Croatia upset champion Hungary while United States of America, Montenegro and Spain enjoyed top-table victories. New Zealand and Canada won their lower groups with consecutive victories.
Overview
In Group A, Croatia put Hungary to the sword 12-9 and Montenegro had the better of Serbia 14-13.
In Group B, Spain trounced China 20-4 and USA had a magnificent 17-10 win over former champion Italy.
In Group C, New Zealand needed a late goal to pip Singapore 13-12 for its second victory and group success.
In Group D, Brazil notched its first win, defeating debutant Hong Kong China 19-6.
In Group E, Greece started its campaign with a 23-12 flourish over Australia.
In Group F, Canada had the better of Portugal 15-12, taking out the group with two victories.
Match Reports
Match 9. Group D. HONG KONG CHINA 6 BRAZIL 19 (1-2, 1-5, 3-5, 1-7)
Brazil made up for its one-goal loss to Turkiye on Saturday with a comfortable victory over Hong Kong China. It was built on a stretch from 1-1 to 7-1 and from there contained the resurgent Asians. It was a tentative opening quarter with the score 1-1 at 2:42 and 2-1 at 2:27 and the quarter-time break, captain Marcelo Winter benefitting from a cross pass at centre forward to give Brazil the advantage. Brazil burst into stride in the second period with Joao Horst grabbing consecutive goals as the margin stretched to 7-1. Wong Wing responded for Hong Kong from deep right at 0:15 for the halftime score of 7-2.
Winter opened the second half but China played tag and Tsang Hoi netted twice for 9-4. Chan Leong followed, both finishing with lobs and a respectable 9-5. Danilo Martins on action and Luca Avallone and Joao Pettena from penalty goals had the final break score at 12-5. Avallone and Qian Alan traded at the top of the fourth and then the Brazilian whirlwind blew in five unanswered goals with Horst adding two more to his tally.
Match Heroes
Victor de Souza had a marvellous day in goal with 12 saves for Brazil while nine of his team-mates made the sheet, led by Horst with four and Pettena and Winter with three apiece. For Hong Kong, Tsang was the only double scorer.
Turning Point
Brazil moving from 1-1 to 7-1.
Stats Don’t Lie
Brazil converted four from nine on extra and stopped four from five. Brazil nailed the only three penalty fouls on offer; won the steals nine to seven and shot 34 times to 28, possibly with a superior “on-target” statistic.
Match 10. Group E, GREECE 23 AUSTRALIA 12 (4-0, 6-5, 6-5, 7-2)
Greece crashed into the tournament with the first four goals like it had warmed up with a match the day before and not rested. Australia came off a big win over South Africa and this match was for the group supremacy. Greece wanted to make sure from the start that it was destined for the medals. Dimitrios Chatzis scored the first and fourth at 2:53 from a six-metre free throw and from deep left. It was not the last we would hear of this phenomenon. The middle two goals came from counter and centre forward, so all action goals. The Aussies were thwarted on the tight Greek defence. Greece had four goals from 10 attempts in the period and Australia luckless with seven shots. Greece started the second quarter with a goal and it needed a coach challenge for Australia to gain a penalty foul for Lachlan Davies to convert at 5:40. Chatzis buried his third on extra and Cooper Semmens sat up for a six-metre free throw for 6-2. Goals were traded with the Aussies slamming in a pair for 7-4. Greece responded and another trade had the halftime score at 10-5, thanks to two Ilias Angelopoulos strikes.
Stavros Zouzounis and Jett Semmens swapped goals to start the second half. Four Chatzis goals lifted Greece to 16-8 with Cooper Semmens nailing his second and third goals as Greece took the match to the last period with a 16-10 advantage. Kosmas Patsilinakos registered a hat-trick as Greece pushed the score to 20-11. A second Lachlan Davies goal, on counter, bristled Greece into the last three goals with two on counter as Theodosios Motsias claimed the last two scores for 23-12. Greece had unbridled power and showed that it is one of the top teams in Rio Maior, needing to break the shackles of the lower groups.
