Montenegro gave champion Hungary a second defeat and Spain was far too good for United States of America, wrapping up the top two groupings. New Zealand, Turkiye, Greece and Canada collected the minor group wins.
Overview
In Group A, Montenegro inflicted a second loss on Hungary here, winning 20-13 for top in the group and Croatia confirmed second place with a 15-11 win over bottom-placed Serbia.
In Group B, Spain ripped apart United States of America 15-6 to settle the top two berths and Italy trounced China 29-8 for third place.
In Group C, Singapore swatted aside Colombia 16-15 for second place after being six up at one stage with Colombia levelling twice in the exciting final quarter. New Zealand took out the group on day two.
In Group D, Turkiye smashed Hong Kong China 29-5 for top spot ahead of Brazil.
In Group E, Greece made sure of the group win with a second victory, this time a huge 33-5 over South Africa. Australia finished second and South Africa third.
In Group F, host nation Portugal defeated Argentina 13-11 to claim second spot behind group winner Canada.
Six matches will be played on Tuesday in Groups G and H, sorting out the bottom-ranked teams and who will advance to confront the top teams.
Match Reports
Match 17. Group E. SOUTH AFRICA 5 GREECE 33 (1-7, 2-10, 1-11, 1-5)
Greece made sure of group victory with a resounding win over the African team. Superior play, skills and speed left Greece willing for higher competition in the coming days. Greece had seven goals on the scoreboard before South Africa struck with three seconds to go through Connor McJannet. Meanwhile, Dimitrios Chatzis, one of a handful of players in Rio Maior with famous water polo parents, scored twice as Kosmas Patsilinakos grabbed a hat-trick. South Africa was on a roll and scored the first two goals of the second period, both on extra, from Timothy Young and Bradley van Loggerenberg. Then the steam engine was stoked and the Greek train rumbled into the station with 10 goals by halftime. Konstantinos Bitsakos netted three and Chatzis added another three while first-goalscorer Ilias Angelopoulos also sent in a hat-trick.
The second half was much like the first with Greece still rampant, ramming home 11 goals —five on counter. By now, Chatzis has a tournament-high seven goals alongside Angelopoulos (100 per cent), Patsilinakos has six and Bitsakos five. The one respite for South Africa was Young’s second goal with a centre-forward backhand. Greece travelled to the next station — the fourth quarter — leaving goals in its wake, utilising the bench and getting to 33-4 before South Africa took a timeout and set up extra for Ettiene van der Merwe to snap in a cross pass to the left-post position to score his first of the championship. It drew down the curtain on the match as the train had reached its terminus.
Match Heroes
Angelopoulos and Chatzis with seven goals; Patsilinakos and Bitsakos with six each for Greece. Young scored twice for South Africa and its goalkeepers made 10 saves.
Turning Point
From the start, South Africa knew it had a hard task ahead.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece had incredible statistics, especially firing off 53 shots to 20 and converting five of six penalty attempts. On extra it buried four from six and stopped seven of 10. In the steals department, Greece plundered 18 times to three.
Match 18. Group C, COLOMBIA 15 SINGAPORE 16 (2-6, 5-6, 6-2, 2-2)
Singapore bounced back from its one-goal loss to New Zealand on Sunday, showing the South Americans what it can do in the chase for second place in the group, especially when it was 10-4 ahead at one stage. Singapore started with the first two goals and then Matthias Goh netted his second for 3-1. Colombia’s Marcus Gomez rattled in a shot from top left and it was set for a good stoush. However, Singapore scored the next three — two on penalty — and it was 6-2 ahead. Lucas Levy, who scored Colombia’s first goal, backhanded in a shot from centre forward to open the second quarter with Yong Chow responding for his second on extra. Goals were traded before Justin Saik, a three-goal hero on Sunday, countered for his first of the day. Gabriel Low converted his second penalty goal and Singapore was handily placed at 10-4. Sebastian Zapata and Marcus Gomez, for his second, narrowed the margin to four. Singapore shot out to 12-6 with Gomez pulling one back from a six-metre, free throw for 12-7 before the turn.
