Australia recovered from a slow start against Malta, trailing by two twice in the first half, to earn a hard-fought 15-12 opening-day victory. Elsewhere, Montenegro surged past Kazakhstan 27-6 and France sank Ukraine 27-13.
Match Reports
Match 1. First Round League Phase.
CHINA 17 GREAT BRITAIN 8 (2-2, 5-2, 5-2, 5-2)
Great Britain struggled to match China’s superior fitness levels as it faded after the first quarter and failed to stay close. It was a tough day for both British goalkeepers, Thomas Manley and Elliot McHugh, who managed just six saves between them, which was three fewer than China’s Honghui Wu. Yiheng Yang and captain Zhongxian Chen led the scoring for the Chinese, firing in five and four goals respectively.
Match 2. First Round League Phase.
GEORGIA 16 TURKIYE 17 (5-4, 3-3, 5-8, 3-2)
Turkiye produced a powerful attacking third quarter to turn the game in its favour, battling its way to a narrow one-goal victory against Georgia. The Turks were struggling at 7-4 down midway through the second quarter, but closed the gap to one by halftime. The momentum remained with Turkiye after the long break, rifling in eight goals in the third to lead by two heading into the fourth. Georgia still had some fight left and moved within one (15-16) with 5:02 left on the clock, but it couldn’t get any nearer and Selcuk Can Caner’s second goal of the game 3:06 from time proved to be the winner. Valiko Dadvani had a late chance to level the scores, but his shot smashed against the post.
Match 3. First Round League Phase.
GERMANY 22 SLOVENIA 15 (5-5, 6-5, 6-2, 5-3)
Germany prevailed against Slovenia with a strong second-half display that steered it to a deserved triumph. Captain Denis Strelezkij was the standout performer for the Germans, top-scoring with six goals, and he was ably supported in attack by Sebastian Andruskiewicz, who struck five times, and Zoran Bozic and Mark Gansen, who hit four each. Slovenia was able to match Germany in the first half, equalising twice in the second quarter (8-8 and 10-10), but ran out of steam after the turnaround.
Match 4. First Round League Phase.
ARGENTINA 26 HONG KONG 6 (5-3, 7-0, 6-1, 8-2)
Hong Kong may have scored the opening two goals of its clash with Argentina, but after regaining the lead late in the first quarter (2-3), its attack fizzled out and defence collapsed. The Argentinians sparked into life and embarked on a 10-0 run that was finally halted nearly three minutes into the third quarter. By this point the outcome was already decided and the respite was only brief, as six more unanswered goals flew in before Hong Kong could add another. In the end, the gap had wi
ened to 20 and Argentina’s Carlos Camnasio left the pool as the top scorer with a double hat-trick.
Match 5. First Round League Phase.
FRANCE 27 UKRAINE 13 (5-3, 9-2, 4-4, 9-4)
France’s big guns proved far too powerful for Ukraine, as Thomas Vernoux hammered in eight goals and his cousin Romain Marion Vernoux hit four, which combined almost matched Ukraine’s overall total of 13. Enzo Nardon was also on fire, scoring five, as France dismantled its opponent by half-time (14-5). The French scored from almost every possession in the second and fourth quarters and despite easing up in the third, it was still able to win by 14. Dmytro Ashanin and Orest Dzhura led the Ukrainian resistance with four apiece.
Match 7. First Round League Phase.
ROMANIA 14 SLOVAKIA 9 (3-2, 3-4, 4-3, 4-0)
Romania initially found the going tough against Slovakia, who came flying out of the blocks and led by two (4-6) late in the second quarter. Two quick goals from Francesco Iudean levelled things up before halftime and Romania was never behind again as it gradually took control after the turnaround. Slovakia struck back to reduce the deficit to one ahead of the final eight minutes, but it was unable to find another breakthrough as Romania slammed the door shut and added four more to its total.
Match 8. First Round League Phase.
