Multi-champion Hungary dethroned Croatia as world champion in the men’s water polo quarterfinals at the OCB Aquatic Centre on Sunday, winning 18-12. Hungary will play triple Olympic champion Serbia in one semifinal and World Cup silver medallist Greece will clash with European and World Cup champion Spain in the other semifinal.
Overview
In the medal quarterfinals, Greece defeated Italy 17-11 after Italy lost a player to a violence foul in the first quarter. Italy played man down for four minutes and the deficit became four, which it could not recover from.
Spain flummoxed Montenegro 14 -5 with a prolonged period in the middle with no Montenegro goals.
Serbia was all control over United States of America, turning 6-3 at halftime into a healthy 14-9 distance.
In the fourth quarterfinal, Croatia lost its mantle as world’s best as Hungary broke free of 6-6 at quarter time to defeat Croatia 18-12 in an absolute thriller.
This meant that of the group winners, only Spain made it through to the semifinals. The other three lost big-time. Perhaps the 3-4 days of rest were too much?
In the classification 9-12 semifinals in the morning session, Japan dumped Brazil 22-11 and Romania accounted for Canada 18-12. They will play their respective classification finals on Tuesday.
Bowing out of the competition today was Australia, winning the classification for 13th-14th against China 16-9 and Singapore securing 15th place on debut with a 14-13 margin over South Africa.
Day 12 Schedule
Classification 11-12
Match 39. 09:00. Brazil v Canada
Classification 9-10
Match 40. 10:35. Japan v Romania
Classification 5-8 Semifinal
Match 41. 16:00. Italy v Montenegro
Classification 1-4 Semifinal
Match 43. 17:35. Greece v Spain
Classification 5-8 Semifinal
Match 42 .20:00. United States of America v Croatia
Classification 1-4 Semifinal
Match 44 .21:35. Serbia v Hungary
Match Reports
Classification 1-8 Quarterfinals
Match 38, CROATIA 12 HUNGARY 18 (6-6, 1-5, 2-2, 3-5)
Croatia lost its world crown as Hungary took control of the last three quarters and never allowed Croatia to get a grip on the action. Despite the hard fight, Hungary was supreme and proved the better contestant for the semifinals on Tuesday.
Hungary burst out of the blocks with the first two goals, Marton Vamos and captain Krisztian Manhercz scoring on extra-man. Zvonimir Butic and Konstantin Kharkov responded from the top right. Goals were traded to 4-4 and Luka Bukic gave Croatia the 5-4 edge. Marton Vamos scored his third; Kharkov took a fast pass from Loren Fatovic to score from the right for 6-5 at 0:21. Gergo Fekete scored as an afterthought on what could have been a six-metre shot. The defence ignored him and he scored for 6-6 at the quarter break.
Vendel Vigvari from the top left, Akos Nagy from deep right on extra and captain Manhercz on counter reshaped the face of the match with Hungary suddenly 9-6 ahead. Croatia took a timeout and eventually Butic drilled from the top. Manhercz with a cross-cage shot and Adam Nagy on action pushed Hungary to 11-7 at the halftime break.
Manhercz opened as he does for Hungary and Vendel Vigvari wound up and sent a shot to goal that if the net was not there would have ended up in nearby Malaysia. It gave Hungary a sensational six-goal buffer. Marko Zuvela’s penalty attempt was smacked down by Kristof Csoma. However, Bukic scored on the next play on extra. Zuvela and Peter Kovacs were both excluded for the match and Butic scored the extra-man play for 13-9 down. Hungary called a timeout with no benefit to the scoresheet but it had a four-goal buffer ahead of the final quarter.
Tin Brubnjak drilled from the top for Croatia; Vince Vigvari bounced one in from deep left and Rino Buric steered a cross pass into goal for 14-11 down at 5:58. Fatovic steered in a pass but Zsombor Vismeg rifled one in from the top and Croatia challenged for a penalty. It was lost and a minute or so later Adam Nagy shot from the right on extra for 16-12. Adam Nagy did it again 45 seconds later and the match was in the bag at 17-12. Kristof Csoma made his 11th save and Hungary cruised forward but a long shot from the left was redirected into goal by Erik Molnar on the right post, some 10m away – 18-12. Both teams spent the last 20 seconds congratulating one another as Hungary had made the semis and Croatia had lost its crown.
Match Heroes
Manhercz was best in pool and inspirational when needed most. He scored four while Vamos and Adam Nagy netted three each. Csoma made 11 saves in goal. Butic buried four, Bukic, Kharkov and Fatovic two each for Croatia.
Turning Point
From 6-5 down to 9-6 ahead in the second period was where the match was won.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary converted seven from 13 on extra and Croatia eight from 17. Croatia missed one penalty attempt, made five steals to one and shot 36-34 over Hungary.
