It all came down to the main match of the evening between Italy and Olympic champion Serbia at the OCBC Aquatic Centre in men’s preliminary-round action. Italy won in a penalty shootout — 17-16 — after finishing 13-13 and sits atop the group. The other big match of the day was Croatia’s 13-11 win over close rival Montenegro.
Overview
In Group A, Romania downed South Africa 24-5 and Italy went to the penalty shootout to beat Olympic champion Serbia 17-16. Italy just needs to beat South Africa for the group dominance.
In Group B, Hungary outlasted Japan 23-18 and Spain struggled against Australia before winning 10-7. Spain and Hungary will go head to head on Wednesday for the group victory.
In Group C, United States of America bypassed Brazil 16-7 and Canada defeated Singapore 22-10. USA has to head off Singapore for the group win.
In Group D, Greece was far too good for China 26-5 and Croatia held off Montenegro 13-11. Croatia and Greece will meet to decide who goes to the quarterfinals.
Preliminary Round Group Match Reports
Match 16, Group A, ITALY 17 SERBIA 16 in penalty shootout (FT: 13-13. Pens: 4-3) (3-2, 3-3, 4-4, 3-4)
This was pure water polo played at the absolute highest level with alpine-like intensity with no quarter given. Both teams were looking to advance-book a spot in the quarterfinals and the associated days off it gifts. The desire was there for both teams as a two-goal Serbian lead proved not enough and then a three-goal Italian advantage was still not enough as Serbia proved with the last three goals to force the penalty shootout. In fact, the last shot came with six seconds left, meaning we went to the lottery to find the winner. There were three goalkeeper stops and Italy emerged 4-3 for the 17-16 victory.
The first quarter was started by Serbia and a draw at one and two before Giacomo Cannella gained his second on counter, 11 seconds from time for 3-2. Dusan Mandic scored twice early in the second quarter to go with his opener and have the match at 4-4. Francesco Condemi and Cannella (his third) gave Italy a 6-4 edge, which Milos Cuk trimmed with a cross-cage shot, seven seconds from halftime.
Serbia took a grip on the match to go 8-6 ahead in the third period with three different scorers. Lorenzo Bruni answered with one and Strahinja Rasovic had his penalty attempt rejected. Tommaso Gianazza answered his team’s call and caught the ball off the crossbar rebound to score for 8-8. Condemi put Italy in front but Dorde Lazic equalised from the right-post position and Matteo Iocchi Gratta punched the air with delight after scoring from wide left to close the third period at 10-9.
Vasilije Martinovic equalised at the top of the fourth quarter. The Settebello were unhappy with this and rammed home three straight, led by Filippo Ferrero on extra, Francesco di Fulvio from the top and Iocchi Gratta on extra by 3:33. A minute later Mandic had a penalty in the net and more than a minute after that he pummelled the goal on extra. A minute later Serbia went to a timeout and with six seconds left on the clock, Martinovic forced the match into a shootout.
Serbia shot first and both teams converted their first three shots. Boris Vapenski (SRB) and Alessandro Velloto (ITA) had their shots stopped. Cuk had his rejected also and Cannella secured the victory with his success for 4-3 on penalties and 17-16. What a match!
Match Heroes
Serbia may have lost, but Mandic starred with five goals and his goalkeeper, Radoslav Filipovic, was outstanding with 13 saves. Martinovic also scored three goals. For Italy, the highest scorer was Cannella with three and goalkeeper Gianmarco Nicosia made nine saves.
Turning Point
There were many with Italy’s 6-4 becoming Serbia’s 8-6; Italy’s 10-9and 13-10 and Serbia making it to 13-13.
Stats Don’t Lie
Italy converted only four from 12 on extra while Serbia made eight from 11. Both teams missed a penalty with Serbia gaining two fouls and Italy one.
Bottom Line
Italy wanted it more, I would presume.
What They Said
Giacomo CANNELLA (ITA) – Scorer of Winning Penalty
On the match:
“It was a very strong match; we’ve been waiting for this and now tomorrow we will think about what I think is the easiest game of the group against South Africa. After that, we will wait to see who our next opponents are in the quarterfinals.”
On being the last penalty taker:
“It’s a good feeling and a bad feeling because I have missed penalties before. But this is sport, this is our job, and feeling bad or feeling good doesn’t matter.”
On whether he was thinking of anything before he took the shot:
“No I don’t think, it’s better to not think.”
On what he thought after he scored the winning penalty:
“After, I was like ‘finally I did it’.”
