Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Greece through to U18 quarterfinals

Overview

In Round 1-12 Crossovers, where the winners progress to the quarterfinals, Hungary outplayed New Zealand 25-13, Italy pounded Canada 26-13, Serbia nudged Turkiye 19-12 and Greece thumped China 30-8.

In Group G, Australia rumbled Singapore 22-10 and Argentina dumped Hong Kong 24-9

In Group H, Colombia outlasted South Africa 20-15 and Brazil beat host Portugal 16-5.

Match Reports

Match 31. Group G AUSTRALIA 22 SINGAPORE 10 (5-1, 4-1, 9-5, 4-3)

Australia continued its run through the lower ranks and settled into a winning style, utilising all the bench, while still allowing gaps to form for Singapore to find and exploit. It was Australia’s fourth win while Singapore tasted real defeat today after a one-goal loss to New Zealand and two victories in the previous three days. Singapore was crisp on passing and fast on counter with excellent cross passes. Australia went 4-0 ahead to start the match, giving up an extra-man goal to Matthias Goh before Sam Regan countered for 5-1, the quarter-time score. Singapore livewire Justin Saik backhanded from centre forward to start the second quarter with four more Aussie goals lifting the halftime score to 9-2. Regan added two more to his tally from either side of the pool down deep.

Penalties were traded at the top of the second half with Regan making it four. Ivan Zorotovic scored off the right-post position from an adept pass from the unselfish Jake Taboni. Goals were traded with Javier Ng from centre forward and two more Saik shots — one from two metres — while Regan netted from the top right. Brothers Cooper Semmens and Jett Semmens scored the 13 to 15 goals and Dylan Jennison, the opening goal-scorer, finishing a third consecutive counter run. Singapore called a timeout and the resulting play had Russell Yuan converting the extra-man attack for 16-7. Toby Gould scored twice from centre forward in the last 35 seconds for 18-7 at the final break. Cooper Semmens led the charge to 22-8 with Saik scoring off the right-post position on extra and Singapore sending a penalty attempt over the crossbar. Lachlan Davies ignited a 10m missile with Singapore having the last say through Jaylen Yeo on extra from the right post and Gabriel Low on counter at 0:54 for double figures — 22-10.

Match Heroes
Player-of-the-match Regan with five goals; Cooper Semmens with three and Gould three for Australia. Eleven players made the scoresheet. For Singapore, Saik landed four goals and the goalkeepers saved six goals each.

Turning Point
The 4-0 start set Australia up for the rest of the match.

Stats Don’t Lie
Australia failed to convert its sole extra-man chance but stopped seven of 11. The Aussies put away all four penalty attempts and Singapore one from two. Australia won the steals 10 to eight and the shots 40-33.

Match 32. Group G, ARGENTINA 24 HONG KONG CHINA 6 (7-2, 6-3, 5-0, 6-1)

Argentina collected its first win of the week after the two-goal loss to Portugal on Monday night and the big loss to Australia on Tuesday. Argentina had control from the start, shrugging off 1-1 to shoot out to 4-1 with two Maximo Pusch goals. Tsang Hoi stopped the run from the deep left but Felipe Adler scored his second, as did Bruno Massa and then Mateo Lopez for 7-2 at the first break. The score moved quickly to 9-2 and 10-4 as Hong Kong replied twice either side of a Pusch success on extra off the left-post position. Goals were traded to 11-5 and then Massa and Lucas Picatto both converted penalty fouls with Picatto netting his second from the line. Argentina turned at 13-5 ahead.

Hong Kong was kept scoreless in the third period as Argentina scored twice on counter. Facundo Chelini gained his second, Picatto his third and Massa his fifth, the last on the buzzer from well outside for 18-5. Dai Ho broke the Hong Kong drought to start the fourth period scoring at centre forward off a snap cross pass. Argentina then shut up shop and shovelled in  another six goals, two on counter-attack and two from centre forward. It was Argentina’s chance to shine and Hong Kong suffered another defeat. The team is coached by Kiril Rustamov, an Uzbek international who starred at the junior level.

Match Heroes
Massa with five, Picatto on four and Lopez and Pusch with three each for Argentina. Chan Leong netted twice for Hong Kong.

