Eight matches are being played in the OCBC Aquatic Centre today.
Preliminary Round Group Match Reports
Match 6, Group B, HUNGARY 18 AUSTRALIA 6 (5-1, 4-0, 3-2, 6-3)
When these teams last met, at the Paris Olympic Games last year, Australia was a 9-8 winner. Tonight, Hungary needed just 11 minutes to score those eight goals and erase the memory of that blunder. In the head to head at World Championships, Hungary now leads 7-0 with one draw, back in Barcelona in 2013. Hungary had the edge all around the pool with faster reaction times.
Hungary was in magnificent form and after 1-1 at 6:26, the Magyars raced away to 5-1 and it could have been 6-1 if Nic Porter had not blocked Adam Nagy’s penalty attempt after the quarter-time buzzer. There was no better news for the Aussie Sharks in the second quarter as Hungary went to 8-1 by 4:47. It was not until 0:14 that Hungarian captain Krisztian Manhercz converted a penalty for 9-1. Marton Vamos and Vince Vigvari were the only double scorers while Aussie captain Nathan Power had his team’s goal.
Come the third quarter, Australia learned to tighten its defence, took a timeout and scored through Marcus Berehulak at 5:02. Gergely Fekete did the same for Hungary with a lightning shot at 4:30 for 10-2. Matthew Byrnes was red-card for allegedly dragging an Hungarian’s head underwater. Andrej Grgurevic scored from the deep right for the Sharks with Gergely Burian replying. Aussie Shark Jacob Mercep had his penalty attempt blocked by Kristof Csoma at 0:23 and at the other end Vamos speared in from deep right, with four seconds left on the clock.
The fourth period was more sedate, although no less exciting. Daniel Angyal countered a minute in, followed by a second goal to Grgurevic who jumped on a rebound close in to score for 15-6. He scored a third soon after and then Hungary scored three inside two minutes for 18-6.
Match Heroes
Vamos with three goals and pairs to Fekete, Burian and Peter Kovacs. Goalkeeper Csoma finished with 11 saves. Grgurevic, playing this level for the first time, will relish his hat-trick against one of the finest teams on the world. The Aussie goalkeepers took in nine saves between them.
Turning Point
The thunderous 9-1 advantage by halftime.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary converted four from six on extra and Australia three from six. On penalties, Hungary converted one from two and Australia none from one. Australia won the steals 9-8 and Hungary the shots 32-30. It was just that Hungary’s shots were more potent.
Bottom Line
Hungary made a statement following what happened in Paris. That effort bodes well for the rest of the tournament, while Australia will re-strategise in what is a tough group.
What They Said
Match 5, Group B, SPAIN 22 JAPAN 16 (5-3, 6-2, 5-4, 6-7)
This was a match of blistering pace from both sides. It was probably why the pool was shortened. It sped up the match, produced a multitude of shots, many becoming goals. There was excitement in front of goal as goalkeepers made stops after stops. However, there could be only one winner and it was the powerful Spanish mob who flourished and triumphed.
It was two of the most exciting players in the world today — Spain’s Alvaro Granados and Japan’s Yusuke Inaba — who opened the scoring and went on to score many more. Spain built on that early momentum and turned 1-1 into 5-1. Japan shot back with two goals for 5-3 at the quarter break. Bernat Sanahuja scored his second to start the second quarter and Inaba buried two on two attacks for 6-5. Then Spain turned on a master class with five unanswered goals with Granados in the mix. It was a healthy six-goal margin at halftime.
Japan challenged the awarding of a penalty at the top of the third period, only to lose and Sanahuja converted for 12-5. Japan responded twice on two attacks — Seiya Adachi on extra and Taiyo Watanabe on counter. Sergi Cabanas countered for Spain and was 13-7 ahead. Jose Bustos doubled the Japanese score (and his tally) and two came back for Japan with Watanabe making his second. Two in the final minute gave Spain a 16-9 advantage at the final break. Japan opened the final quarter with two goals, Watanabe needing VAR to get his across the line. Roger Tahull did a soft-lob at two metres for 17-11 and goals were traded with Granados gaining his fourth. Unai Biel belted in his third and Inaba nailed his penalty shot for 19-13 at 3:50. A Japanese timeout yielded nothing except a Spanish goal to Sanahuja at the other end. Granados fired in his fifth on penalty with Toi Suzuki replying on extra from the top. Biel made his fourth, also on extra, for 22-14. Watanabe on penalty and Inaba off a set play after a timeout, 14 seconds from time, completed the scoring at 22-16.