On how close the match was:
“With these new rules, it’s very difficult to take a large lead. So, this is a mental job, because you can go high, you can go under. This feeling is good and I like these new rules, I like this pool, I like this new ball and it’s perfect.
“You have to stay motivated every minute during every match because you can go high, you can go under, but the most important thing is how you react to the moments.”
Dusan MANDIC (SRB) — Five Goals
On the match:
“It was a really tough match, as we expected, and we gave everything today. I think we didn't show yet, our best shape. We showed courage. We showed that we are not giving up, even when the opponents had a plus-three goal difference, which is very important. We played until the very end, as you saw.
“I'm very proud of this, and I think definitely that we showed character. We are not giving up against anybody at any time.
“Italy, at the end of penalties, they were better. Congratulations to them. We move forward. It's amazing. It's the world championships, the matches like this. We want to play. We want to enjoy them. Today, Italy was just a little bit better. Congratulations, one more time to them.”
Match 15, Group C, SINGAPORE 10 CANADA 22 (5-7, 2-5, 2-4, 1-6)
The clash of two Commonwealth nations was a beauty, especially in the first quarter where goals were flashing past our noses they were going out of fashion. This new style of game was incredible as Singapore opened the scoring in front of the largest crowd of the championship. The Singaporean goals kept coming to 5-5 before Canada created a two-goal gap. The star for Canada was Reuel D’Souza with an amazing five goals in the first period. He added one more in the second quarter as Bogdan Djerkovic backswept and dragged down a shot from two metres with Nikos Gerakoudis and Jeremie Cote getting into the action before halftime. Sanjiv Rajandra and Ryan Jap, for his second, were Singapore’s scorers.
Canada controlled the third period with the first four goals — Aleksa Gardijan and David Lapins pushing the score out to 14-7 and Ali Oussadou claiming a pair, firstly on extra and then from the penalty line. Wen Goh, who scored the first goal, scored two in the last minute of the third period for 16-9 behind and his fourth. Djerkovic, Gardijan and D’Souza opened the final quarter, all on extra. Justin Saik interrupted the flow but Canada raced away with the last three goals and the 22-10 margin.
Match Heroes
Canada’s D’Souza shot seven from 12 and Djerkovic added four more. Goalkeeper Milan Radenovic pulled in 10 saves during his stint in goal. Goh kept the local crowd happy with four goals.
Turning Point
The slow pull-away from 5-5.
Stats Don’t Lie
Canada converted seven from 12 on extra and defended two from five. Canada missed one of its five penalty attempts, stole the ball four to three and shot 40 times to 30.
Bottom Line
Canada will battle for third position in the group and Singapore will find out what it is like to play United States of America, the Olympic bronze medallist.
What They Said
Reuel D’SOUZA (CAN) — Seven Goals
On his performance:
“I'm not really one to care about individual statistics, so I'm just happy that we won and we advanced to the top 12. I play on the right side of the pool as a right-hand player, so I pride myself more on facilitating the play and helping my team offensively and defensively. So, I guess it's maybe an irregular result for me. But I'm happy with how I played, and I think there's some things I can do better, and I'm going to watch the film and see how I can help my team more.”
On what the team needs to improve on:
“I think offensively, we're a good team. We have a very strong centre for it, and some players that have played together for a long time. So, we feel good offensively. Defensively, we have some things to clean up. We conceded some goals today that we weren't very happy with, and obviously that's one of the most important phases of any sport.”
On Singapore’s performance in the first quarter:
“Obviously, as an opponent, I'm not pleased. I'm not very happy with that, but it was something special to watch those players enjoy the home crowd, and something I think maybe was new for a lot of them. So, it was a really special moment for them for sure and I think that was exciting for Singapore water polo and just water polo in Asia in general.”
GOH Wen Zhe (SGP) — Four Goals
On the match:
“Today we all went in knowing it’s going to be a tough game. Our opponents are physically stronger and bigger than us, but all of us tried our best and we fought to the end.”
On scoring four goals:
“I think I just happened to be there in the right place at the right time. It’s all thanks to my team-mates who actually made the last assists, that’s the more important part. The four goals are just a testament to what our team can do. It feels amazing (to score in a world championships at home). It’s not easy to score goals at this level and I’m just very thankful for the opportunity to be competing at this level.”
On the first quarter:
“We went into the game without looking at the score too much. We were just taking it one attack at a time, one defence at a time. The game just went as it went and we were just focusing on the next one and the next one.”