Turning Point
Argentina going from 1-1 to 9-2 gave it the springboard to victory.

Stats Don’t Lie
Argentina converted four from eight on extra and stopped five from seven; scored all six penalty attempts; stole the ball 15 to three and the shots 36-23.

Match 33. Group H, SOUTH AFRICA 15 COLOMBIA 20 (3-6, 4-5, 3-4, 5-5)

Colombia collected its first victory with a controversial win in which South African Connor McJannet was red-carded for alleged violence late in the third period when the South Americans were three goals ahead. Colombia was enjoying a leading run at this stage and looked the better team, thoroughly deserving the victory. Colombia gained four goals in the four-minute exclusion period and missed a penalty shot. In the first quarter, South Africa levelled at one and three but that was the closest it came as Colombia nailed the last three of the first quarter for an impressive three-goal advantage. Captain Marcus Gomez scored twice while Timothy Young netted two for South Africa. South Africa went 3-1 at the start of the second quarter with McJannet starting the surge. Marcus Gomez lobbed from centre forward for his third goal and from the top for his fourth as Colombia regained the three-goal lead. By halftime, Colombia was 11-7 up.

Goals were traded at the start of the third period with Marcus Gomez playing a six-metre shot goal and Sebastian Zapata converting counter. Cooper Haworth and Hatie Dippenaar responded before McJannet committed the transgression as he was playing centre forward and appeared to strike his defender, causing the red card. The extra-man goals rained in and another to Lucas Levy from the top — his third — when Colombia still did not have seven in the water when the expiry time had ended. At the close of play in the third, Levy scored an impossible missile from well inside his half, crossing the line for 15-10 to beat the buzzer. From 18-10, goals were swapped through to 20-14 with South Africa having the last say for 20-15, ending a 5-2 burst.

Match Heroes
Captain Marcus Gomez with six goals and three each to Levy, Zapata and Nicolas Vasquez. Colombian goalkeeper Juan Areiza made 13 saves.

Turning Point
The red card made it easier for Colombia to win, although it was in charge before then.

Stats Don’t Lie
Colombia scored six from 11 on extra and stopped three from four. South Africa converted all five penalty attempts and Colombia three from four. Colombia stole the ball 14 to seven and won the overall shooting 40-37.

Match 35. Crossover 1-12, NEW ZEALAND 13 HUNGARY 25 (3-7, 3-4, 3-7, 4-7)

Defending champion Hungary gained its second victory from four matches with a controlled effort over a plucky New Zealand. After Hungary shot to 6-2, the Kiwis kept within the same range for much of the next two periods. Riley Swindells from deep left and Lachie Schnauer from the top had the match at 2-2. Then, Benedek Rabb and Csaba Jambor both drilled from the top. The next came from counter and penalty as Hungary had a 6-2 advantage. Schnauer scored off the left-post position and Jambor shot from the top for 7-3 at the first break. Goals were traded to start the second quarter and Jambor and Schnauer also did their trade. Botond Gedra, who scored Hungary’s first goal, shot from the deep right and Noah Pinter netted his second from the top left for 11-5. Baz Dunn scored off the left-post position on extra to close the half at 11-6.

Pinter and Dunn traded to start the second half; Zeteny Hidasi countered for his second. Another trade came with Swindells rocketing one in from eight metres. Hungary scored a pair before Dunn again converted extra off the left-post position. Kondor on extra and Gedra closed the third period for 18-9. Swindells blasted a hat-trick as the score rose to 21-12 with the last a penalty due to improper entry by the Hungarians. The next four went to Hungary and Dunn ended the match, where from? The left post position on extra, again! Hungary had the win 25-13.

Match Heroes
For Hungary, Pinter made four, Jambor, Kondor and Gedra three each. For the Kiwis, Swindells top scored with five goals, Dunn with four and Schnauer with three.

Turning Point
Hungary shifting from 2-2 to 6-2 and 8-3.

Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary converted seven from nine on extra and stopped four from eight. Both teams converted their two penalty attempts; Hungary won the steals 16 to six and the shots 42 to 30.