Colombia had enough being on the back foot and came out swinging in the third period, going toe to toe with Singapore to 14-9 with Levy scoring his third on counter to bring the difference to four. Gomez narrowed it to two — his sixth — with goals either side of a Singapore timeout. The second had him scoring centimetres from the goal line. Juan Gomez sat up with a six-metre goal and the match was ripe for the picking. Juan Gomez equalised four minutes into the fourth period on penalty. At 2:00, Singapore took a timeout and set up Goh on extra to score for 15-14. Zapata launched in a goal at 1:02 from the top right for 15-15. At 0:30, Low nailed an extra-man goal from deep left, VAR being used to make sure the ball left the hand on time, which it did. Colombia took a timeout, but had the ball stolen and Singapore controlled the last 15 seconds for the victory.
Match Heroes
Marcus Gomez was the star in a losing side with Colombian team-mate Levy scoring four. Goalkeeper Juan Areiza made 12 saves. For victor Singapore, Chow and Goh netted four each and Low three as goalie Evan Say made nine saves.
Turning Point
At 10-4, Singapore was sitting pretty until Colombia came back and levelled the match at 14 and 15 in the final quarter. The final turn was the Singaporean winning goal.
Stats Don’t Lie
Singapore was the team with the most valuable statistics, scoring three from three on extra to Colombia’s one from two. It converted all five penalty attempts to one; took the steals 21 to nine and the shots 36 to 34.
Match 19. Group D, TURKIYE 29 HONG KONG CHINA 5 (6-0, 8-1, 6-3, 9-1)
Turkiye took out its group with a second victory while Hong Kong is yet to win and finishes third in the group behind Brazil. The Turkish dominance came in the first quarter with Demir Pekcanli scoring twice off cross passes and Aras Ulas scoring both his close in. Hong Kong only took one shot. It was different in the second quarter as Hong Kong scored first through Tsang Hoi, who was free on the right post on action. Turkiye replied in triplicate, including two identical goals for Demir Gulsoy on counter — 9-1. Double figures came up with Ulas netting a third. Four more came before the long break with the last two on penalty for 14-1.
The third period was where Hong Kong played best, scoring three goals with two in succession — Tsang and Lee Chak — by 19-4. Ulas scored his second to close the period at 20-4. The final quarter started with an eight-goal romp by Turkiye before Wong Wing broke the cycle from the top. It was Ulas who finished off the scoring on penalty at 0:07.
There are a number of players here with famous water polo parents but for Turkiye the head coach is former Greek captain Kostantinos Loudis and his assistant Evangelos Patras, his goalkeeping team-mate who has a daughter playing for the Greek national team, Maria Patra.
Match Heroes
Ulas was named best in pool with six goals, followed by Gulsoy and Pekcanli with five apiece. Goalkeeper Ayhan Aydemir took in 11 saves. Tsang scored twice for Hong Kong.
Turning Point
Never in doubt after the first quarter.
Stats Don’t Lie
Turkiye was excellent in this field, converting 10 of 11 on extra and stopping nine of 12. Turkiye converted five of eight penalty attempts, made 16 steals to one and shot 42 to 25.
Match 20. Group A. HUNGARY 13 MONTENEGRO 20 (2-5, 6-6, 3-5, 2-4)
Montenegro made a huge statement against Hungary by rocketing to a 5-1 advantage, allowed Hungary back on level terms at seven and then applied the afterburners for a seven-goal victory. It was heady stuff as Montenegro only seemed to let up in a four-minute stretch of the second period and then reshaped for the rest of the encounter. Danilo Roganovic inspired his team with the first two Montenegrin goals as the team hit 5-1, giving up a Hungarian goal a minute from the break. Andrej Durutovic pummelled in a six-metre goal to start the second period, repeating the effort three goals later, but Hungary was on the ascendancy and at 7-4 down bounced back with three straight for 7-7, Dejan Divjak scoring twice. Divjak’s six-metre shot was repeated by Roganovic as Montenegro scored three in a row for 10-7. Benedek Rabb, Hungary’s opening scorer, rifled from the top and Durutovic replied for 11-8 at the halftime break.
Goals were swapped; Montenegro scored twice on extra and Noah Pinter grabbed his second of the period for 14-10 behind. After a scoreless gap, Montenegro netted twice and Hungary replied once for 16-11 at the final break. Durutovic and Roganovic scored in a four-goal trade before Matija Franeta scored the last two goals on extra and penalty for a huge 20-13 margin.