Match Heroes
Granados for Spain with his five goals while Sanahuja and Biel landed four each. For Japan, Inaba fired home five, Watanabe four and Ogihara three. Ren Sasano made nine saves.
Turning Point
Spain shooting to 5-1 left Japan on the back foot for the rest of the match.
Stats Don’t Lie
Spain was tremendous on extra at seven from eight. Japan did three from five. Japan landed the only two penalty goals. Spain stole nine to five and shot 38 to 33.
Bottom Line
Spain sits much higher that Japan on the world order and it showed today. This was a most entertaining match and proves that the new rules might be a winner.
What They Said
Eduardo LORRIO (ESP) — Athlete
On playing against Japan:
“Playing against Japan is not easy, they are a very intensive and fast team. We knew it before the game but sometimes in the match there are moments where you have to control the timing better.”
On why Felipe PERRONE (ESP) was not playing today:
“It’s a technical decision. Felipe is perfect, he’s in the right condition to play. (Head coach) David (MARTIN) made the decision (for him) to rest and that’s it.”
Yusuke INABA (JPN) — Captain and Five Goals
On his team’s performance:
“I'm satisfied with the performance because the match against Spain in Paris, we lost by 15 points so for sure, now we're getting better and being a better team. We played good enough.”
On being appointed team captain:
“OK for me, it doesn't change anything because same team-mates and the same friendships as before. But now I am making a better team than before and now that I'm captain, I must make a good team, that's it.”
On what match he's looking forward to next:
“Ah, against Hungary. It's going to be a tough game for sure, but I think we will make a good game and win against Hungary.”
Match 4, Group C, BRAZIL 19 SINGAPORE 8 (4-0, 5-1, 6-3, 4-4)
Brazil, who was always going to win, was on the front foot quickly, winning the first period 4-0 with a variety of goals and four separate shooters. Singapore could find no way through. One of the best goals was by Luis Silva, backhanding a shot from two metres when smothered by defenders and his head was under the water. Two swift goals at the top of the second quarter stopped Singapore in its tracks, having to take a timeout. Logan Cabral scored from top left and Paulo Oliviera went on counter for 6-0 at 7:18. The timeout had limited success with Brazil slowing its shooting, however, Pedro Real and captain Gustavo Guimaraes gained their second goals, the latter from eight metres out. Wai Fong was pushed out to five metres at centre forward but still managed to turn and score Singapore’s first goal at 1:22. Brazil responded for 9-1 at the long break.
Guimaraes started the third period and long-standing team-mate Gustavo Coutinho scored consecutive goals as Brazil rose to 13-2. And then 15-3 as Jayden See from the deep right and Cayden Loh on extra rejuvenated the Singaporeans. A Brazilian pair moved the scoreline to 15-3 before Sanjiv Rajandra pulled the trigger from the top for 15-4 just four seconds from time after Singapore stole the ball. Rajandra started he final quarter on penalty and at 1:31 netted his third, also from the five-metre line.
Match Heroes
Veterans Guimaraes and Coutinho topped the scoring with three apiece for Brazil. Rajandra also netted three for Singapore. The leading goalkeepers were on form with Joao Fernandes (BRA) and Lee Lee (SGP) both made eight saves before handing over duties after three periods.
Turning Point
Once the match reached 8-0 in favour of Brazil, the rest of the match was 11-8, showing how good Singapore could be with this sort of experience.
Stats Don’t Lie
Brazil converted four from eight and defended four from five on extra. On penalties, Brazil scored all three and Singapore three from five, Brazil stole six to four and shot 37 to 23.
Bottom Line
Brazil has the experience at this level and that showed. Size also made a difference.
What They Said
Gustavo GUIMARAES (BRA) — Captain
On the match:
“I think it was an important beginning. We started very focused, but at the end we lost a bit of concentration. But the important thing is we won the game. That was our goal for this first match and now we need to see what went well and what to improve in the next game.