Bottom Line
Hungary was hungry. That’s what it looked like. The drive was there and it needed to beat a world champion just to get a semifinal.
What They Said
Krisztian MANHERCZ (HUN) — Captain and Player of the Match
On the result:
“Of course I’m really happy. First I want to congratulate both the teams because it was, maybe, the best game of the tournament. Two amazing teams and our heart was in the right place at the right moment. We received so many man downs and we (conceded) just 12 goals. That’s amazing. Kristof CSOMA was amazing in goal. We had so many blocks and in attack, we made some uncomfortable moments for their goalkeepers and defenders.
“Our blocks and defence were faster. We started to focus so much and that was the key. After the second quarter, we could keep this distance against Croatia because they started to come back in the fourth quarter, so we really needed the heart in that moment. We had amazing shoots from Vendel VIGVARI, Adam NAGY and Marton VAMOS. But the key to today’s game was our defence.”
On the semifinal against Serbia:
“That will be a tough game, of course. They have amazing players and it will be a semifinal of the World Championships, so that’s going to be a tough game. But we played against them three weeks ago in Budapest, so we have enough video, and they played five games in this tournament so both of the teams will prepare very well.”
Vince VIGVARI (HUN) — Goal Scorer
On how he felt after the match:
“Two words that both start with E — exhausted and excited. We don’t fear anyone. We believed in ourselves and with patience and hard work, we are going to work more and we’ll have more energy. We knew that if we stuck to our game plan, we were going to get the job done.
“The offence was pretty solid from the get-go, but we didn’t have too many blocks in the first quarter. After that, our man down came together; we started to have some interceptions and blocks. We continued to build our attack, to develop our positions and attack them where we thought they were dangerous. We stuck to our plan and it worked.”
On playing with his brother Vendel and scoring in big games together:
“It’s amazing. Any time we are in the water together is such an amazing feeling. He scored two amazing goals and I’m so happy that I could assist him once because I know that it’s special for the family and for us as well. I was really happy. I’m super proud of the whole team because we played an incredible game.”
On the semifinal against Serbia:
“We want to do everything better. We want to keep raising the level and reach our expectations, which are to play with high energy, stick to our plan, help each other in everything and enjoy our journey. Last year, Croatia went to three finals and we didn’t even go to one. We were the underdogs today and we proved that we are here to show ourselves. I’m very proud of the team.”
Marko BIJAC (CRO) — Goalkeeper and Captain
On the team’s performance:
“For sure, we must be disappointed; we didn’t show up today. Hungary was much better, that is it. We need to internalise and see why that happened.”
On takeaways from the match:
“I do not know. It’s still too early, we must watch the game calmly, then analyse and try to understand what happened.”
On whether pressure affected the team:
“It was not pressure. After the first quarter, we started to get too nervous and we could not come back. Hungary was much better.”
Match 37, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 9 SERBIA 14 (1-3, 2-3, 2-4, 4-4)
Serbia did not rush, just slowly built quarter by quarter and came through with the match that could have been a problem. It was not. Considering the previous quarterfinals, this match was much tighter and sedate with Serbia controlling by winning the first quarter 3-1 and then shifting to 4-1 at the start of the second. Strahinja Rasovic and Chase Dodd swapped goals with Boris Vapenski on counter and Milos Cuk with a big smash from the top settling the first eight minutes. Nemanja Vico scored off a near pass to the right post on the first attack of the second quarter. Dusan Mandic then, inexplicably, forced his penalty attempt across the crossbar. Nicolas Saveljic gained USA’s second goal when he knocked in a rebound in front of goal. On the next USA attack, Hannes Daube shot from the top and the ball deflected off a defender, confusing the goalkeeper. It was 4-3 to Serbia at 5:32. A Serbian timeout was obviously an instruction to give the ball to Mandic to score on extra, which he did. Strahinja Rasovic converted a penalty at 0:32 and Serbia was 6-3 ahead.
Vico started the second half off his right-post position, gathering a delicate lob to score for 7-3 at 7:12. Sava Randelovic, with a cross-cage shot off his left-post position, converted the extra. Nikola Murisic lobbed from centre forward for 9-3. Saveljic scored his second for USA from the top. Cuk drilled from the top and Jake Ehrhardt backhanded from centre forward to close the third -quarter scoring at 10-5. The final quarter was tit for tat at 4-4 with Hannes Daube leading the way followed by Max Irving, Chase Dodd and Ryder Dodd. Viktor Rasovic was joined by captain Nikola Jaksic twice and Vasilije Martinovic on penalty.
