Title-holder Spain made it two wins from two with another dominant display against Netherlands in Zagreb, while Hungary kept up the chase to regain the crown it won in 2022 by demolishing Israel. Elsewhere, Greece, Russia, Australia and United States also maintained their 100 per cent records.
First Round League Phase Match Reports
Match 13. CANADA 7 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 13 (2-4, 2-3, 1-5, 2-1)
United States – coached by legendary Olympic champion Brenda Villa – made the brighter start and gradually turned the screw on Canada, which was unable to keep up with its neighbour. By halftime, the USA was three clear (7-4) and ended any hopes of a Canadian comeback in the third quarter with a powerful 5-1 blitz that put the result beyond doubt. After scoring 20 against Peru on Day 1, United States again showed some pinpoint finishing before easing up in the final six minutes.
Match Heroes
USA star Abigail Billish struck a game-high five goals during her 14 minutes in the water to help steer her side to victory, while Canada captain Clara Shyiak led the resistance with an impressive hat-trick.
Stats Don’t Lie
USA was not just clinical in attack, it was also disciplined in defence, conceding just one major foul and one penalty, compared to Canada’s eight exclusions and four penalties.
Match 14. SPAIN 13 NETHERLANDS 5 (3-1, 4-1, 3-2, 3-1)
Spain’s pursuit of a second successive U16 crown remains firmly on track after comprehensively sweeping Netherlands aside. It was another majestic performance from the title-holder, who responded brilliantly to going 1-0 down by hammering in seven goals without reply to take full control by the turnaround. The second half was a slightly more even affair, but a Dutch response never looked on the cards.
Match Heroes
Spain’s Ivet Sulla picked up from where she left off against Serbia by firing in four more goals to take her overall tally to 10, while Paula Pineda also shone again, hitting her second successive hat-trick of the tournament.
Stats Don’t Lie
Netherlands struggled with Spain’s counter-attacks, conceding on three occasions from fast breaks, and also gave away two penalties. Spain caused problems from open play as well, hitting five goals from action, in contrast to Netherlands’ one.
Match 16. ITALY 7 NEW ZEALAND 6 (3-0, 0-1, 3-1, 1-4)
Italy survived a late scare to secure a narrow victory against a spirited New Zealand side, who fought back strongly in the final quarter. The Italians gradually moved through the gears to open up a 6-1 advantage midway through the third period, but could only watch as the Kiwis reduced the deficit to just one goal with 28 seconds remaining. In the end, Italy did just enough to get over the line, though coach Aleksandra Cotti would no doubt have been hoping for a much easier ride in the closing minutes.
Match Heroes
New Zealand goalkeeper Juliette Laury denied the Italians on seven occasions, finishing with stats of 7/14, to keep her side in contention, while Thea Costa and Marta Lorefice caused most of the damage for Italy with two goals apiece.
Stats Don’t Lie
Italy may have got the win, but there’s still work to be done with its misfiring attack. In action, the Italians failed to register a single goal from seven shots, and managed to convert just one extra from 10 attempts.
Match 17. ISRAEL 1 HUNGARY 20 (1-6, 0-6, 0-4, 0-4)
Hungary proved far too strong for Israel as it dominated all four quarters to finish comfortable winners. After the scores were locked at 1-1 midway through the opening quarter, the Magyars unleashed a ruthless 19-goal rush to take them well and truly out of sight. No mercy was shown as Israel failed to register another goal and was left chasing shadows until the final buzzer.
Match Heroes
After scoring six against Romania on Day 1, Hungary sharpshooter Mandula Mihok went one better against Israel, smashing in seven goals from seven shots, while goalkeeper Godiva Kiss was unfortunate not to leave the pool with a clean sheet, saving six of the seven shots fired at her.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary virtually had the freedom of the pool, converting all seven of its attempts on extra, all five penalty shots and six of its eight counters.