Match Heroes
Roganovic and Durutovic scored five each for Montenegro and Franeta three. The goalkeepers made nine saves. Fo Hungary, Rabb scored three before being fouled out for the second time.
Turning Point
Hungary was out of it by 54-1 down. It was just a dream after that despite levelling at seven.
Stats Don’t Lie
Montenegro was in total control at 10 from 14 on extra and stopping six from 10; winning the penalty goals two-one; the steals at seven-six and the shots at 38-34.
Match 21. Group B, SPAIN 15 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 6 (5-2, 2-3, 4-0, 4-1)
Spain won its group and maintained its quest for a first title with a solid victory over USA, who defended stoically throughout, especially on man-down defence. Spain was made to work for the victory. Spain went three up, including two to Tiago Carrio, the player of the match. Goals were traded to 5-2 at the first break with Oriol Hurtado countering at 0:20. Hurtado started the second quarter with a six-metre shot. The North Americans responded either side of a timeout with the second goal coming off the extra-man play to Jett Taylor. There was another trade with Aden Shin completing the extra play on the buzzer for 7-5.
The play went Spain’s way early in the third period with Carrio slotting twice and Hurtado once for 10-5. Then Spain saved a penalty attempt and Javier Sanchez-Toril made it 11-5 just before the final break. Enzo Fernandez hit his third goal on a brilliant counter where he stretched to tip in a long pass. Lucas Ruano lobbed for the USA at 13-6 and Marc Comabella pushed in a rebound and then took an air ball at centre to score the final goal and 15-6.
Match Heroes
Carrio with four goals for Spain and Fernandez and Hurtado with three each. Goalkeeper Rafael Suarez-Abraham had another fine day with 11 saves. USA used six different scorers.
Turning Point
The 3-0 buffer at the start helped Spain, especially when USA came close near halftime.
Stats Don’t Lie
Spain had trouble on extra-man attack with stout USA defence, managing just three goals from 17 attempts. USA converted three from 1q1. USA missed one of two penalty attempts; Spain won the steals 12 to five and the overall shots 42-25, which was 35 per cent to 25 per cent.
Match 22. Group A, CROATIA 15 SERBIA 11 (4-3, 5-5, 5-2, 1-1)
Croatia needed victory for second place in the group and Serbia was looking for any point. Serbia had the 2-1 advantage and then 3-2 with Strahinja Neskovic converting extra. A Croatian pair, with Nardo Dragas scoring from wide left, gave Croatia the 4-3 quarter-time lead. Serbia’s Pavle Papic for his second and Neskovic put away a penalty shot for the 5-4 lead. Dragas, Toni Galusic and Nardo Skejic all doubled their scores as the pendulum swung to Croatia. Dragas and Galusic were in the mix again as Luka Drobnjakovic on extra and Uros Muncan from the top kept Serbia within touch at 9-8 behind at halftime.
A trade, including Muncan, started the third period with Croatia scoring four straight with Skejic nabbing two and the powerful, bearded Galusic collecting his fourth off the right-post position on extra. Nikola Pavlovic scored off the left post for 14-10, five seconds from the buzzer. It was quieter in the fourth period with Drobnjakovic and Croatia’s Dominik Beljan — both their second goals — scored three and a half minutes apart. Croatia had the match at 15-11.
Match Heroes
Galusic and Skejic with four goals each and Dragas with a triple for Croatia. Neskovic, Drobnjakovic, Papic and Muncan scored twice each for Serbia. With the goalkeepers, captain Mihailo Gosic took in 10 saves and Mateja Kosonovic six.
Turning Point
Croatia coming from 2-1 and 5-4 down to make the halftime break one up.
Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia won the battle of the extra-man plays at nine from 16 with Serbia not far behind on seven from 13. Serbia scored the only penalty goal and led the steals six to four. Croatia shot 40 to 37.
Match 23. Group B, CHINA 8 ITALY 29 (2-8, 2-8, 4-7, 0-6)
Italy was playing for third and a first victory in downing China so comprehensively. Built on a six-goal start, Italy was strong throughout and belied its earlier results, losing to Spain and USA. Leonardo Madaschi and Bruno Bordone scored twice in the run. Zhou Letian and Qiu Chengyi responded on extra-man plays. Bordone and Pasquale Porzio added to China’s dread. Both teams missed a penalty shot before Porzio’s 8-2 score off centre forward with a backhander. The damage was just as severe in the second quarter with Bordone adding another two. China scored with a six-metre shot by Li Bingze at 10-3 and Chen Zhihong on extra at 14-4. Porzio countered for the 16-4 goal just before halftime.