On Singapore’s performance:
“Singapore came back more motivated (in the second half) and they tried to score more. And it’s normal that when you open with an advantage, in the last quarter your concentration comes down. It’s not how it should be, but if you see every game, it’s happening like this. Yesterday in the women’s game, and today in the men’s. At the end, the important thing for us is to look forward and look at what we did well today.”
On areas of improvement for the next game:
“For sure it’s our defence, always. You need to look at your defence, and the offence comes naturally at the end. The important thing is to work on our defence, game by game, to improve and achieve our goals.”
Sanjiv RAJANDRA (SGP) — Three Goals
On Singapore’s performance:
“I think the team played really well today. There’s a lot to improve on for sure, and we are planning to work on those few errors that we made today for our game against Canada. Personally, I think I did okay but I think there’s a lot more for me to improve on and work on.”
On being Singapore’s top scorer with three goals:
“I’m definitely happy, but the main goal is to win the game. Our team is young; we have a lot more to give. We got our first game under our belt but we have a lot more to work on for sure.
“We need to work on that the next few games. These kinds of opportunities don’t come by very often; we’re not a Division One or Division Two team. So, we need to use these games to minimise our errors. We have the SEA Games around the corner as well, so we need to work on that and make sure we bring back the gold for Singapore at the SEA Games.”
On the men’s water polo team making their world championships debut:
“It was good. The nerves were there for sure and I know people were a bit nervous. But coming in as underdogs is good, because we have nothing to lose.”
On competing in front of a home crowd:
“We could definitely hear them. It was surreal. It was actually my first time playing for the Singapore team in Singapore. Having my family and friends, and supporters as well as teammates come down and support us is a true blessing. It was quite surreal, but after a while we tuned in to the game and everything just becomes quiet. But you could definitely hear them, and there were times I was just like, ‘Woah’.”
Match 3, Group D, CHINA 6 CROATIA 25 (1-7, 0-5, 4-7, 1-6)
Croatia warmed up for the harder matches with a solid showing against China. Croatia shot from outside with aplomb and China had to work to find space to get the ball close to players near the goal. It was fairly even early in the first quarter with Croatia easing to a 2-0 advantage before Wang Beiyi found the goal from two metres for 2-1. Goals were hard to come by after that as China could not find a way through. Croatia put away the next four as captain Marko Bijac stopped a Chinese penalty attempt at what could have been 6-2. Luka Bukic countered for the seventh goal and his third for the period. Zvonimir Butic scored the first two of the second quarter, followed by Loren Fatovic, Tin Brubnjak for his second and Konstantin Kharkov on counter, also for his second.
China improved muchly in the third period, having faith in its shooting. With Butic starting the scoring, goals were traded to 15-4 with Xie Zekai’s bouncer ending a 13 and a-half-minute drought. Franko Lazic and Fatovic pushed it out to 17-4 with Peng Jiahao scoring off a quick take-and-shoot on extra. Rino Buric scored his second of the period and Josip Vrlic ended all scoring from two metres for 19-5 at the last break. It was a 7-4 period.
Marko Zuvela made the fourth period his own with three goals as China was kept scoreless until Cai Yuhao converted a penalty foul, eight minutes after the last Chinese goal. Zuvela scored twice from outside and the second long shot probably came from the carpark. Bukic pummelled the Chinese goal for the sixth time — his second of the period. It was enough for a 25-6 victory
Match Heroes
Bukic with his six goals, followed by Zuvela with four and triples to Buric and Butic. Bijac made nine saves before handing over the goalkeeping reins for the final quarter. Xie scored twice for China.
Turning Point
Moving from 2-1 to 13-1 and that scoreless second quarter was where Croatia gained the fulcrum to victory.
Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia converted three from five on extra and stopped seven from nine. China scored one from two on penalty and Croatia stole the ball 13 times to three. On overall shots, Croatia had 41 to 29.
Bottom Line
Croatia is world champion, Olympic silver medallist and finished fourth in the World Cup this year. Enough said.
What They Said
Zvonimir BUTIC (CRO) — Three Goals
On what it means for Croatia to start Croatia’s title defence with a big win:
“It’s expected. We are a better team and were prepared for it, and it ended very well.”
On whether he feels pressure competing as the defending champion:
“Croatia has been at the top of water polo for more than 20 years, so we are born and raised with pressure. We feel it, but it’s normal for us.”