Match 18. CHINA 7 AUSTRALIA 8 (1-3, 2-3, 2-1, 2-1)
Australia defended doggedly to edge the early exchanges and establish a 6-3 lead at the turnaround, which proved just enough to seal the win. China started to strike back in the third and fourth quarters, but wasn’t able to find an equaliser. Captain Zhu Yinqi led the fightback, rifling in five goals, with her last – a penalty – making it 7-8 with 2:27 left on the clock. Despite forcing two late extras, China failed to convert either, as Australia clung on.
Match Heroes
China’s Zhu topped the scoring with five goals, while goalkeeper Li Siyao was sensational when she came in for the second half, finishing with stats of 7/9, 77.8%.
Stats Don’t Lie
Australia’s success from action, 5/9, compared to China’s 0/3 proved to be the difference.
Match 21. SOUTH AFRICA 2 RUSSIA 17 (1-6, 0-2, 0-4, 1-5)
Russia made few mistakes as it powered past South Africa. Conceding just twice and shutting out its opponent in the middle two quarters, the Russians excelled in every department and were in total command from the beginning.
Match Heroes
Polina Dildina ended the game with a game-high three goals, while five of her team-mates – Zhasmin Balaeva, Malia Klishina, Eva Grudanova, Valeria Kislukhina and Varvara Mikisheva – each struck twice.
Stats Don’t Lie
Russia overpowered South Africa across the pool, especially in the centre, where it scored 5/9, and on the counter, 5/8.
Match 19. ZIMBABWE 6 GERMANY 8 (0-0, 2-4, 2-1, 2-3)
Germany was pushed all the way by Zimbabwe, who came close to a memorable result. It took until 18 seconds into the second quarter for the deadlock to be broken and after quickly adding two more goals, Germany looked on track for a comfortable afternoon, but Zimbabwe refused to lie down. The Africans pulled it back to 5-4 by the end of the third and equalised twice in the fourth, at 5-5 and 6-6, before two late strikes won it for the Germans.
Match Heroes
Zimbabwe’s Lola Accorsi was on a real mission, rattling in five goals and almost single-handedly keeping her side in touching distance, while Germany’s Lina Lucas and Lina Bruns each scored twice.
Stats Don’t Lie
Germany’s conversion on extra was 4/9 in contrast to Zimbabwe’s 2/4, which swung the game in its favour.
Match 22. UKRAINE 13 MEXICO 5 (6-0, 3-1, 2-3, 2-1)
A 9-0 burst in the first half put Ukraine firmly on course for a huge victory, but Mexico successfully stemmed the tide after the turnaround and even tied the last two quarters 4-4 (2-3, 2-1). The result was never in question, though, as the Ukrainians were in complete cruise control for the last 12 minutes.
Match Heroes
Ukraine’s Yelizaveta Tereshchenko was in prolific form, bagging seven goals, while team-mate Marlia Tsyhankova grabbed a stunning hat-trick.
Stats Don’t Lie
Mexico’s attacking play had little end product. Despite taking more shots – 28 compared to Ukraine’s 24 – they failed to trouble Anna Chentsova, who finished with 10 saves from 15 shots (66.7%).
Match 15. CROATIA 4 GREECE 19 (1-4, 2-6, 0-1, 1-8)
Greece made it back-to-back wins in Zagreb by sinking Croatia with another ferocious attacking display. After hitting 25 past Mexico on Day 1, Greece stopped at 19 this time, but could have had more if it hadn’t eased up in the third quarter. A 9-0 surge after 9-3 rubber-stamped Greece’s authority on the match and piled more misery on the Croats, who fell to a second defeat on home soil.
Match Heroes
Sofia Lampropoulou struck five times to take her tournament tally to 10, while team-mate and captain Afroditi Bitsakou snared a hat-trick.
Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia simply had no answers to Greece’s majestic firepower, which scored 6/9 from action, 6/10 on extra, 4/4 from the centre and 2/2 on the counter.