China scored three of the first four goals in the third period with Wang Xiayi converting extra and Lu Hancheng scoring from the penalty line. Francesco Corelli scored a hat-trick in the period and Bordone put away a slow shot when the goalkeeper came out on him, the ball just dribbling across the line. Wang Xiayi scored his second from deep left on extra at 21-8. The final period was an Italian shutout with three counter-attack goals, the last from Corelli with a snap push shot.
Match Heroes
Italy’s Bordone with seven goals, Corelli and Chianese with five each and Puleo and Madaschi with three each. Wang Xiayi was the only double scorer for China.
Turning Point
The 6-0 start said it all.
Stats Don’t Lie
Italy converted five from six on extra and China five from nine. Italy went three from four on penalty and China one from two. Italy stole the ball 18 times to nine and outshot China 44 to 21.
Match 24. Group F, ARGENTINA 11 PORTUGAL 13 (2-2, 3-2, 4-6, 2-3)
The third quarter is always the “money” period and Portugal paid its dues with a spectacular effort to bounce the dominant Argentinians. It changed the tenor of the match and with Jose Jordao at the helm, the Portuguese galleon was starting to pull into port. Jordao scored a six-metre goal to level at 3-3 in the second quarter, but it was his triple in the third that brought him world headlines. The first was to come back to 7-6 behind and after an Argentinian penalty goal to Maximo Pusch, Jordao calmly sat up at seven metres and pounded in two hammer blows to reverse Portugal’s fortunes for the better and lead 9-8. He wasn’t done there because he inflicted more pain early in the fourth period with another six-metre throw from out the top that made it 11-9.
It was not all Jordao but the spirited home team had the crowd on its feet when each goal came and sheer silence when Argentina scored. The South Americans had to come back twice in the first quarter, took the lead early in the second, lost it once and then scored twice to head into the second period 5-4 up. Lucas Picatto, who nailed the 2-2 goal off the right-post position, scored the first two Argentinian goals of the third period. After Portugal levelled at seven, Pusch made it 8-7 but that Jordao charge, along with Tiago Henriques’ counter goal for 10-8, meant Pusch could only narrow to one, with a penalty strike, just before the final break. At 11-10 in the fourth, Argentina was still willing. However, Duarte Pinto muscled in a goal, dragging a defender with him, in the bottom right and Rafael Monteiro made it 13-10 at 5:46. Despite timeouts and many chances, only Argentina could break the ice with Renzo Portela scoring from deep left at 0:43. Portugal had won, finishing second in the group behind Canada and setting up a clash with Brazil.
Match Heroes
Jordao with his five goals for Portugal, three in the third quarter made him the player of the match. Both goalkeepers contributed nine saves. For Argentina, Picatto netted three and captain/goalkeeper Manuel Santos made nine saves.
Turning Point
The third period, won 6-4 by Portugal, taking it from one down to one ahead.
Stats Don’t Lie
Portugal took more shots at 34-31, won the steals seven to six; watched as Argentina claimed all three penalty goals, but had the better of the extra-man plays at two from five and stopping five of Argentina’s seven chances.
Final Points
Group A: Montenegro 9, Croatia 6, Hungary 3, Serbia 0.
Group B: Spain 9, USA 6, Italy 3, China 0.
Group C: New Zealand 6, Singapore 3, Colombia 0.
Group D: Turkiye 6, Brazil 3, Hong Kong 0.
Group E: Greece 6, Australia 3, South Africa 0.
Group F: Canada 6, Portugal 3, Argentina 0.
Day 4 Schedule
Round 13-20, Group G
10:30, Singapore v Hong Kong China
12:00, Australia v Argentina
Round 13-20, Group H
13:30, Group H, Colombia v Brazil
Crossover, Round 1-16
15:00, Turkiye v New Zealand
16:30, Greece v Canada
Round 13-20, Group H
18:00, South Africa v Portugal