Match Heroes
Strahinja Rasovic, Cuk, Jaksic and Vico scored twice each for Serbia with goalkeeper Radoslav Filipovic making eight saves. For USA, Saveljic, Daube and Chase Dodd scored twice each.
Turning Point
Serbia with the 4-1 lead.
Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia converted five from seven on extra and defended seven of 11. Serbia put away three from four on penalty; stole the ball 13-7 and shot 31-27.
Bottom Line
Serbia is chasing the title. It was not USA’s night.
What They Said
Nemanja VICO (SRB) — Player of the Match
On performance and player of the match:
“I’m happy, I played well. Today I was the best but tomorrow it will be someone else. I’m happy I played well.”
Nicolas SAVELJIC (USA) — Two Goals
On the match and the approach coming in:
“First of all, I would like to congratulate the team of Serbia for advancing to the semifinals and my team on a great run so far. We went down by too many goals to start with; we were turning the ball way too early and it led to some cheap goals the other way. We’re always take it one game at a time.
“There’s always a good question when you do have, let’s say, an easier group, it’s always a challenge whether you want to get a couple days off or get that extra game to prepare and glue the team even closer.
“But we’re going to leave that discussion for other people. We’re not really worried about that. This is a young team, a new team and every day is a new opportunity for us to come closer together. We’re turning a new page and we’re excited for the next game. We’re definitely going to watch some film, re-evaluate how we played today and come back stronger.
Match 36, SPAIN 14 MONTENEGRO 5 (4-3, 4-1, 3-0, 3-1)
World Cup champion Spain soaked up the Montenegrin pressure from the start and had to come from behind three times as the Balkan team laid claim to the match. The first four goals were traded by 6:34 and then Dusan Matkovic scored on extra for 3-2. It could have been 4-2 except Duro Radovic had his shot stuffed back. Bernat Sanahuja and Unai Biel scored inside the last three minutes and Spain was one up at the break.
Sanahuja had an excellent second quarter and became a huge problem for Montenegro. He scored his second goal at 7:01 form the left post off a cross pass on extra. Duro Radovic responded from the top and Alvaro Granados closed off a penalty shot for 6-4 at 6:21. Montenegro threw some huge shots that were blocked by the bruised defence. At 4:23 Sanahuja scored from the right and at 2:09 he snuck around the deep left to receive the ball and score while unattended. Spain was 8-4 up at the long break.
Sanahuja opened the third period on action for his fifth goal and instantly took a break. He deserved it. Granados converted the penalty at 6:15 and there was a lot of swimming as the next goal did not come until 1:30 when Munarriz fired a cannonball from outside for 11-4. Matkovic had his penalty attempt soar over the crossbar at 1:15 and it meant Montenegro had not scored since way back at 6:35 in the second quarter. Spain had crossed the line six times in that period.
Biel started the fourth period on extra with Montenegro closing more than 18 minutes of no goal on extra from the bottom left by Vasilije Radovic. Biel Gomila replied immediately with a snap shot from centre forward at 3:23. Sanahuja was not finished yet, being heavily guarded at the top. He seemingly pretended to pass or relax but shot just inside the final minute for his sixth goal from 10 attempts. The match died from there and Spain was starting to think about the semifinals. This was a match where Montenegro could not buy goals, no matter what it did.
Match Heroes
Sanahuja with his six goals
Turning Point
That 18-minute holiday for Montenegro where no goals came.
Stats Don’t Lie
Spain converted three from five on extra and saved six from nine. Spain scored both penalty fouls and Montenegro failed with two. Montenegro made seven steals to three and shot 36 to 33.
Bottom Line
Spain is the World Cup champion from April and Montenegro has been midfield for too long.
What They Said
Bernat SANAHUJA (ESP) — Six Goals
On the performance:
“I’m happy with how the team performed, as always, but it is important what this team is doing. Last year, reaching the semifinals, and this year again, I think it is amazing, so we have to be really proud.”
On pressure and expectations:
“There is always pressure when we play for the Spanish national team, you have extra pressure and everybody expects that you will be in the final or among the medals. It’s normal but the team is really in a good moment, so we are happy.”
On the difference between Spain and Montenegro:
“Maybe it’s the details, in the beginning, they could shoot easily with some players, but we fixed that in the end and we played really good defence – that was the difference.”
On moving to the semifinals:
“As always, when we play for the Spanish national team, you always want to win against the world, so we are in a good moment and prepared, so we will go for gold.”
Unai AGUIRRE (ESP) — Goalkeeper and Player of the Match
On today’s performance:
“We played really good defence, and that was the key. We didn’t do it in the group stage against Hungary, so we improved in that way. It was tough in the beginning, they started very well, but once we had a difference of three or four goals, we came in clutch to score the goals and I am happy for the team. The next match is the most important match, such as this one was, and step by step, game by game, we can do it.”