Match 36. Crossover 1-12, CANADA 13 ITALY 26 (2-3, 3-7, 3-8, 5-8)

Italy picked up a second win with a commanding showing against Canada. Italy was the snappier team and started with two goals and a missed penalty. Canada equalised but trailed by a goal at the first break as Francesco Corelli made up for his penalty miss with a counter-attack goal. Francesco Maffei made his first goal of the tournament from centre as Italy went to 6-3 with Antonio Chianese and Darion Wang swapping penalty goals. Leonardo Madaschi, from the top, netted his second goal and his third two goals later. Canada won the next two minutes 2-1 either side of a Bruno Bordone score from the top. Joshua Coxford from a six-metre shot and Nash Porter off the right-post position on extra, narrowed the halftime score to 10-5.

Canadian Kristopher Maar gained a misconduct red card at the start of the third period as the score marched to 11-7, Ivan Kramtsov getting his second on extra. Maffei repeated his previous effort with Chianese and Bordone twice lifting the score to 15-7. Goals were traded and Pasquale Porzio scored the last two of the period, from deep and on counter. Corelli and Bordone started the fourth period with Wang converting extra before Angelo Sicali scored twice for 22-9. From here each side scored four goals — Wang and Chianese netting two apiece — in a level contest with Italy swimming home 26-13.

Match Heroes
Chianese topped the scoring with five goals; Bordone made four; captain Sicali, Porzio and Madaschi three each for Italy. The goalkeepers combined for nine saves. Wang fired home four goals for Canada with the goalkeepers supplying six saves each.

Turning Point
The 6-2 and 9-3 divisions was where the match was won.

Stats Don’t Lie
Italy converted four from seven on extra and defended seven from 14; scored four from five on penalty to Canada’s one; stole the ball 11 times to seven and shot 47 times to 32.

Match 37. Crossover 1-12, TURKIYE 12 SERBIA 19 (4-4, 2-5, 1-5, 5-5)

Serbia repelled the strong Turkish invasion and a team wishing to break into the top ranks. Serbia had a day off and was better prepared than the Turks who have been working hard to garner excellent results, including a one-goal victory over New Zealand to reach this level. In fact, Turkiye led at 2-1 and 3-2 thanks to two Batur Yildiz strikes — one from a six-metre shot and the second on extra. He came to the fore in the dying second when his six-metre buzzer beater levelled at four. Serbia scored the first two goals of the second quarter, utilising six different players to this point, Milan Zelic and Uros Muncan making it 6-4. Sarp Ozkan pulled one back on extra and goals were traded with Yildiz converting another extra-man play for 7-6 down. Nikola Pavlovic on extra and Luka Vojinovic from the penalty line had Serbia handily placed at 9-6 at the turn.

Strahinja Neskovic, who scored an earlier penalty goal, netted twice more with the second another from penalty. Zelic and two Muncan goals made it 14-6 with the last an extra-man play after Yildiz collected his third major foul and left the match. Aymen Altay was left to pick up the reins, converting extra before the last break. Serbia whipped in the first two goals of the fourth and Altay responded for 18-6. Ender Sarac and Altay netted consecutive Turkish goals with the last on penalty. Serbia had a penalty attempt stopped and after a Serbian extra-man goal, Altay and Yagiz Balkanli found the net for 17-12 only for Vojinovic and Zelic to have the last say for 19-12.

Match Heroes
Neskovic, Zelic and Muncan netted three apiece for Serbia while Turkiye’s Mateja Kosanovic made nine saves in three periods and captain Mihailo Gosic grabbed six in his one quarter.

Turning Point
Serbia going from 7-6 to 13-6 straddling the halftime break.

Stats Don’t Lie
Serbia managed five from 13 on extra to Turkiye’s six from 14. Serbia converted three of four penalty attempts to Turkiye’s one; won the steals 14-11 and the shots 40-30.