Match 14, Group D, CROATIA 13 MONTENEGRO 11 (3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 5-4)
This was always going to be a do-or-die encounter with Balkan pride on offer and group dominance. The fastest pathway to the quarterfinals is by winning the group. This was where it was really going to be won and both teams were eager to please their coaches. It all came down to the last minute and the flattering result was because of a last-second goal. Loren Fatovic and Marko Zuvela did their best with the first two goals for Croatia while Dusan Banicevic at centre forward and Miroslav Perkovic with the most beautiful aerial drag down of the cross pass in Singapore, had the match even.
Luka Bukic landed one from the deep left to give Croatia the quarter-time advantage. Duro Radovic replied on the first Montenegrin attack, on penalty, with the traded goals going to Croatia’s Konstantin Kharkov and Montenegro’s Dimitri Kholod for four and then Ante Vukicevic (CRO) off a cross pass and Dusan Matkovic (MNE) with a lob from the deep left at 0:53 for 5-5.
Fatovic from a six-metre foul and Banicevic off the left-post position. Kholod converted extra for the 7-6 lead. Croatia went to a timeout and eventually Fatovic tipped in a spearing pass from outside to his right-post position. Kharkov scored a minute later from deep right after the exclusion period and Croatia had the 8-7 lead it took into the final quarter.
Bukic opened for Croatia to gain that two-goal advantage. Goals were traded until the closing buzzer. Bukic made it 12-10 at 2:53 and Banicevic took a pass from the right to score at two metres for 12-11 at 1:29 with a sniff of a shootout in the offing. However, neither side could score and Croatia took the ball calmly with seconds ticking down. Not intent to relish this position, the ball shot like out of a cannon to the far end where Rino Buric was somewhere in striking distance and, like a magician, the ball in his hand disappeared into the net off a backhand and one second remaining on the clock with a two-goal margin intact.
Match Heroes
Fatovic and Bukic grabbed three each and Kharkov two but it was captain Marko Bijac’s 12 saves in goal that earned him player of the match. For Montenegro, Duro Radovic and Banicevic scored three each and Kholod two. Goalkeeper Petar Tesanovic stopped eight.
Turning Point
Breaking free of Montenegro at 7-7 to 9-7, a difference Montenegro could not match.
Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia buried six from nine on extra and stopped seven of 12. On penalties, both teams scored their one chance. On steals, Montenegro gained three to one and both teams shot 31 times.
Bottom Line
Croatia has the pedigree in recent years and the two wins put it in the box seat. Montenegro beat Greece by one and now loses to Croatia by two.
What They Said
Marko BIJAC (CRO) — Captain and Player of the Match
On the match:
“It was a really difficult game for us. I’m happy because we concentrated, especially on defence, even when the result was not in our favour. We made some mistakes and we will need to work on this, try to fix it for the next game, which will be even harder for us. We will try to win (our next game) so that we can achieve first place in the group and have two more days to prepare for the quarterfinals.”
On what the team has to improve on:
“We are not aggressive enough to attack their goal. We were very passive in the beginning. Montenegro has a really strong defence and they were able to block us, I believe we will need to do this part better. Also, there were some mistakes in defence and we let in some easy goals. It’s still too close to the end of the game and I need to analyse it a little bit, but I believe these are the two main things we need to work on.”
Duro RADOVIC (MNE) — Goal Scorer
On the match:
“I want to say congrats to Team Croatia. They played much better this time. I think we didn't start the game like we wanted to start. We were weak on the game and couldn't find our good rhythm. We lost by two goals. I think we just need to keep going, to look forward and prepare for the (match against) China. It will be like easy training for us. But to prepare for (the) finals, we'll see (the) other results in our group.”
On what the team needs to improve on:
“I think we need to be more aggressive from the start, because (when) we play, we (are) always waiting for something (to happen). We need to be aggressive from the beginning.”
Match 13, Group B, AUSTRALIA 7 SPAIN 10 (0-4, 2-5, 1-0, 3-1)
World Cup and European champion Spain is the team to beat in Singapore and the Aussie Sharks were up against it, especially after losing the first quarter 4-0. However, and that’s a big however, Australia won the rest of the match 7-6 in a spectacular display of comeback water polo. And who was the star of the match? Aussie Sharks goalkeeper Nic Porter who denied Spain access to his cage a staggering 18 times. Many of those saves were spectacular.
Spain’s defensive structure proved too hard for the Aussie Sharks to get decent passes to the centre forward in that first quarters. Goalkeeper Nic Porter plays for CN Barceloneta in Spain and most of the Spanish team are his team-mates who were punishing him at every opportunity.