Match Heroes
Chatzis fired in six goals with Angelopoulos and Patsilinakos netting three each. Goalkeeper Dimitrios Berdes made nine saves for Greece as did Alexander Woolfe for Australia. Cooper Semmens was the best Aussie scorer with four finishes.
Turning Point
Greece keeping Australia scoreless for the first 10 minutes.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece converted seven from 11 on extra and defended four of six. Australia scored off the only penalty foul awarded; Greece claimed 13 steals to six and took 42 shots to 31.
Match 11. Group C, SINGAPORE 12 NEW ZEALAND 13 (1-2, 5-3, 4-4, 2-4)
This was a match of ups and downs with 10 equalising moments, with Singapore having the lead six times and the Kiwis five, including the winner. It meant New Zealand collected its second win and took out the group with a rest day looming. The Kiwis gained eight goals from two metres but still allowed many outside shots to penetrate while some Singaporeans found themselves free in front of goal. New Zealand took the two leads in the first quarter before Singapore gained control at 3-2. Baz Dunn equalised at three and four with Lachie Schnauer giving New Zealand the advantage from deep left. Justin Saik, the initial Singaporean scorer, netted twice at centre forward with one off a cross pass, leaving his team 6-5 up at halftime.
Dunn and Schnauer levelled for six and seven but Russell Yuan backhanded from centre and Javier Ng found himself free in front of goal to resume the lead at 8-7. Goals were traded to 10-9 by the buzzer. In the fourth quarter, Dunn again equalised with teams trading penalty goals for 11-11. Hugo Dougall gained his second centre-forward strike for 12-11 with Matthias Goh grabbing a second on extra at 5:02. It was Dunn who broke the impasse at 3:12 from his favoured position. Despite both teams taking a timeout, no further goals came and the Kiwis were through.
Match Heroes
Dunn, with an incredible six goals from the two-metre line for New Zealand. Saik was Singapore’s best shooter with three while goalie Evan Say made nine saves.
Turning Point
In a match where the score was tied at every number to seven and at 10, 11 and 12, the real turn was New Zealand’s 13th goal, but really it was how the towering Dunn scored that goal, along with his previous five.
Stats Don’t Lie
New Zealand missed all three extra-man attacks but saved six from nine. Both teams put away their two penalty conversions; the Kiwis made 16 steals to seven and shot 31 to 30.
Match 12. Group B. CHINA 4 SPAIN 20 (0-5, 0-5, 3-6, 1-4)
Spain proved its credentials for a top finish here with a stupendous opening half before allowing China to find the net. Eight different players made the sheet in the first half with Pol Suarez and Enzo Fernandez scoring twice each as Spain took three counters and the rest action goals by halftime.
The second half was different as Li Zhangsen broke the drought on extra. Oriol Hurtado struck twice for Spain and Li Ziming responded. Saturday’s star, Qiu Chengyi, converted a penalty goal and China was at 14-3 down. Opening scorer Marc Comabella grabbed consecutive goals and Spain was 16-3 to the better at the final break. Goals were traded at the start of the fourth period with a pair of Spanish goals following by 5:00. It was a dour affair for those last minutes as only Svilen Piralkov could find space, on counter, at 1:50 for the 20-4 scoreline.
Match Heroes
Comabella with four goals and Hurtado’s three led Spain. He Zezhang made nine saves for China.
Turning Point
The opening whistle.
Stats Don’t Lie
Spain converted three from five on extra and stopped six of eight. China gained the only penalty goal; Spain won the steals 11 to two and the overall shots by a whopping 45-25.