On handling pressure from being winner of the World Cup:
“Honestly, the World Cup is not the World Championships. We played very well in the World Cup with a younger squad, but now we’re here, our focus is to try to play game by game, and improve game by game.”
Dejan SAVIC (MNE) — Head Coach
On the match:
“It was a good start in the beginning, but we missed a lot of opportunities and after that, we didn’t score a goal for two-and-a-half quarters. Spain are a very good team and they played very well in defence, so this difference between us is not accurate usually, but today it was.
“Whenever a Montenegrin player took a shot, it was a minimum of two blocks from Spain, sometimes three or four. They played very well in man down, so we didn’t score. It could have been a tougher game. This is very bad for us, but we will continue because this is a young team and we have taken a lot of steps forward.”
On what it will take for the team to challenge for medals again:
“We have some strategies, some plans. First, in this competition, we must try to finish in a better position and after that, we will be prepared for the European Championship. But it’s always about the Olympics in four years. No one is thinking about it now, but that is a process of four years of preparation that starts now. We hope we will be ready for that level of competition, especially for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.”
Match 35, ITALY 11 GREECE 17 (1-6, 1-3, 4-4, 5-4)
Greece won an incredible match after arriving to play for gold it seemed and the violence foul that eventuated in the opening quarter put a different complexion on the match, but it did not deter from beautiful water polo for the remainder of the night from both teams.
The first quarter was extraordinary with a red card and a yellow card issued to two players. The red card was for violence with Greece getting a man up for four minutes after taking and succeeding with a penalty shot. Greek star Stylianos Argyropoulos was told to sit out with a yellow card and cool down after a bit of over-excitement, being allowed to come back in the next quarter.
It all started with Konstantinos Genidounias converting a penalty foul and Lorenzo Bruni replying from deep left. Argyropoulos hit the left post on penalty but soon after Genidounias took a foul at six metres and rocketed in the shot for 2-1. Aristeidis Chalyvopoulos made it 3-1 at 2:24. At 1:52, a Greek player appeared injured and the VAR was reviewed, showing that Matteo Iocchi Gratta allegedly kneeing the Greek player in the head. He was sent for violence and Greece took a penalty shot and then did something rarely seen at this level. It took four shots in the four-minute, extra-man suspension period, scoring three extra-man goals to none. This soared the score to 6-1 before the seventh man entered the field of play. The violence issue might have caused irreparable damage for Italy. Chalyvopoulos scored twice, Argyropoulos once and Evangelos Pouros with the fourth at 7:15 in the second period.
More pain came the way of Italy when at full strength. Argyropoulos scored from the right side and Dimitrios Nikolaidis mesmerised the defence with a snap backhand goal from two metres. Staggeringly, Greece was 9-1 ahead in a quarterfinal! At 1:43 in the second quarter, Bruni came to the rescue of Italy with his second goal off the left-post position off a cross pass. Greece turned at 9-2.
The third period was just as breathless and it was up to Greece to maintain its lead and for Italy to claw back every goal it could. Remember Italy missed the World Cup through suspension, so is probably craving this level of competition. Giacomo Cannella began the long road back but speed humps were put in the way by Argyropoulos and Chalyvopoulos, this match’s true heroes. Edoardo di Somma converted a penalty and Luca Damonte found the gap at deep right on extra for 11-5 behind. Nikolaidis steered in a high ball off the left-post position on extra and Greece was 12-5 at 2:38. Bruni was the giver who keeps giving, flicking in a loose ball at one metre for 12-6 despite the protestations of the Greek defenders. Dimitrios Skoumpakis shot from the carpark on the last second for 13-6.
Efstathios Kalogeropoulos went on counter and lobbed to open the final quarter with Italian captain Francesco di Fulvio quickly sending in an extra-man goal from the top. Goals were traded for Argyropoulos, Di Somma, Konstantinos Kakaris with a six-metre free throw and di Fulvio again from the right-hand-catch position. It was 3:27 and 16-6. Both teams tried something off timeouts for no joy. Francesco Cassia scored off a juggling pass at deep left for 16-10 at 1:50. It was still the same differential as after the man-down suspension. Nikolaos Gkillas scored off counter while on extra and Cassia signed off with a penalty strike for 17-11. Greece was into the semifinals.
Match Heroes
Greek goalkeeper Panagiotis Tzortzatos was best in water with an amazing 16 saves. Argyropoulos scored four, Chalyvopoulos three and pairs to Genidounias, Kalogeropoulos and Nikolaidis. For Italy, Bruno nailed three goals with di Fulvio, di Somma and Cassia scoring twice. Gianmarco Nicosia made nine saves in goal.