Alvaro Granados and Miguel de Toro led the way in the first period, followed by Bernat Sanahuja and Alberto Munarriz who completed the quartet of action goals. Granados speared in a penalty goal to start the second quarter before the Sharks made the scoresheet, Marcus Berehulak turning brilliantly at two metres, taunting the goalkeeper and scoring for 5-1. Marc Larumbe had his penalty stopped by Porter and Milos Maksimovic blasted in a shot from the top right for 5-2 at 4:57. Then Roger Tahull exploded into action with repeat goals at two metres, his appearance proving most authoritative. The Sharks called a timeout but two minutes later, Larumbe from the top and Sanahuja from deep right in the last eight seconds, gave Spain a splendid 9-2 advantage. That was where Spain’s dominance of the match ended.
Angus Lambie climbed to the stars to drag down a cross pass to the left post on the first Aussie attack but the news was not so good a minute later when Sam Nangle was red-carded for an alleged strike against his centre-defender, to the dismay of his parents who had just arrived in Singapore in time for the match. Spain took a timeout but the Aussie defence stepped up and denied Spain access for the rest of the quarter. Imagine the World Cup champion not being able to score a goal in eight minutes? In fact, Spain went scoreless for 12 minutes which must have cause palpitations for head coach David Martin. Australia was more aggressive and Maksimovic scored from the left, almost in sheer frustration after some rebounds. Porter closed up shop and by the end of the third quarter he already had 14 saves and mostly magnificent stops.
Matthew Byrnes backhanded from centre forward after drifting to his left at 6:44. Come 3:56 and Sergi Cabanas finally found the chink in the Aussie Sharks’ armour against an exhausted Porter who finished with a staggering 18 saves, with an extra-man goal from the top left. Australia gained a penalty and Luka Krstic swam up, playing in the original cap number of Luke Pavillard who suffered a pre-tournament injury and was sent home. (There was confusion in the stadium as Krstic appeared on the scoresheet but Pavillard’s name appeared on the timing scoreboard). He converted for 10-6. Soon after Australia was not awarded a penalty foul and Spanish captain and legend Felipe Perrone swam up and scored his first goal at this level since Paris 2024. However, as he swam up the pool, Aussie head coach Tim Hamill had thrown the green flag in the pool to lodge a challenge. It was allowed and Perrone’s goal was scratched and Krstic drilled a second penalty goal for 10-7 behind. It was 2:19 and no more scoring occurred with Australia holding its head high after a poor start.
Match Heroes
Porter was definitely the star of the match for Australia while team-mate Krstic registered those two penalty goals. For victor Spain, Granados, Tahull and Sanahuja scored twice and goalkeeper Eduardo Lorrio made eight saves in three quarters.
Turning Point
The 5-0 start by Spain was when Australia started to make its mark.
Stats Don’t Lie
Spain scored just three goals form 10 on extra but denied all five of Australia’s attempts. Spain missed one of two penalty attempts and the Sharks scored both. Spain stole the ball 10 times to one and shot 38 to 26. The latter statistic shows how good the Spanish defence was in the early stages. Also, with the steals as Australia tried to feed the centre forwards.
Bottom Line
It’s all been said. Spain goes through with two wins and Australia recovered from a bad loss on day one and now needs to displace nemesis Japan on Wednesday.
What They Said
Felipe PERRONE (ESP) — Captain
On his retirement:
“It was my last one three, four editions ago. I did a press conference in Spain saying that this is really the last, so this is the last. I thought that was the last one in Doha but I spoke with David (MARTIN, ESP coach) and he thought that it was good for me to be in this transition with the team. And why not, since I'm still enjoying the game.”
On whether winning gold at Singapore 2025 would make the perfect ending for his career:
“It's already perfect. Of course, I would like to win and it will be amazing if we win here. But I think the career goes much further than the results. I did my best. I gave everything in the water, in every game and sometimes I was lucky to win and be with those guys, sometimes I couldn't. Life goes on and there'll be other goals, other ambitions, but it's part of life.”
Roger TAHULL COMPTE (ESP) — Player of the Match
On the match:
“I feel really good; I played well and the work is done but we still have one more game in the group and we want to win that. Our goal is going for gold and we want to win all the games to win that gold medal.
On preparation for their final group game against Hungary:
“We need to recover now and study our opponents, Hungary. They are a strong team with so many players with a lot of talent. Our staff will prepare for the game with us and we just need to recover and prepare for the game.”