Match 13. Group A, CROATIA 12 HUNGARY 9 (3-1, 3-3, 4-2, 2-3)
Croatia upset reigning champion Hungary and Hungary rattled Croatia with the victor finishing with two red cards. This was a match with Croatia in near total control, only allowing Hungary to level at three and four in the second quarter. And then there was that five-goal gap early in the fourth period that put the stamp on the encounter. Croatia slipped to a 2-0 lead and was 3-1 ahead at the first break with two goals on extra and one on counter. Noah Pinter and Milan Moldisz from both deep slots had the match at 3-3 and first-day hero Benedek Rabb converted a penalty foul for 4-4. He was fouled out of the match at the end of the third period, so was not as threatening as on Saturday against Serbia. Croatia used its fifth and sixth different players to score and have the match at 6-4 by the halftime break.
Nardo Dragas became the first double scorer, on penalty. Botond Gedra grabbed one back on lob but Croatia fired in twice more for a healthy 10-6 at the last break. Dragas netted a third on extra and suddenly the match was a cruel five-goal differential. Pinter replied on extra before Croatia’s Toni Galusic was red-carded after a VAR review and head coach Hrvoje Koljanin joined him in the dog box. Dejan Divjak brought it to 11-8 on counter and Moldisz gave some hope on extra from deep right for 11-9 at 1:04. However, Petar Erenda put the match beyond doubt from the deep right at 0:40 to win the match.
Hungary had not tasted defeat at this level since day one of the 2024 edition when it went down 13-12 to Serbia en route to the crown.
Match Heroes
Marin Bajurin was the best in pool for Croatia with 14 saves in goal. Dragas scored three goals. Moldisz and Pinter scored twice each for Hungary and the goalkeepers combined for 10 saves.
Turning Point
Croatia turning 4-4 into 11-6.
Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia converted five from nine on extra and saved six from nine. Each team converted a penalty foul; Croatia had the steals at 10-eight and the shots at 34-33.
Match 14. Group B, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 17 ITALY 10 (3-1, 3-3, 4-2, 2-3)
USA has never finished better than seventh at this level and today it showed that statistic might be thrown out the window here, having defeated inaugural champion Italy by an incredible margin. It was the second win for USA and a second loss for Italy. It was also a match of attrition as so many fouls were awarded and it became who mastered the extra situations could be the winner. USA dominated these and won. Tyler Anderson from the top and Kai Kaneko on penalty had the match firmly in USA’s hands by the first break. Jett Taylor and Grayson Taylor pushed the score to 4-1. Jett Taylor scored again for the sixth goal off the left-post position on extra and Dexter Black closed the half for 7-3 in USA’s favour.
Goals were traded to 9-5 at the top of the third quarter with Antonio Chianese grabbing a second goal. Four straight USA goals, with Kaneko and Anderson in the mix, had the match at 12-5 before Chianese narrowed it on penalty, six seconds from the final break. Connor Colman allegedly hit his swim-up opponent and was red-carded at the start of the fourth. Goals were swapped, Black and Aden Shin — both for their seconds — made it 15-7 and the trading went to 17-9 before Dario Polizzi closed all scoring at 2:01 from the top right.
Match Heroes
Anderson shot four and captain Kaneko three while goalkeeper Rafael Suarez-Abraham dragged in 12 saves. For Italy, Chianese scored three.
Turning Point
USA keeping a clean sheet in the first quarter made its intentions know. A four-goal burst in the third made sure of the victory.
Stats Don’t Lie
USA scored a tournament-high 11 from 18 on extra and shut down eight of Italy’s 11 attempts. Both teams scored a brace of penalty goals; USA won the steals eight to three and the overall shots 33-31.
Match 15. Group A, MONTENEGRO 14 SERBIA 13 (5-4, 4-5, 4-3, 1-1)
This was the battle of second and third from the previous championship. Serbia went on to the final and Montenegro had to settle for bronze. Today, it was all Montenegro. The match was tied at one, two, four, five, seven, eight, nine, 11 and 12. Montenegro led 2-1 and 4-2, thanks to two Andrej Durutovic goals while Serbia dragged it back level before Pavle Dabic snared the 5-4 advantage for Montenegro with a slap-in rebound on extra with 17 seconds left on the clock. The second quarter was just as busy, Pavle Papic levelling. Montenegro slipped out to 7-5 only for Serbia to score thrice for the 8-7 advantage. Stefan Vranes scored his second and third goals in quick succession and Montenegro was back in front at 9-8. Strahinja Neskovic buried his third goal on a counter/extra to level before halftime.