Turning Point
The violence foul.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece converted four from nine on extra and Italy seven from 13. On penalties, Greece converted two from three and Italy all three. Italy stole the ball six to two and shot 37-33 but Greece had the win.
Bottom Line
Greece had the match in its grasp before the violence foul and then it shot four goals in the four minutes — a match-winner. Italy nearly matched Greece for the rest of the match such was its resolve.
What They Said
Theodoros VLACHOS (GRE) — Head Coach
On the team’s response after the group stage:
“I have to be honest, I didn’t expect to win in this way, but, of course, I was expecting my players to fight and try to win against a big opponent that I respect a lot, Italy, and especially the coach Mr (Alessandro) Campagna. I was not so confident but everyone was believing that we could beat Italy if we can play a very, very good game. We played a perfect game, and we deserve this win, to play in the semifinals.”
On expectations for the semifinals:
“I am very confident in this game – how we played, how we reacted against a big opponent, says a lot. Two more games, two more wins, we do not have to be afraid to lose something. We will prepare ourselves for the semifinals and give our best.”
Konstantinos GENIDOUNIAS (GRE) — Captain
On the result:
“I’m very pleased, very excited, but nothing’s done yet. The worst place to be in a tournament is fourth because you’re right there but you leave with nothing. Our heads still have to remain in the game and we have two more games.”
On starting and finishing strongly:
“It’s the mindset we want to keep in these games. You have to start and let the opponent know that you’re here to win, and that’s what we did. The red card definitely helped us, but it’s part of the game and we took advantage of that. We took an eight-goal difference and we held it until the end. At this level, we don’t need any advice. Everybody knows what he’s got to do in these situations, but the mindset was to keep attacking and not let them score any easy goals. That’s what happened. They scored some easy goals at the end, but it was already too late.”
On the semifinals:
“I don’t mind any team. Whoever comes, it’s going to be a very difficult game, so I’m going to get some food, some rest and focus on the next game.”
Panagiotis TZORTZATOS (GRE) — Goalkeeper and Player of the Match
On reaching the semifinals:
“It feels amazing, but it’s not finished yet. We have to be concentrated on the semis and we want to fight against a very good opponent, beat him and be in the final. We just have to do almost the same, maybe a little better and we will be in the final.”
On staying alert to make important saves:
“I’ve been training my mind a lot. I have the experience, now I’m 33, so I have these games on my back and we have what it takes to do it.”
On the team’s performance:
“We had almost the perfect game today. We played with our mind, we were concentrated all game and played incredible defence – at least for three quarters. It showed when Italy stayed behind and it was difficult for them to come back. Of course, they were trying to come back. They will fight because they are an amazing team, but our defence was very good. I played well but my team-mates helped me a lot. The guys were strong and that made the difference in the game.
Stylianos ARGYROPOULOS (GRE) — Four Goals
On the team’s performance:
“I feel good, we were really concentrating throughout the whole game, and that was our purpose. We didn’t lose our minds when everything happened, with the exclusion and substitutions, and we were really concentrated. Defensively, we could have played better, but I’m really happy, now we stop celebrating, and start focusing on the next two games.”
On going through to the semifinals:
“We are very confident, our minds are already in the semifinals. Now we need to prepare, to recover. This is our chance, we need to prove ourselves once again, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Classification 9-12 Semifinals
Match 34, ROMANIA 18 CANADA 12 (5-1, 3-3, 5-4, 5-4)
Romania started strongly and kept the goal flow until the last despite Canada’s resurgence in the second half. Romania had a brilliant start at 4-0 with four different shooters with one of the shots requiring VAR to make sure it fully crossed the line. Canada took a timeout and lost the ball. By now it was 4:31. Canada was working hard on defence and slipped through for its first goal at 0:51 via Jason O’Connell on extra from the right-post position. Vlad-Luca Georgescu responded on the next attack from the top to finish the first half and after Romania could not score for four minutes. Reuel D’Souza opened the second quarter from the top and goals were traded to 7-3. Levente Vancsik elevated Romania to a five-goal differential at centre forward. A Canadian shot rebounded to inside halfway and D’Souza picked up, turned and shot to score on the buzzer just to impress the Canadian diving and artistic swimming teams who came in to support. It was 8-4 at the turn.
Francesco Iudean started the trading in the third period with Jeremie Coté replying on extra. Nicolae Oanta scored from the top-right position and Nikos Gerakoudis shot over goalkeeper Marius-Florin Tic’s head from bottom right. D’Souza scored from the top and Romania lost a challenge for a possible penalty foul at the previous attack. Andrei Tepelus, Neamtu and Georgescu altered the scoreboard to 13-7. The last goal came from Coté to trail by five at the last break. Romania went 3-1 in the first stages of the final quarter with Coté bringing up Canada’s 10th goal. Georgescu, from eight metres, made it 17-10 with 2:14 remaining, the match safely in the bag. Canadian captain Bogdan Djerkovic sent in a beauty from centre forward over the goalkeeper’s head and D’Souza rattled the crossbar in a penalty goal to narrow the margin, but player-of-the-match Iudean finished all scoring nine seconds from time for his fifth and a solid Romanian victory.