Tim HAMILL (AUS) — Head Coach
On the team’s improvement since the loss against Hungary:
“We were extremely disappointed with our performance in game one versus Hungary. It was very unlike us with our performance, and some of the areas that we've been really good at over the last couple of years were really poor against Hungary, and many of it was unacceptable how we played. So yes, it was a much better, improved performance today.
"I was happy with many aspects of our game, but again, we'll never be happy with losing any game despite playing against a great opposition like Spain. Our second-half defence was excellent. I think we won the second half five goals to one or thereabouts. So, certainly a much better improvement than game one. But we still need to get better to win these games when it really matters.”
On young player Luka KRSTIC making his debut this match:
“Luka KRSTIC played in Luke PAVILLARD's captain number. Luke PAVILLARD usually wears cap number seven. But today, that was young Luka KRSTIC playing in his first World Championships.”
“It was great. It has been a huge step up for Luka. He has only just started playing senior men's international water polo, and to put in the performance like he did today, he should be extremely proud, and we're certainly proud of him. We have six players on debut here in Singapore, so we've rejuvenated our team a little bit since Paris, and it's great to see some of the players stepping up to this level.”
On the team’s preparation for its final group-stage match against Japan:
“Japan's one of those teams that everything we've been practising and doing over the last couple of days against Hungary and Spain, in many respects, doesn't apply against Japan, because they play such a different style and a unique style. However, we've played them a lot before. We've had common trainings with them over the last couple of years. So, one thing you know is that we're pretty clear how the Japanese will play against us. It'll be just whether we're good enough to counteract their style of game, whether we come out on top.”
Match 12, Group B, JAPAN 18 HUNGARY 23 (5-5, 3-5, 3-5, 7-8)
Hungary is always the biggest scalp to claim in world water polo and Japan is one of the trickiest teams to play. Put the two together and you have a wonderful fusion of, speed, power, history and ingenuity. Wrap them all up and see the explosion of skills and the goals will start coming. Hungary was stunned that it was tit for tat in the first quarter with the match tied at five. Hungary started the net breaches with the trade going to 3-3. Japan nudged ahead on penalty thanks to captain Yusuke Inaba with his second. Hungarian skipper Krisztian Manhercz joined the scorers and Petar Kovacs claimed his second to regain the lead for his country. Seiya Adachi equalised in the last second to brighten up the first session of the day.
The swapping of goals continued in the second quarter with Japan having to catch up twice before Vince Vigvari — his second — and Adam Nagy gaining a two-goal advantage. Adachi scored his second of the period and third for the match from the top only for Zsombor Vismeg to convert extra from the top for 10-8 before halftime.
Gergely Burian gave Hungary a three-goal margin a minute into the third period with Inaba pulling the trigger from the top for 11-9 soon after. Burian converted extra and Hungary was three up again. Taiyo Watanabe pulled one back but Manhercz scored twice for 14-10. Watanabe rocketed in a shot from nine metres but Vismeg maintained the four-goal advantage heading into the final quarter.
What a final quarter it was! There were 15 goals with the match at break-neck speed Hungary scored three of the first four goals, going six goals up. Japan immediately trimmed it by three and goals were traded. Adam Nagy scored three of the next four goals with Kiyomu Date splitting his record and gaining his third goal of the period. Vismeg went on counter to score for 23-17 but the goal was wiped after a Japanese challenge. Japan went to within four on counter only for Akos Nagy to collect his second goal on penalty, 19 seconds from time for the 23-18 victory.
Match Heroes
Vismeg finished with four goals with Manhercz and Adam Nagy with three each. Goalkeeper Marton Mizsei made nine saves. Watanabe scored four each for Japan with Date and Inaba on three apiece.
Turning Point
Hungary opening up the first four-goal lead in the third period.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary converted three from four on extra and Japan four from six. Both teams scored their two penalty attempts. Hungary made five steals to three and outshot Japan 34-33.
Bottom Line
Hungary played a style similar to Japan’s and the new rules with the shorter pool meant this was exciting from the start with some amazing goals — and plenty of them.
What They Said
Krisztian MANHERCZ (HUN) — Captain and Player of the Match
On the match:
“I’m really happy because we won our second game and are top of the group. That was our main goal after two games. I’m also happy because Japan’s playing a really tough style. They move a lot and they receive a lot of exclusions, so it’s tough to play against them. And, of course, we (conceded) a lot of goals; we need to be prepared for that. But at the end, we take the three points, so I’m really happy.
“We prepared for everything that they did today and still, they managed to score 18. Against Spain, they played 22-16, so it was pretty close, too. It’s tough to play against them. They prepared well for this whole tournament, but so did we and I’m looking forward to playing against Spain.”