Match 38. Crossover 1-12, GREECE 30 CHINA 8 (9-1, 10-4, 6-2, 5-1)

Greece stole the ball an incredible 19 times en route to yet another victory as it became the only team from the lower ranks to punch a quarterfinal ticket. It was another easy match for a team hell-bent on gold and all the members had a hand in the victory. To China’s credit, it found enough gaps to make Greece uncomfortable as it looks how to have the perfect defence for the quarterfinals and beyond. Evangelos Lampatos landed the first two goals in the first 46 seconds, showing Greece’s intent. Qiu Chengyi replied on penalty and then the Greek juggernaut hit the road, screaming home another seven goals to seven different players. Ilias Angelopoulos, the real threat, grabbed his second; Dimitrios Chatzis converted a six-metre free throw and Konstantinos Bitsakos repeated the effort for 12-1. Qiu also scored from six metres. It was becoming a trend, so much so that Chatzis and Bitsakos did the same for 14-2. Angelopoulos slipped in a third before Chen Zhihong converted extra for China. Kyriakos Leventis and two Angelopoulos strikes took it to 18-3 and Qiu claimed his third from six metres. Angelopoulos and Wang Xiayi closed the halftime scoring at 19-5.

The score ballooned to 23-5 with two more from Chatzis and Angelopoulos was straddled by two Chinese goals for 25-7 at the last break. Kosmas Patsilinakos scored the first two goals of the final period; Su Zhenhui replied on counter and three more goals came Greece’s way with Angelopoulos adding his touch and Spyridon Deligiannis gaining his second, this time on penalty for the 30-8 full stop.

Match Heroes
Greece’s Angelopoulos repeated his effort against Canada when scoring eight goals, giving him a tournament-high 26 goals in four matches. Chatzis is equally impressive, scoring five goals after two days of seven and totalling 25. Levantis and Patsilinakos threw a hat-trick each. For China, Qiu was again the best with three goals.

Turning Point
The blistering first quarter where eight players made the sheet says it all about the Greek team.

Stats Don’t Lie
Greece was perfect on extra with four goals, defending five of six; missing two of five penalty attempts to China’s perfect three; claimed the steals massively at 19 to one and the shots 42-23.

Match 34. GROUP H, PORTUGAL 5 BRAZIL 16 (0-3, 2-2, 1-8, 2-3)

Brazil picked up a third victory in Rio Maior and did it in style in front of the partisan crowd. The control came in the first period, keeping a clean sheet while piling on three goals. Danilo Martins, who scored on counter for the third, was sent from the match a minute later for misconduct. Rafael Monteiro converted extra to get Portugal on the board at 6:49 with Joao Horst responding on counter. Duarte Pinto scored on extra for 4-2 behind while Brazilian captain Marcelo Winter converted a penalty foul for the 5-2 halftime scoreline.

Winter was on fire with the next two goals on extra and counter while Pedro de Oliviera made his presence known for 8-2 at a little more than three minutes into the period. Jose Jordao replied but Brazil went on the rampage and scored five more by the last break with Jose Fernandes collecting his second and third goals and Winter countering for the 13-3 goal. Winter started the fourth and there were two trades with Jordao and Ricardo Duarte swapping penalty goals and Ricardo Duarte on extra and Valentino Fonseca from the penalty line at 0:17.

Match Heroes
Brazil’s Winter with five goals; Duarte and Fernandes with three each. However, the goalkeepers were probably the stars — Eduardo Batista making eight saves and Victor de Souza five. Jordao scored twice for Portugal.

Turning Point
The opening quarter made the statement that Brazil was there to win.

Stats Don’t Lie
Brazil made four from eight on extra and defended five from seven. Brazil made all three penalty shots and Portugal three from four. The steals were equal at seven and Brazil shot 31 to 30.

Progress Points

Group G: Australia 6, Singapore 3, Argentina 3, Hong Kong 0.
Group H: Brazil 6, Colombia 3, South Africa 3, Portugal 0.

Day 6 Schedule

09:00, Group G 13-20, Singapore v Argentina
10:30, Group G 13-20, Australia v Hong Kong China
12:00, Group H 13-20, South Africa v Brazil
13:30, 1-8 Quarterfinal, Montenegro v Greece
15:00, 1-8 Quarterfinal, Spain v Serbia
16:30, 1-8 Quarterfinal, Croatia v Italy
18:00, 1-8 Quarterfinal, United States of America v Hungary
19:30, Group H, Colombia v Portugal