On whether there are areas of team improvement:
“Of course, there’s something to improve. But it’s just the beginning of the tournament and we want to be better and better from game to game. That’s how it’s supposed to be, and I hope that’s going to happen.”
On how Croatia prepared for the world championships:
“We went to Hong Kong seven days before the world championships to adapt to these conditions. Everything in Singapore is great, the venue is perfect. We are very satisfied and we hope that our performance will match the high level of this tournament.”
Match 2, Group C, CANADA 9 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 18 (0-3, 2-4, 2-5, 5-6)
USA kept Canada at bay for more than 10 minutes as it went on the hunt for victory. It was not easy pickings as USA captain Max Irving found two minutes in on a drive down the right. Hannes Daube converted a penalty and Dylan Woodhead smashed in a shot off a cross pass to the deep left, 21 seconds from the buzzer. Goals were traded in the second quarter with USA leading the way at 4-0. Aleksa Gardijan blasted in a shot from the top right, replied by Ryder Dodd — the MVP at the recent junior world championships. Ali Oussodou converted a Canadian penalty before Ryan Ohl, also a member of the USA junior men’s team, and Irving on counter had the halftime score at 7-2.
David Lapins found himself free top left to score for Canada a minute into the third period. Jack Larsen finished some superb passing on extra, followed by a heavily guarded Ben Liechty scoring off the right-post position. Saveljic continued the centre-forward scoring and Ryder Dodd rifled one in from deep left to give USA an 11-3 advantage at halfway through the period. Reuel D’Souza bounced the ball in off the back of the goalkeeper’s heads and Chase Dodd scored off the right-post position for 12-4 at the final break.
The final quarter opened up with goals traded and a USA triple that had Irving adding two more to his tally. Canada bounced back into the match with four straight with Lapins and Oussadou scoring again to narrow the score to 16-9. USA hammered in the last two to double Canada’s score.
Match Heroes
Irving with four goals for USA with Saveljic and Daube with three each. Goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg grabbed 10 saves. Oussadou topped Canada’s scoring with three goals. Lapins and D’Souza shot two each.
Turning Point
The two four-goal bursts in the first and third periods gave USA a more-than-adequate advantage.
Stats Don’t Lie
USA scored one from three on extra and Canada none from two. Both teams shot three penalty goals. USA stole the ball seven to four and both teams shots 31 times.
Bottom Line
In the battle for North America, USA was too good, being the Olympic bronze medallist. Canada performed well in spurts.
What They Said
Max IRVING (USA) — Captain
On the match:
“I think it was a good match. We came out, we played with good energy. Defence is definitely something that’s a priority for this team. For us to hold them to four goals through three quarters was good. I think for the most part, it’s a good foundation for us to build on.”
On how he motivates his team before matches:
“We have all the motivation we need. The LA Olympics are coming up; that’s three years down the road. But we want to take every opportunity that we have to play high-level, international competition to use it and to get better as a group.”
On his performance and being named player of the match:
“I think it was good. Everything starts with our defence. I’m definitely going to want to build on that moving forward, and try not to get three exclusions in the next game. But it was a good start to the tournament.”
On whether he would do anything differently:
“Hindsight is 20/20, there are probably a million things I would do differently. But no, I think it’s good. I like the way that we started. We played with energy from the first whistle and we played good on defence.”
On how his team played:
“We’ve got a beautiful group. Dejan UDOVICIC is our head coach; he does an awesome job leading us. He just told us to go out there, play with confidence, play with energy, play with intensity, play with conviction, and just have a commitment to each other and commitment to the group. Play with attitude and passion. So, we’re really excited for every game we get to play at this world championships, and we know that we have a really special group.”
Ali OUSSADOU (CAN) — Three Goals
On the match:
“It’s a bit of a new group here that we have and we took our time to get in the game. For some guys like myself, it’s our first world championships. But I thought it went better as the match went on and we’re looking forward to the next game.”
On being his team’s top scorer with three goals:
“I’m happy, I’m just trying to help the team win in however, whatever way I can. And I guess today it was by scoring goals, so I’m happy to help the team power back in.”
On lessons from the opening match:
“It’s experience. Every game, we learn new stuff. It’s good for the team to get games together and get experience, and I’m looking forward to the next game.”
