Russia took pole position in the league phase following its third successive victory in Zagreb. Greece, Spain, Australia, Hungary and United States also made it three wins in a row after an eventful Day 3 of action that saw Turkiye come close to upsetting title-holder Spain.
First Round League Phase Match Reports
Match 28. ITALY 12 SOUTH AFRICA 3 (4-0, 1-1, 2-1, 5-1)
After surviving a late scare against New Zealand on Sunday, Italy made sure there was no such drama against South Africa, as it closed the game out comfortably. A 5-0 start set the tone and this time the Italian defence held firm to deny its opponent any hopes of a Kiwi-style comeback.
Match Heroes
Italy goalkeeper Sofia Zampini almost kept a clean sheet in the first half, finishing with save stats of 4/5, before handing the reins to Rebecca Vighi, who fared similarly with 4/6. In attack, Marta Lorefice led the charge for the Italians with a hat-trick.
Stats Don’t Lie
Italy was superior in every department, especially attack, taking 33 shots compared to South Africa’s 15. Italy also weaponised its pace, scoring four goals – a third of its total – on the counter.
Match 29. ISRAEL 19 MEXICO 3 (6-1, 3-1, 2-0, 8-1)
Israel condemned Mexico to a third successive defeat in Zagreb, and it was another heavy one. The Israelis bounced back from their humbling by Hungary on Sunday (20-1) by taking out their frustrations on the Mexicans. After firing in six goals inside the first six minutes, Israel eased up a little in the middle periods before unleashing a late 8-1 barrage in the fourth to finish the match in style.
Match Heroes
Yara Huino and Yaheli Rokach were joint top scorers for Israel with three goals apiece.
Stats Don’t Lie
Israel's shooting was on point throughout, finishing with a 79.2 per cent success rate (19/24), while Mexico’s was more wayward (3/16, 18.8 per cent).
Match 26. SPAIN 9 TURKIYE 8 (0-2, 3-2, 5-3, 1-1)
Title-holder Spain found the going tough against Turkiye, who came surprisingly close to causing an upset. After storming past Serbia and Netherlands, the Spanish struggled against the well-drilled Turks and trailed 2-0 at the first break. Bruna Gomila got the defending champion off the mark early in the second quarter, and despite equalising with 2:15 left in the half, Mina Bozkurt restored Turkiye’s lead shortly before the turnaround. Spain struck twice inside 55 seconds of the third to edge ahead for the first time, but the Turks kept hitting back and were behind by just one heading into the final six minutes (8-7). Carla Garcia opened the scoring in the fourth, and that proved just enough for the Spanish to earn a slender victory.
Match Heroes
Gomila and Garcia each struck twice for the Spaniards, while Turkiye’s Defne Keremoglu scored a game-high four goals.
Stats Don’t Lie
Turkiye may have had the most joy on extra, converting 4/6 compared to Spain's 2/5, but the Spanish speed and strength in the centre proved the difference, scoring 2/3 on the counter and 3/5 from 2m.
Match 25. CANADA 9 SERBIA 13 (2-3, 2-5, 1-2, 4-3)
Serbia made it back-to-back wins with a controlled and disciplined performance against Canada, who took an early lead, but gradually faded as the game progressed. By halftime the North Americans were down by four (8-4) and Serbia moved six clear (10-4) late in the third to help secure the win.
Match Heroes
Captain Masa Cuk and Jana Pejic were the standout stars for Serbia, smashing in five goals each, while Canada’s Dasha Khramtsova led the resistance with three.
Stats Don’t Lie
Canada’s efforts weren’t helped by giving away three penalties, with Serbia converting them all.
Match 30. GREECE 14 BRAZIL 4 (4-1, 4-2, 3-1, 3-0)
Greece kept up its perfect record in Zagreb by dominating all four quarters against a powerless Brazil. The Greek defence did an outstanding job again and is yet to concede more than four goals in a single game. In attack, the South Americans rarely troubled the two Greek keepers, especially Andriana Kontakou, who finished with save stats of 5/6 (83.3 per cent) when she was between the posts in the second half.
Match Heroes
Eleni Elmisian led the potent Greek attack with a game-high three goals, while four of her team-mates – Ifigeneia Manousaki, Ioanna Moustaka, Afroditi Bitsakou and Sofia Lampropoulou – each struck twice.
Stats Don’t Lie
Brazil had no answer to the speed of the Greeks, who hit 5/5 on the counter.
Match 33. HUNGARY 15 UKRAINE 3 (4-0, 3-0, 5-2, 3-1)
Hungary – the 2022 champion and runner-up two years ago – demonstrated its desire to retake the crown with another comprehensive victory. After demolishing Romania and Israel, Ukraine was the unfortunate team standing in the way of the mighty Magyars on Day 3. The Hungarians smashed in eight goals before Ukraine finally managed to find a way through early in the third quarter. By then, the result was well beyond doubt, and Hungary continued to dictate the play until the final buzzer.
Match Heroes
Reka Tordai, Doniz Domsodi and Mandula Mihok spearheaded Hungary’s clinical attack with three goals each.
Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary displayed its power from the centre, hitting 4/4 from 2m, and also on the counter, 3/3.