On what changed after halftime:
“We prepared more for our defence in the third quarter – that was one main difference. We took a lot of steals and from those steals, we managed to score a lot of fast-break goals. The third quarter was when we managed a three-or-four-goal difference and that was the biggest key for victory.”
Match 11, Group D, GREECE 26 CHINA 5 (2-0, 10-0, 6-3, 8-2)
Greece kept China scoreless in the first half after a slow start and swam away with the match. Greece had to work hard for its first two goals, missing a penalty chance before scoring twice, three minutes apart and still having nearly four minutes in the clock, with no more scoring. China was tight on defence, but struggled to nail a goal. The second quarter was totally different with Greece gaining more confidence, faster combinations and chances that reaped rewards — especially two counters coming off fantastic goalkeeper passes. Dimitrios Nikolaidis, who backhanded his centre-forward shot in the first quarter, scored on extra off the left post and for the 5-0 goal he sent in a lightning backhander when heavily guarded. It went to 7-0 before China called a timeout to arrest the slide more than set up a goal attempt. However, Greece defended and Stylianos Argyropoulos snared his second and Nikolaos Gkillas with his second, this time from the penalty stripe. Aristeidis Chalyvopoulos and Konstantinos Gkiouvetsis gained their second goals with Nikolaidis finishing an extra-man play on the right post for 12-0 and his fourth of the match. China was still looking for that elusive first goal.
The third period meant an awakening by China, jumping on Greek errors for three goals. Wang Beiyi backhanded at centre forward for 13-1 at 5:31 while Peng Jiahao countered and Chen Rui received a cross pass on an extra-man play for 17-3. As China went 18 and a half minutes without a goal, Greece was in a situation of being nearly three minutes without and took a timeout on extra to arrest the “mini drought”. Nikolaos Papanikolaou accepted the cross pass to the left post to score easily for 18-3 before the final break. Argyropoulos and two Gkillas goals had Greece at 21-3 by 4:30. Liu Yu fired a missile from the top at 4:10 for China’s fourth goal. Greece pounded in the next five goals in just over three minutes with Chen Zhongxian firing in one from the top with six seconds left for the final score of 26-5.
Match Heroes
Nikolaidis with five goals; Gkillas and Kalogeropoulos with four and three to captain Argyropoulos were the scoring stars. Emmanouil Andreadis made 10 saves.
Turning Point
Keeping China scoreless for the first half made for a straight-forward match.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece converted an excellent eight from 10 on extra to China’s one from three. Greece scored two from three on penalty, made 17 steals to five and shot 36 to 28.
Bottom Line
Greece is the World Cup silver medallist from this year’s edition and fifth from the Paris Olympics and last year’s World Championships. That says a lot. It was Greece’s first win after losing to Montenegro on day two. China lost to Croatia 25-6.
Whay He Said
Theodoros VLACHOS (GRE) — Head Coach
On the result:
“We had a tough match against Montenegro and we didn’t feel so comfortable. We needed today to play more freely and practise some things for the next game. I believe that we did some specific things differently and my players had the passion to swim freely and score. I’d like to see a strong team China in the future. It’s a huge country and it can help with the improvement of water polo.
On the challenge of playing Croatia next:
“It’s very hard to play Croatia. They have such a strong tradition in water polo. Croatia is probably the most successful team in the last three, four years. You need to be 100 percent ready and concentrate and play your game; you need to be close to perfect. It’s a big challenge to play against a big opponent like Croatia. Everybody prepares for this game. In a game like this you’ll see your character as a team, the reactions, and quality of your players.”
On teams from Asia and Africa being part of the world championships:
“I see teams from Asia, Africa trying. They have the power to do this. A country like China can choose from many, many players. Maybe they don’t have the quality of European teams, but day by day, year by year, they can do more steps to be closer to European teams. World water polo needs Asian teams. It’s not very nice if it’s just the European teams playing at high level. We can take some ideas from football – it’s a global sport. We have to follow sports like football and basketball.”