Match Heroes
Iudean with his five and Neamtu and Georgescu with three. Tic pulled in 13 saves for 46 all week. For Canada, D’Souza increased his lead as the tournament’s best with four goals — 19 in all. Coté made three today.
Turning Point
The four-goal burst at the start made it hard for Canada.
Stats Don’t Lie
Romania converted six from seven and stopped six from 12. Canada scored the sole penalty shot; both teams made 10 steals and Canada shot 35 to 31.
Bottom Line
Romania is the stronger team and some of its shots were incredible. Romania will play for ninth after being 10th last year. Canada missed last year and was 12th in 2023.
What He Said
Francesco IUDEAN (ROU) — Man of the Match
On the match:
“It was how we prepared it, and everything worked so good.”
On Romania’s next match:
“This is our target, to get the ninth place, better than (our result in) Doha. If (we) take it, it is good, but we had the chance with Hungary (to be top eight) and we didn't.”
Match 33, JAPAN 22 BRAZIL 11 (7-1, 7-4, 4-3, 4-3)
The hard-shooting and speedy Japanese showed why they are so close to the top tier with two excellent first quarters, setting up the team for the trip to the play-off for ninth. Japan scored the first two, had one scored against and then finished the quarter at 7-1 with former captain Toi Suzuki and captain Yusuke Inaba netting twice. The second quarter was frenetic with Brazil getting into the match and figuring out how to slow Japan’s menacing attack. Goals were traded with Watanabe grabbing his second of the period and third for the match on penalty. Inaba scored his third from close in and Lucas Andrade converted a penalty foul. He was not so lucky on the next attempt a minute later, hitting the post. Suzuki and Kiyomu Date lifted the score to 12-3 with goals traded to 14-5 at the halftime break.
Pedro Real netted his third goal for Brazil from the top right to start the second half and the next three minutes were all Japan — Watanabe, Seiya Adachi (penalty) and Mitsuru Takata giving Japan a 17-6 advantage. Lucas Farias sent one in from right hand catch for 17-7 at 2:20 and Marcos Pedroso, who scored in the first quarter, had to fend off a defender to muscle in a shot from left hand catch at four metres. Inaba shot from top left on the buzzer for 18-8 for his fourth goal. The final quarter was tight, even though Japan rushed to 21-8 with Real having a penalty attempt saved. Brazil ripped in a triple with two to Paulo Oliveira and another to Andrade. Enishi Ura sent in a six-metre shot in the last three seconds for 22-11.
Match Heroes
Inaba with five goals to give him 18 in Singapore while Watanabe netted four (16), Ura, Date and Suzuki for three each. Towa Nishimura made 10 saves during his three periods. For Brazil, Real landed three goals and Joao Fernandes took in nine saves in his stint in goal.
Turning Point
That first period took the stuffing out of Brazil.
Stats Don’t Lie
Japan converted just three form seven on extra and stopped six from seven. Japan scored three from four on penalties and Brazil three from five. Brazil stole 10 balls to four and Japan shot 44 to 36.
Bottom Line
Japan will be happy with ninth place, should it get through on Tuesday, and improved in some areas, according to Watanabe. In Doha, Japan finished 13th — beating Brazil by the same score, 22-11 — and will look for an 11th-placed finish, another step up the ladder. Brazil is at least assured of a better finish than last year.
What He Said
Taiyo WATANABE (JPN) — Player of the Match
On the match:
“We did so good counter-attack, and the defence was good. Our goal was (the) top eight, but we couldn't beat Serbia in (the) crossover game. We changed (our) mind, and we (had) good motivation to win this game.”
On Japan’s next match:
“In Japanese history, ninth (place) is the most great (result). We have to do more good play, good shooting, like this game. So next game, it's important to win the game. So yeah, we will be much better.
On what a ninth-place finish would mean:
“In Japan, water polo is not famous and (not) everyone (watches) the game. If we win the game, I don't know, maybe everyone (will) watch that. And we want water polo to be famous.”