The Serbian surge continued after the long break with Milan Zelic from the left and Papic from the right regaining the Serbian lead. Luka Todorovic scored identical goals from the top on extra to level at 11 followed by a Petar Brnovic extra-man goal at 2:37. Nikola Pavlovic, who had a pair in the first quarter, drilled from deep left on extra for the equaliser at 1:25. Danilo Roganovic shunted Montenegro to 13-12 on extra at 1:05. He had his penalty attempt at 3:21 in the fourth rejected but Dabic converted extra at 1:13 for 14-12. Zelic responded at 1:13 and after regaining the ball from Montenegro soon after, took two shots at goal to no effect, Montenegro calling the timeout at 0:09 to settle the team and hold on to possession for the victory.
Match Heroes
Todorovic, Vranes and Durutovic scored three goals each for Montenegro. Neskovic and Pavlovic did the same for Serbia.
Turning Point
Serbia led 11-9 in the third period with Montenegro making it 12-11 and 14-12.
Stats Don’t Lie
Montenegro won this on extra-man statistics alone, netting an amazing 10 from 12 and shutting down five of 11. Montenegro missed the only penalty attempt, won the steals eight to seven while Serbia shot 30 to 29.
Match 16. Group F, PORTUGAL 12 CANADA 15 (2-2, 1-5, 6-5, 3-3)
Canada won its group with a second victory, looking good for the next stage. The match was even in the first quarter as the host nation was on show for the first time. Portugal missed a penalty chance to equalise in the second quarter as Canada slipped out to 7-3 with Nash Porter scoring twice and danger man Ivan Khramtsov adding a second to his first-quarter smash.
Porter opened the second half off the left-post position and he scored the 9-4 goal on extra off the same post. A Portugal pair of goals lit up the home crowd for 9-6, the Joao Xavier goal coming on counter. Canada scored the next two extra-man goals with Khramtsov gaining his third. Miguel Santos backhanded a goal from centre forward for his fourth to close the quarter at 12-9 favouring the North Americans. Khramtsov was picked out to score on extra to start the fourth and Salvador Santos was red-carded for allegedly kicking his opponent, leaving the home team a man short on the bench. Portugal lifted to 14-11 behind; Porter converted extra for Canada’s last goal and Portugal had the final say from Rafael Monteiro for his second of the period, but too late to overcome Canada, which won 15-12.
Match Heroes
Porter with five and Khramtsov with four goals for Canada. Miguel Santos netted four goals while Portuguese team-mate Tiago Moreira claimed 11 saves in goal.
Turning Point
Canada breaking from 4-3 to 8-3 gave the edge.
Stats Don’t Lie
Canada made eight from 17 on extra, testament to Portugal’s defence, while the host nation slotted five from eight. Portugal missed a penalty chance and Canada made sure of its one shot. Portugal took the steals five to four but Canada shot 34 to 29.
Progress Points
Group A: Montenegro 6, Croatia 3, Hungary 3, Serbia 0.
Group B: USA 6, Spain 6, Italy 0, China 0.
Group C: New Zealand 6, Singapore 0, Colombia 0.
Group D: Turkiye 3, Brazil 3, Hong Kong.
Group E: Greece 3, Australia 3, South Africa 0.
Group F: Canada 6, Portugal 0, Argentina 0.
Day 4 Schedule
09:00, Group E, South Africa v Greece
10:30, Group C, Colombia v Singapore
12:00, Group D, Turkiye v Hong Kong China
13:30, Group A, Hungary v Montenegro
15:00, Group B Spain v United States of America
16:30, Group A, v Croatia v Serbia
18:00, Group B, China v Italy
19:30, Group F, Argentina v Portugal