Match 10, Group A, SOUTH AFRICA 5 ROMANIA 24 (0-8, 1-3, 3-7, 1-6)
Romania bounced back from its first-day 17-5 loss to Italy while South Africa suffered a second big loss. Romania showed no mercy in the first quarter with eight unanswered goals. South Africa was struggling to get shots on target as well as sloppy defence proving damning. Seven different players scored with Andrei Neamtu scoring the 5-0 penalty and then the 7-2 score from the top right. Levente Vancsik lobbed beautifully from the deep right for the fourth goal. Andrei Prioteasa lunged forward and tapped in a ball slowly drifting into goal and South African head coach Grant MacKenzie protested vehemently that he was inside the shooter. The VAR review showed otherwise and MacKenzie was awarded a yellow card as he protested but did not challenge. Francesco Iudean scored the 10th Romanian goal from the top before Carl Germishuys opened South Africa’s scoring with a rocket shot after a full turn from the top left. Vlad-Luca Georgescu, the opening scorer on penalty, fired a shot from the top left faster than a speeding bullet for 11-1. Andrei Tepelus snapped in a shot from the bottom left on the buzzer, but a VAR review assessed that the ball was in hand at the end of time. Not only had South Africa scored, but it limited the Romanian chances for a 3-1 period.
Ryan Sneddon opened for South Africa from seven metres. In between David-Joan Bota doughnutted the goalkeeper with his backhand, Prioteasa fired from the top and Vancsik converted extra. Dean Sneddon backhanded an angled shot from two metres to bring up South Africa’s third goal. Iudean made it 15-3 from the deep right with a superb bounce on the acute angle. After Geogescu netted his third, Dean Sneddon did the same, scoring from a “fake” six-metre shot for 16-4. Neamtu had his penalty attempt blocked by Matthew Smith but on the next attack made amends with a seven-metre rocket on extra. Tepelus crossed from the top left for 18-4, 11 seconds from the final break for 18-4. Iudean opened on extra and Matthew Neser speared in a shot from the left for 19-5 by 5:36 in the final quarter. Matei Lutescu scored and then Georgescu thundered in a shot from deep left, much like the weather overhead. Lutescu earned his second off a long cross pass to the left post on counter for 22-5 at 2:01. David Belenyesi scored from very deep left and then earned a steal, earned a penalty foul and then had his penalty attempt blocked by Smith — his second penalty stop. Vancsik closed all scoring at 0:34 for 24-5.
Match Heroes
Georgescu and Iudean scored four each and Neamtu three for Romania. Dean Sneddon scored twice for the Africans and goalkeeper Smith had those two penalty saves in his seven saves in his three periods.
Turning Point
The 10-0 start says it all.
Stats Don’t Lie
Romania converted here from six on extra and shut out South Africa’s four attempts. Romania scored two from four on penalty, made 14-3 in the steals department and an incredible 47-18 in the overall shots.
Bottom Line
Romania is a team worthy of progressing higher into the competition while South Africa will battle out the lower group.
What They Said
Eduard DRAGUSIN (ROU) — Athlete
On the result:
“It was important for us to win this match. We went to the Olympics, and now we demonstrate that Romania have a better team.
“Now, it’s OK, but we see the next game with Serbia. Everything is difficult about playing Serbia. We’ll need to focus on our defence.”
On being the oldest player in the men’s competition:
“I don’t know what has kept me playing for so long. I like water polo. It’s difficult now. The game is very fast now. It’s changed so much. I have to do a lot of training, and have my team with me.”
Carl GERMISHUYS (RSA) — Goal Scorer
On the match:
“Tough fixture. It’s a bit enjoyable to score your first-ever international goal, so that was a really good feeling. But we didn’t do well enough on covering the counter. We’ll look towards our next game.”
On what competing in the world championships can do for water polo in South Africa:
“It shows guys who are interested in playing or in a young age group that if you work towards something, you can make it. It’s very interesting for us because we’re not a professional side at all. We all have full-time jobs and work. So (water) polo for us is more of a hobby, and for us to even get the chance to come compete at an international, prestigious tournament like this is honestly an amazing spectacle.”
On how he hopes to inspire the under-15 boys’ team that he coaches:
“I just hope that they look up to me and try to do what I do. Maybe not all of it, just the things I do well.”
Match 9, Group C, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16 BRAZIL 7 (6-1, 2-0, 4-3, 4-3)
Olympic bronze medallist USA was always going to hard to beat, but Brazil took it up to the more illustrious opponent in this American confrontation. With junior world championship most valuable player Ryder Dodd in sparkling form — gaining player of the match today — USA was assured of an excellent start and this it did with the youngster scoring three of the first four goals before Lucas Farias responded for Brazil. Hannes Daube collected his second from the top left, followed by captain Max Irving from the other side of the pool. Dylan Woodhead snapped in a short cross pass to the right-post position on extra to start the second quarter and USA was 7-1 ahead. Brazil tightened its defence and restricted USA to only one other goal with Irving smashing in a shot from his favoured position on action at 4:22. Brazil made a few shots on target, one hitting the left upright, that had beaten the goalkeeper.