Classification 13-14
Match 32, AUSTRALIA 16 CHINA 9 (5-2, 3-1, 5-3, 3-3)
Australia has not been to this division for 52 years and made sure of plenty of goals against a worthy opponent in China. In fact, China started with the first two goals, Chen Zhongxian from the left side on the first attack and then on penalty within two minutes. The Aussie Sharks knuckled down to pull it back. Marcus Berehulak scored a penalty goal and had the second attempt blocked within 26 seconds. Captain Nathan Power and Andrej Grgurevic unleashed extra-man goals for the 3-2 lead at 3:45. Power went on counter and Tristan Glanznig scored on extra for 5-2 at the first break. Cai Yuhao had his penalty attempt blocked by Nic Porter on the first attack of the second period. Power from the top, Glanznig on penalty and Power from the top on extra, pushed the margin to six at 4:41. The Chinese drought stopped at 1:50 when Chen Rui took a cross pass on extra for 8-3, the halftime score.
There was a flash of green and white at the top of the third quarter as the Sharks poured in three goals — Mercep from the top right; Power on the left post on extra and Luka Krstic on penalty. Chen Zhongxian barred down from the top left for 11-4; Mercep replied from the top right with Chen Rui scoring from deep left. Glanznig had his penalty attempt blocked by Wu Honghui. China called a timeout and set up Liu Zhilong on extra for 12-6. Grgurevic converted another penalty to close the period seven up. Berehulak gave the Sharks an eight-goal advantage from the top but China was trying hard to make inroads with Xie Zekai from the top on extra and Cai from the same situation on the next Chinese attack. Matthew Byrnes worked hard into the right post to score for 15-8. Laurence Barker, who switched into the cage at the last break, denied Chen Zhonxian on penalty but Xie scored off the rebound. Byrnes shot with disdain from the top left at 5:29 from the top right and an Aussie timeout yielded nothing meaningful. In fact, the last five and a half minutes were all about swimming and blocked shots. Both teams had an excellent match.
Match Heroes
Power with five goals to lift his tally in Singapore to 15 was named player of the match. Byrnes and Berehulak, who were in the mix of double scorers, both finished equal second with nine goals. Porter pulled in 47 saves. For China, captain Chen Zhongxian scored three for 13 in Singapore with Chen Rui netting twice (4). Xie, who scored a goal today, finished second with six for China. Goalkeeper Wu made 33 saves.
Turning Point
Australia coming from 2-0 down to shoot to 11-3 early in the third quarter.
Stats Don’t Lie
Australia converted five from six on extra to China’s five from eight. Australia missed two of six on penalty and stopped two of three. China stole nine to five and shot 36 to 31 times.
Bottom Line
Australia will be disappointed with the final result, but it was a particularly tough group, losing to Greece by a goal to be denied entry to the top 12. Australia was last here in the inaugural championships in 1973, finishing 14th behind Bulgaria in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. For China, 14th is two down from Doha last year.
What He Said
Nathan POWER (AUS) — Captain and Five Goals
On Australia’s overall performance:
“It's obviously nice to finish the tournament strong. And I think we started to find some of the things that we wanted to find later in the tournament. For us now, it's trying to look at how we can make sure we're more consistent (and) start off with those sort of key characteristics.
“They’re probably just some of the key elements for that. Our defence, which has always been quite strong, we need to make sure it's there. And then with our attack, just looking at how we can create more opportunities for ourselves.
“I think we're a team that I believe, we all believe, that we should be playing much deeper into this tournament and looking to compete in the big games in the last days. So, for us, these last few days were as much about still finding that amongst ourselves and still proving a bit of that to ourselves more than anything. And yeah, now we'll look to refresh and make sure that come the next big tournament, we are there right up until the end.”
On playing in Singapore:
“Wonderful. I was lucky enough to come here 10 years ago, and getting to come back now and see the city here, it's a really beautiful city. The event's been awesome. So wonderfully organised. As much as we might not have enjoyed our results, we have really enjoyed our time in Singapore, and the hospitality of the Singaporean people.”
Classification 15-16
Match 31, SOUTH AFRICA 13 SINGAPORE 14 (2-7, 4-3, 3-3, 4-1)
This was a thrilling encounter and the host nation wanted to show its supporters what it was capable of in home waters. Singapore met resistance in the last three quarters of the match but had it under control until the final whistle, just. Singapore opened the scoring and had the scoreboard showing 5-1 at 2:06. By the first break, the board read 7-2 with Sanjiv Rajandra and Jian Ying Koh scoring two each. This is what saved Singapore in the final analysis. Matthew Neser and Calvin Kuperus converted extra-man plays at the top of the second quarter, clawing back the deficit to three. Wen Zhe Goh and Shaunn Lok shunted the score to 9-5. Brett Sneddon and Ryan Sneddon, on backhand from two metres, narrowed the margin to three. This was adjusted by Wen Zhe Goh on extra, 15 seconds from halftime.