Match 1, Group A, SERBIA 27 SOUTH AFRICA 3 (8-0, 6-3, 4-0, 9-0)
Professional Serbia made the first step with an encouraging victory against an amateur side. It was a tough ask for the Africans against the Olympic champion, but they did manage to be a threat on a number of occasions. Serbia breezed through the first quarter with superstar and triple Olympic champion Dusan Mandic netting three of the first five with his wicked left arm. Captain Nikola Jaksic scored two of the first three. The second quarter was more interesting as South Africa found the goal three times with Brett Sneddon, cunningly turning at the left-post position to defeat Serbian goalkeeper Radoslav Filipovic. Calvin Kuperus snapped on a quick inbound pass as the goalie moved forward and Manqoba Bungane scored from wide left off a long cross pass, just managing to wedge the ball inside the left upright, eight seconds from halftime. Meantime, big centre forward Milos Cuk scored a pair —one from penalty — with Jaksic gaining his third.
Mandic added another two in a third period where it took six shots at goal before the first Serbian ball breached the defence. That was Vasilije Martinovic from a six-metre-foul shot. Jaksic snared his fourth (from six attempts), on penalty, while the South Africans were denied any such joy. Strangely, Mandic had one shot rejected. His 17-3 goal was from well outside, showing that he does not need to encroach another two metres when you have a cannon as potent as his. The fourth period also belonged to Serbia with Cuk screaming in an outside shot to add to his repertoire. Boris Vapenski added a centre-forward backhand to his first-quarter penalty strike and Nikola Murisic snared a pair for five in total. Viktor Rasovic scored twice in the closing minutes and Jaksic brought up his fourth from point blank.
Match Heroes
Mandic, as expected, with his six goals, Murisic with five and Jaksic with four were the best for Serbia.
Turning Point
None in this match.
Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia went five from five on extra and denied South Africa its sole chance. Serbia dominated the penalties with four goals, made eight steals to four and shot 38 to 19.
Bottom Line
When you pit the Olympic champion with an amateur side, there can only be one result. Experience is everything.
What They Said
Dusan MANDIC (SRB) — Six Goals
On the match:
“It was a good opening for us. We know that we are a much stronger team than South Africa and we demonstrated this today in the pool. We are forgetting this and already focusing on our next opponent, which is Italy, and it’s going to be a tough game for sure.”
On preparations for Singapore 2025:
“We went to Thailand before to try to prepare for the time difference. That’s about it. We trained with Australia, also.”
On ending a 10-year drought for the world title:
“I think we have less pressure now than we had in Paris. Now, after Paris, we want to continue the same way. We are not thinking about a world championship that we won 10 years ago, it’s not important. What’s important is now we are a compact team and we grow together. We’ve been through a lot of difficult times especially before Paris. Finally, we won the best possible medal in Paris with our third consecutive Olympic gold. We got our confidence, we got our strength, our belief in ourselves and we want to continue in this way.”
Dylan WATT (RSA) — Captain
On the match:
“I think we started off a little slow. A lot of new players in the team made debuts and the nerves got to us. The second and third periods I was happy with, we had a really competitive game in those periods.
“Towards the end, there was a little bit of fatigue and a little bit of excitement. We were quite excited to be only 18-3 down coming to the last period. We were looking for big things and got a little too impatient in changing things up. But honestly, we can’t be too upset with the result from the first game of the tournament. We can only grow from here.”
Progress Points
Group A: Serbia 3, Italy, Romania, South Africa 0.
Group B: Spain 3, Hungary, Australia, Japan 0.
Group C: United States of America 3, Brazil 3, Canada 0, Singapore 0.
Group D: Croatia 3, Greece, Montenegro, China 0.
Day 4 Schedule
Match 09. 09:00. Group C, United States of America v Brazil
Match 10. 10:35. Group A, South Africa v Romania
Match 11. 12:10. Group D, Greece v China
Match 12, 13:45, Group B, Japan v Hungary
Match 13. 16:00. Group B, Australia v Spain
Match 14. 17:35. Group D, Croatia v Montenegro
Match 15. 19:10. Group C, Singapore v Canada
Match 16. 20:45. Group A, Italy v Serbia