Brazil proved very competitive in the third period with three consecutive goals after USA had advanced the score to 11-1. Irving closed the scoring for a 12-4 margin. Irving scored twice while for Brazil, Farias claimed his second from the top. Brazilian captain Gustavo Guimaraes buried the second and third shots with the second needing VAR to get across the line. The final quarter was also relatively even with goals traded to 14-6 — Connor Ohl gaining his first goal at this level. USA had a penalty attempt saved and two timeouts for USA realised a penalty goal to Connor Ohl (with his brother playing alongside him and his parents in the stands). Farias landed a third from the top and Jake Ehrhardt converting extra from the deep left for 16-7 at 0:32. Brazil had a timeout and the subsequent shot rebounded off the bar and the last shot saved. It proved to be a 4-3 quarter and an 8-6 half.
Match Heroes
Ryder Dodd and Irving scored four each for USA and Farias three for Brazil. Joao Fernandes made 10 saves in the Brazilian goal.
Turning Point
At 11-1, there was no turning point, although Brazil’s second half was a compliment to its determination.
Stats Don’t Lie
USA rattled in seven of 10 on extra and defended three of four. USA missed one of the two penalty attempts on offer. USA made six steals to two and shot 34 to 26 overall.
Bottom Line
USA has that elusive Olympic bronze and Brazil needs a lot of work to become the best in the Americas.
What They Said
Ryder DODD (USA) — Player of the Match
On the team performance:
“This is a new group for us. We are really getting to know each other and learning a different game of water polo. Brazil is a great team. They put up a good fight. I am really happy with the way we performed. There are some highs, but we did have some mess-ups that we (have) just got to clean up for the rest of the tournament.”
On scoring four goals in the match:
“I feel great. It was great to play with these guys. They led me to where I was in the game. So, I’m just really happy with where the team was.”
On competing together with his brother Chase DODD (USA) at Singapore 2025:
“It is really special to share a game with someone you grew up with your entire life. He watched you do everything, he watched you grow up. It is really special to share this experience with him… It gets better every time we play together.”
On brother Chase DODD (USA) being his inspiration:
“Honestly, he is my biggest inspiration. Everything I do is because of him. I played water polo because of him. Anything I do with him is incredible.”
On being one step closer to the quarterfinals:
“Every game is of equal importance. We just came in here like it was our do-or-die game, and we played our best. At the end of the day, we got what we wanted. That’s all you can really ask for at this point.”
Gustavo GUIMARAES (BRA) — Captain
On the result:
“The first quarter was very bad, we were behind 6-1, and against a good team like that, it’s hard. We’ll need to watch the video, see what our mistakes were, and think about the next game against Canada to improve, and to get the second spot in the group, and try to get a better crossover.
“It’s hard, when you start like this against a good team. The second quarter was 2-0, and it’s a closer period, but like this it’s impossible to come back against an experienced team with good players. We need to try to improve fast for the next game against Canada.”
On areas for improvement:
“We need to improve our counter-attack and defence. In the first quarter, there were a few times they came maybe six players against five. When they come like this, we cannot be six on six, and it’s hard because they go fast with the ball. We’ll need to improve on this at the beginning. It’s not exclusion, it’s counter-attack, so it’s a big problem.”
On feeling positive about their chances of advancing:
“At a world championship, you have tough games. You cannot be demotivated if things happen like this. For sure, it’s not what we want, but we need to put our heads up and think about the next game. We can get a good crossover, and it’ll be a hard and good game against Canada.”
On flying the flag for South America:
“We need to try to improve water polo all over the world, not just in Europe. Europe is where it’s famous and popular, but it’s important to start to have good teams in other continents so we can all improve. Not just for South America, but it’ll be good for the sport overall.”
Progress Points
Group A: Italy 5, Serbia 4, Romania 3, South Africa 0.
Group B: Spain 6, Hungary 6, Australia 0, Japan 0.
Group C: United States of America 6, Brazil 3, Canada 3, Singapore 0.
Group D: Croatia 6, Greece 3, Montenegro 3, China 0.
Day 6 Schedule
Match 17. 09:00. Group C, Canada v Brazil
Match 18. 10:35. Group B, Australia v Japan
Match 19. 12:10. Group D, China v Montenegro
Match 20, 13:45, Group A, Italy v South Africa
Match 21. 16:00. Group A, Serbia v Romania
Match 22. 17:35. Group D, Greece v Croatia
Match 23. 19:10. Group C, Singapore v United States of America
Match 24. 20:45. Group B, Spain v Hungary