It was an interesting third quarter with Wen Zhe Goh inflating the score to 11-6 on extra. Ryan Sneddon had his penalty attempt hit the wood. After a long break for a Singapore challenge, it was lost and Brett Sneddon converted the penalty foul. Justin Saik scored into a goalkeeper-less goal as he had been ejected. South African captain Dylan Watt had his penalty rejected by Ken Chou and Wen Zhe Goh scored off the centre-forward position on extra. Watt scored from the four-metres mark off a cross pass for 13-9 in arrears. Zhi Zhi Loh started the fourth quarter off the left-post position and Brett Sneddon replied on penalty. Wen Zhe Goh was red-carded after a lengthy VAR review for an alleged violent incident. It was not bad enough for violence and both teams were even. South Africa then went on the charge with the next three goals — Matthew Bowers from deep right, Tristen Grimett gaining his first goal in Singapore with a rebound of his two-metre shot and Ryan Sneddon with a lob from deep left. It was now 14-13 with 2:27 on the clock. The final South African shot was haphazardly bounced over the goal and Singapore retained for the victory.
Match Heroes
Rajandra was the hero with three goals and Wen Zhe Goh also had three before being red-carded. Both these players scored eight goals for the tournament. Ken Chou made 13 saves for 32 this week. South Africa’s Sneddon boys were busy. Brett Sneddon scored a hat-trick for five in total, Dylan Watt grabbed a pair for four and Ryan Sneddon scored twice and Dean Sneddon one.
Turning Point
That surge to 7-2 was where the match was won. Anything after that was too late.
Stats Don’t Lie
Singapore went five from seven on extra to South Africa’s four from six. On penalties, Singapore converted three from four to two from four. South Africa stole the ball nine to eight and outshot Singapore 35-31.
Bottom Line
Singapore gained its first win and secured 15th place. In fact, it was its first win in its first attendance at this level and took the 15th place South Africa earned in Doha last year. Sadly for the Africans, they left their best for last. Another quarter and it could have won.
What They Said
Kan AOYAGI (SGP) — Head Coach
On the team’s debut World Aquatics Championships:
“They did a great job. Our target was to win one game during the World Championships, so at least we’ve completed our mission. We’ve been doing enhanced training and they have been full-time athletes since January and they were doing well these last six months. We’ve been working really hard and they’ve never been full-time athletes before. We really tried to change their mind and we are working really hard and they are following me all the time. I’m really proud of them and I’m honoured to be part of them. I would like to compliment them, really, they did a great job today.
“In their first match, they were nervous but they are getting better each match. Definitely next time, when we play against Brazil or Canada, we can play better, but we hope one day we can beat them. It’s decent because they are experiencing this for the first time. I hope next time, we can go to the Asian Championships and be second or first and then go to the World Cup.”
On the turning point of the match today:
“The turning point was the last quarter. Of course, South Africa also doesn’t want to be last and they became aggressive. The turning point was they started to change their tactics and started pressing. They are 2m, 100kg guys and if we cannot get ordinary fouls, we cannot compete in body size. After they changed their tactics, we changed ours a bit later and slower. They became tired and they became nervous. When they became nervous, they couldn’t control the game and a few players lost their cool and focused on grabbing the opponents. That’s why it became a close game. But I believe our potential, our ability is not like this result. We are much, much stronger than South Africa, so it was a great game because we won. They got good experience from it and our next target is the SEA Games and the Asian Games. After we talk and give feedback, I think we can make good progress from now and move forward.
“Today was great even if the game was tight. It was 10 out of 10 points because we won. We are doing well, and even winning a close game is winning. Even if we win by 100 points, it’s one victory.”
Sanjiv RAJANDRA (SGP) — Player of the Match
On the match:
“It feels pretty good coming away with the win, finally. It was a bit scary. We had control of the game all the way, and then (in the) last quarter, I think our concentration just slipped, then we let our five-goal lead go. It was very nervy, but I’m happy to come away with a win. But I think that's what happens when you have a really young team, competing in a very, very big competition for the first time. The nerves are going to take control at some point. With more experience, with more competitions under our belt, I think for sure we'll be able to control that.”
On playing at home:
“Amazing. Surreal. Getting to play in front of family, friends, the Singapore spectators, is really a true blessing. I think I said before, I never got to play in Singapore before. So, playing in Singapore is a really, really good opportunity for me. A few of my friends, my family are here today. Seeing them in the stands helped me for sure. By the second quarter, I was already gone. I was done for the game. But then, seeing them here coming to support at 9am in the morning, first game in the morning, early in the morning. It gave me the extra boost that I needed.”
On what Singapore learnt overall:
“We still have a long way to go, for sure. But slowly, with more experience and more practice, more games, going overseas for more competitions, I think this team has a bright future for sure.”