Match 31. CHINA 18 PERU 1 (5-0, 3-1, 4-0, 6-0)
Peru was simply blown away by China, who showed no mercy as it ruthlessly put the South Americans to the sword. An early 6-0 blast was followed by a relentless 12-0 finish, as China returned to winning ways after its narrow 8-7 loss to Australia on Sunday.
Match Heroes
Yuxuan Gu and Yingi Zhu were in fine form, hitting 10 of China’s goals, five apiece.
Stats Don’t Lie
Peru could only watch as the ball ended up in its net time and time again, with China firing in 18 goals from 25 shots.
Match 34. AUSTRALIA 10 GERMANY 6 (3-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2)
After edging past China on Sunday, Australia enjoyed a slightly easier ride against Germany on Day 3. It wasn’t all plain sailing, though, as the Germans refused to lie down, and trailing by four early in the third quarter (6-2), they struck back to move within one (7-6) midway through the fourth. The Aussies remained calm and found another gear, hitting the last three goals of the game to seal a deserved victory.
Match Heroes
Alexia Spartalis led the way for Australia with a hat-trick, while team-mate Sophie Zampech struck twice.
Stats Don’t Lie
Australia should have finished further ahead, but fluffed two of the four penalties it was awarded.
Match 27. CROATIA 7 RUSSIA 10 (1-1, 2-3, 2-4, 2-2)
Russia made it three wins in a row after seeing off a determined Croatia. Both defences were on top in a tight first quarter, before the Russians slowly started to pull away. At the turnaround, Russia led by one and took charge by hitting the first three goals of the third quarter (7-3). From there, Croatia kept chasing and cut the gap to two twice in the fourth (8-6 and 9-7), but were unable to get any closer.
Match Heroes
Varvara Mikisheva top scored for the Russians with three goals, while team-mate Elizaveta Nikiforova grabbed two.
Stats Don’t Lie
Russia edged the extra stats, converting four of its six attempts, while Croatia only managed two from eight.
Match 35. NETHERLANDS 25 CZECHIA 4 (8-0, 4-1, 8-2, 5-1)
Netherlands totally outclassed Czechia from the first whistle and built an unassailable 10-0 lead by midway through the second quarter. There was little respite for the Czechs, who were constantly on the back-foot and failed to find any real rhythm. The Dutch, in contrast, were unplayable for the majority of the game, winning the first half 12-1 and the second 13-3.
Match Heroes
Laura Renkers and Pien Walstra were the pick of the Dutch attack, hitting four goals each.
Stats Don’t Lie
Czechia was forced into taking mainly 6m shots, but had little joy, converting just two from 12 attempts.
Match 32. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16 ROMANIA 1 (5-0, 4-0, 2-0, 5-1)
USA continued its impressive form in Zagreb by crushing Romania. It was a third successive victory for Brenda Villa’s squad, who again looked as strong in defence as it did in attack. After establishing a 14-0 advantage, the Romanians finally found a small chink in the Americans’ armour, following three scoreless quarters, but it was a mere consolation strike.
Match Heroes
Natalie Arata and Abigail Billish each rifled in four goals for the United States.
Stats Don’t Lie
USA’s illustrious defence restricted Romania to just six shots on target.
Match 36. NEW ZEALAND 10 ZIMBABWE 1 (3-0, 1-0, 3-0, 3-1)
After pushing Italy close on Sunday, New Zealand swatted Zimbabwe aside with ease. The Kiwis were 8-0 up deep into the fourth quarter and looked on course for a clean sheet until Ella Lynton-Edwards scored on extra with just 1:43 remaining. That goal did little to halt the tide, though, as there was still time for two more New Zealand strikes to wrap up an emphatic victory.
Match Heroes
Henrietta Yarrell-Stevenson played all 24 minutes and scored a game-high four goals, while team-mates Emily Rope and Rose Tindall each fired in twice.
Stats Don’t Lie
New Zealand dominated in every aspect of the game, but particularly on extra, converting seven of its 12 attempts, compared to Zimbabwe’s 1/6.
Progress Rankings
1. Russia 88.5
2. Greece 87
3. Spain 82.9
4. Australia 82.8
5. Hungary 81.8
6. USA 80.6
7. Turkiye 75.1
8. Netherlands 71.1
9. Israel 70.3
10. China 69.2
11. New Zealand 68.8
12. Serbia 67.7
13. Italy 65.1
14. Ukraine 57.7
15. Canada 52.9
16. Germany 52.4
17. Czechia 52.1
18. Brazil 48.7
19. Romania 44.7
20. Peru 43.1
21. Croatia 42.4
22. Zimbabwe 41.1
23. Mexico 39.8
24. South Africa 37.9
Day 4 Schedule
10:00: Canada v Hungary
11.30: Spain v Greece
13:00: Italy v United States of America
14:30: Israel v Netherlands
16:00: China v New Zealand
16:05: South Africa v Mexico
17:30: Zimbabwe v Czechia
17:35: Ukraine v Romania
19:00: Croatia v Australia
19:05: Turkiye v Russia
20:30: Peru v Germany
20:35: Brazil v Serbia