Match 23. TURKIYE 9 BRAZIL 4 (0-0, 1-2, 4-2, 4-0)
After edging past Croatia in its opening fixture, Turkiye left it late to get the better of Brazil on Day 2. Helena Lara had the perfect chance to open the scoring late in the first quarter, but Turkiye’s Ceren Hergul saved her penalty. Both sides struggled to find a way through, before Brazil nudged ahead 2-1 by halftime. Although the South Americans extended their lead to 3-1 early in the third, Turkiye – inspired by two penalties from captain Eda Moroglu – hit back to take a 5-4 lead heading into the final six minutes. This seemed to break Brazil, who folded in the final stages, conceding four without reply.
Match Heroes
Turkiye captain Moroglu – who fired in a hat-trick on Saturday – led by example once again, scoring more than half of her team’s goals (five) against Brazil, whose goalkeeper and skipper Melissa Moras did her best to keep the Turks at bay, ending with save stats of 7/16 (43.8%).
Stats Don’t Lie
Turkiye’s relentless attack and 25 shots eventually ended the stubborn resistance of Brazil, who could only muster 14 attempts in total.
Match 20. PERU 9 CZECHIA 14 (2-4, 1-3, 3-3, 3-4)
Peru celebrated its first goal in Zagreb after drawing a blank on Day 1. Following 24 scoreless minutes against United States, the South Americans needed a further 4:25 against Czechia to finally open its account, but will have to wait a little longer for a victory. For the record, it was Cynara Sotelo who struck on extra for Peru, but it was already 3-0 at this point and the goal failed to change the course of the game. Czechia struggled to pull away fully, and the gap was even cut to two (10-8) early in the fourth, but Peru was never allowed to get any closer.
Match Heroes
Czechia captain Lucie Koubova and team-mate Lucie Bakalova were joint top-scorers with five goals each, while Peru captain Kiara Barrantes led the way for her team, with four.
Stats Don’t Lie
Czechia enjoyed far more success on extra (8/11) than Peru (3/8), which helped the Europeans stay in front throughout.
Match 24. SERBIA 10 ROMANIA 8 (4-1, 1-4, 3-1, 2-2)
All of Serbia’s hard work in the first quarter (4-1) was quickly undone in the second period, as Romania struck back to level the score by halftime (5-5). Serbia came out fighting again in the third period to regain a two-goal advantage (8-6), but it could never fully shake off the resilient Romanians. Vivien Ridzyk’s 6m strike early in the fourth made it a one-goal game, before Serbia struck twice to move three clear (10-7) and end the contest.
Match Heroes
Serbia captain Masa Cuk played all 24 minutes and racked up five goals, while Ridzyk top scored for Romania with four.
Stats Don’t Lie
Romania had goalkeeper Teodora Grigore to thank, as her saves (10/20) kept her side close until the very end.
Progress Rankings
1. Greece 88.2
2. Russia 88.1
3. Spain 85.8
4. Australia 85
5. USA 82.8
6. Hungary 82.2
7. Turkiye 81.9
8. Netherlands 67.4
9. China 66.3
10. New Zealand 64.5
11. Israel 64.3
12. Ukraine 62.6
13. Canada 62
14. Serbia 58.8
15. Czechia 57.2
16. Italy 54.7
17. Germany 54.6
18. Croatia 48.6
19. Brazil 48
20. Romania 43.8
21. Zimbabwe 42
22. Mexico 40.6
23. Peru 40.1
24. South Africa 34.1
Day 3, First Round League Phase Schedule
10:00: Italy v South Africa
11.30: Israel v Mexico
13:00: Spain v Turkiye
14:30: Canada v Serbia
16:00: Greece v Brazil
16:05: Hungary v Ukraine
17:30: China v Peru
17:35: Australia v Germany
19:00: Croatia v Russia
19:05: Netherlands v Czechia
20:30: United States of America v Romania
20:35: New Zealand v Zimbabwe