Leo Hachem sent in a penalty goal and a score on extra for 5-2 at the top of the second period. Felipe Merino responded on penalty and Canada sent in two more for 7-3 at 3:37. Thomas Arias and Juan Zuluaga from deep right and left for 7-5 behind. Ion Diacenco nabbed his second from to right and Adriel Oviedo-Ladik gained an exclusion and accepted the ball in the scoring zone for the 9-5 score on the halftime buzzer.
Canada opened with the first two goals for the third time for a six-goal advantage. Colombia missed a penalty chance before Merino (lob) and Zuluaga (top) brought it back to four. Canada’s Nicholas Furneaux went on counter for his second goal, the last before the final break and with Canada 12-7 in the hot seat. Sixteen seconds from time Jason Joseph (CAN) was red-carded for an incident and the starting centre forward was out of the match.
Zuluaga and Merino scored the first two for Colombia at the top of the fourth period before Ivan Khramtsov on an extra one-two and Furneaux on counter redressed the imbalance. Colombia replied and Hachem scored consecutive goals from the bottom right for 16-10 at 3:50. A Colombian timeout yielded nothing and Pavle Jelic and Merino swapped penalty goals for 17-11, the final score.
Match Heroes
Harrison Labrosse with an amazing, tournament-high 18 saves in the Canadian goal. Hachem scored four to bring his tally to nine goals and Furneaux three. For Colombia, Merino topped the scoring with four and Zuluaga netted three more.
Turning Point
Canada scoring four of the first five goals of the second quarter that created a four-goal separation.
Stats Don’t Lie
Canada controlled the extra-man situations with six from eight and defending 10 of 11 Colombian chances. Canada converted all three penalty attempts while Colombia had one of four stopped. Canada stole the ball eight times to six and only need 29 shots to Colombia’s 38.
Bottom Line
Canada was the team to beat and the six-goal margin probably correct despite the defiance shown by Colombia either side of the final break.
Crossover 1-16
Match 29, IRAN 6 GERMANY 22 (0-4, 2-6, 1-6, 3-6)
Germany came up with one of the biggest victories in Zagreb, beginning with the first eight goals and trampling Iran for the rest of the match. Four different players started the first quarter and Luk Jaschke, one of those scorers, scored the first two of the second period with Till Hofmann and Fynn Klaffke bringing up the eight number on extra and penalty. Mohammadtaha Samaei caught the defence unawares with a shot from 10m to get Iran on the board nearly 11 minutes into the match. Goals were traded with Arman Shams scoring from a six-metre-foul shot and Fabio de Marco finishing the half from the penalty line for 10-2.
Vukasin Simic scored twice, including a penalty to start the third period. Florian Burger also enjoyed time at the time line with Klaffke grabbing his second on extra. Farbod Borghei attracted a red card for an alleged violent action (possible kick to the head), meaning Germany received a penalty shot and four minutes of man up. The benefit was just 2-1 in this period, so not a big advantage. It was 16-3 at the last break. Germany buried the first four goals of the fourth quarter and goals were traded until the end with Shams scoring twice more and Hofmann bringing up his fourth.
Match Heroes
In a team where seven players have between five and nine goals, German captain Hofmann scored four while Simic, Klaffke and Jaschke netted three apiece. Iran’s Shams scored three to take his tally to 12 with Samsaei getting two.
Turning Point
Going 8-0 before Iran could get on the board.
Stats Don’t Lie
Such disparate statistics where Germany won the match. On extra, Germany managed only three from 10 but stopped six from seven; drew and scored seven penalty fouls to nil; stole the ball 16 times to three and took 49 shots to 20.
Bottom Line
Germany was on a roll for a third win and played hard all match.
Match 30, AUSTRALIA 19 CHINA 8 (5-3, 9-1, 4-1, 1-3)
Australia proved its all-round skills with 11 players making the scoresheet and Daniel Magasanik lifting for five goals. It was a solid match and something much needed with the tough clash with Italy on Wednesday. However, Australia will go to the match with three victories while Italy has yet to win a match. Australia fired in the first three goals with intent, giving up one on extra and then rifling in two more for 5-1. Harper Stewart scored the first and third goals. Huang Yifeng scored identical shots from the top left cross cage to narrow the margin to two before the quarter-time break. Four different Aussies struck at the top of the second quarter with a variety of shots. China took a timeout, but needed another minute before it converted extra, Deng Zirui tipping in a cross pass at two metres. Two new scorers struck for Australia with Rex Palazzi from the deep right and Jamie Sharman knocking one in from the left-post position off the cross pass. Magasanik, Stewart and Magasanik again closed the quarter’s profiteering at 14-4 — a fantastic 9-1 quarter.
At the start of the third period, Sean Bright snapped in a rebound from centimetres in front of goal. Magasanik, Ethan Payne for his second and Sharman all scored from the same position at the top for 18-4. Li Chang stopped the nine-goal romp with a powerful turn at centre forward and 18-5, which became the score at the final break. Tom Serhan blocked a Chinese penalty shot early in the fourth and Magasanik brought up his fifth at 4:16. It was all China from there on with a penalty goal, a score on extra and a counter-attack goal to Liu Jinyi.
Match Heroes
Australia’s Magasanik with his five goals, taking him to 12, and Stewart’s triple for nine this week. Goalkeeper Oliver Purcell took in 11 saves as did Chinese counterpart Hua Zhonghao. Huang and Li Chang scored twice each for China.
Turning Point
The 3-0 start and the magnificent 9-1 third period.
Stats Don’t Lie
Australia converted only one from four on extra while China sent in three from five. On penalties, Australia scored its one chance stopped one of two Chinese attempts. Australia made 11 steals to seven and shot 42 times to 30.
Bottom Line
Australia came out firing when needed for what could have been a close match. That force is needed come Wednesday’s clash with Italy for a berth in the quarterfinals.
Day 5 Schedule
Group G Second Round
Match 31. 09:00. Argentina v Brazil
Match 32. 10:30. Singapore v New Zealand
Group H Second Round
Match 33. 12:00. Colombia v South Africa
Match 34. 13:30. Canada v Kazakhstan
Round 1-8 Crossovers
Match 35. 16:00. Iran v United States of America
Match 36. 17:30. China v Greece
Match 37. 19:00. Germany v Montenegro
Match 38. 20:30. Australia v Italy