CANADA 18 SINGAPORE 7 (6-1, 4-2, 3-3, 5-1)
Canada roared to a comprehensive victory against Singapore. After dominating the opening exchanges, the Canadians were eight clear late in the second quarter (10-2) and there was no way back for its opponent. Singapore did manage to match Canada in the third, but the result was never in doubt, especially as the North Americans shifted through the gears again in the fourth to extend its lead to 11. Roko Pozaric was the most prolific scorer for Canada, firing in five times.
Match 9. First Round League Phase.
SOUTH AFRICA 7 PORTUGAL 25 (1-7, 0-6, 2-5, 4-7)
South Africa’s attack struggled to find a way past Portugal’s dogged defence in a one-sided first half. Tristan Grimett scored its only goal of the opening 16 minutes, which firmly belonged to the Portuguese. After being completely shut out in the second quarter, South Africa finally struck again at the start of the third, but by then it was trailing by 12 and heading towards an inevitable defeat. Rui Ramos top scored for Portugal with five goals, while three of his team-mates each hit four – Pedro Sousa, Leonardo Magalhaes and Joao Moreira.
Match 10. First Round League Phase.
BRAZIL 7 NEUTRAL ATHLETES B 10 (2-1, 0-3, 3-2, 2-4)
Brazil’s Rafael Vergara was unfortunate to end up on the losing side after his six goals weren’t enough to stop Neutral Athletes B. Despite falling 2-1 behind after the first quarter, Neutral Athletes B shut its opponents out in the second to edge ahead and managed to keep the lead until late in the fourth. Vergara equalised at 7-7 with 3:09 on the clock to set up a potentially thrilling finale, but Brazil couldn’t find another, and two goals from Arslan Zakirov and one from Nikolay Lazarev sealed a memorable return to the international stage.
Match 11. First Round League Phase.
MONTENEGRO 27 KAZAKHSTAN 6 (7-0, 8-2, 5-2, 7-2)
Kazakhstan suffered the heaviest defeat of the opening day, as it was powerless to stop mighty Montenegro. A 15-2 first half set the tone, and despite building an unassailable lead by the turnaround, the Montenegrins continued to pile more misery on the Kazakhs in the second half. It was an attacking masterclass from Montenegro, who scored 11 of its 15 shots from action, and converted all six of its man-up attempts. In another show of strength, 11 of Montenegro’s 12 outfield players ended up on the scoresheet.
Match 12. First Round League Phase.
AUSTRALIA 15 MALTA 12 (2-4, 6-3, 5-2, 2-3)
Host Malta gave the home fans plenty to cheer about during its opening-day clash with Australia. Two centre goals from former Canadian Nicolas Constantin-Bicari got the Aussies off to the perfect start, but Malta responded magnificently, scoring four without reply to lead by two at the first break. Australia started to fight back in the second period and had edged ahead by halftime (8-7). In the third, the tide completely turned, with Malta falling four behind and it was never able to recover despite winning the last quarter 2-3.
Ranking
- Neutral Athletes B 90.4
2. Portugal 88.2
3. Canada 85.8
4. Montenegro 82.2
5. France 79.8
6. Australia 79.6
7. Romania 78.4
8. China 77.4
9. Turkiye 77
10. Germany 76.2
11. Argentina 75
12. Malta 52.8
13. Slovakia 49.2
14. Kazakhstan 49
15. Ukraine 46.6
16. Singapore 43
17. Great Britain 41.8
18. Slovenia 40.6
19. Hong Kong 39.4
20. Georgia 38.6
21. South Africa 31
22. Brazil 30
- Poland 0
Day 2 Schedule
Great Britain v Neutral Athletes B
Ukraine v Hong Kong
Georgia v Brazil
China v Australia
Portugal v Poland
Romania v South Africa
Slovenia v Slovakia
Turkiye v Singapore
Argentina v Montenegro
Malta v Kazakhstan
France v Canada