Defending champion ESP has emerged from a sudden-death, penalty shootout victory over USA to contest the gold-medal final against CRO on Sunday. ESP won 17-16 after tying the match in the last 10 seconds at 10-10 while CRO nudged Serbia 12-11 in their semifinal.
Overview
In a day that produced three shootouts and many close encounters, ESP and CRO have floated to the top of the heap and will play for gold. CRO is unbeaten after six days while ESP lost 9-8 to GRE on day two.
The semifinals produced everything required at this level and shows how close the top nations are.
In the battle for fifth position, BRA fended off EGY 11-9 and RUS held sway over ITA 8-7 with a late penalty goal, continuing the closeness of this competition.
In the quest for 9-12, HUN hammered MLT 12-2 and GRE dumped TUR 14-5. The two winners were unlucky not to make the top eight.
In the two other shootouts, AUS broke a 4-4 impasse with a 4-1 shootout to claim a spot in the 13th-place play-off 8-5. And SGP beat GEO 16-15 after being tied at 13 in the classification 17-20 group.
Match Reports
Classification 5-8 Semifinals
Match 105. EGY 9 BRA 11 (2-4, 4-1, 2-3, 1-3)
BRA was more clinical on shooting and deserved this victory in a match-up of two dedicated teams this tournament. Ricardo Duarte and Philippe Cesar had BRA 2-0 up with a trade producing 3-1 and an Omar Mohamed extra-man goal bringing it to 3-2 by 1:09. Cesar grabbed his second on extra in the last six seconds for 4-2 by the first break. Haroun Moustafa scored on extra and from outside to level and Hossam Islam gave EGY the edge on extra. Mathias Wulfhorst countered for 5-5 at 1:37. Islam and Duarte got into a spot of bother and both were red-carded 13 seconds from halftime. Yassin Tarek scored from the top to give EGY the 6-5 halftime advantage. An early exchange made it 7-06 and Hesham Hassan lifted the margin to two straight after. Cesar came to BRA’s rescue on extra at 2:14 and Gabriel Quirino plugged a penalty shot for 8-8, 40 seconds from the last break. Wulfhorst from the top and Quirino on penalty lifted BRA to 10-8 at 4:10. Murad Khaled converted extra at 2:21 and Cesar made sure of the win on penalty, 19 seconds from the final buzzer.
Match Heroes
Cesar scored four from eight and Quirino chipped in with a hat-trick for BRA while goalkeeper Vinicius Meira was again on song with 12 valuable stops. Moustafa scored three for EGY from four attempts.
Stats Don’t Lie
BRA converted three from five on extra and stopped four from eight. On penalties, BRA made three and on steals EGY had the edge at 12-10. BRA’s superior shooting gave it 47.8 per cent to 29 on a far lesser number of shots — 23-31.
Classification 9-12 Semifinals
Match 103. HUN 12 MLT 2 (4-0, 3-1, 2-0, 3-1)
HUN moves into the play-off for ninth after a waltz over MLT. HUN won this event four years ago and was the bronze medallist in 2024. Ninth place was not what it came here to achieve. MLT was 17th last time, so this is a huge improvement. Oliver Szaka made two goals as HUN dominated the first period. Benedek Nagy and Barnabas Saska took it to 6-0 in the second quarter before Jake Simpson struck on extra for MLT. The match meandered to 9-12 at 2:14 in the third with Szaka gaining his third on extra. Nagy nailed his second on counter for 11-1 at 4:44 in the fourth and Giulio Massa blasted from outside for MLT’s second score. Huba Fabinyi countered in the final minute and HUN had a comfortable 12-2 victory.
Match Heroes
Captain Szaka notched a hat-trick as seven made the sheet. MLT’s Luigi Gatt took in 12 saves from the cage.
Stats Don’t Lie
HUN converted three from five and MLT one from three on extra. HUN converted two from three on penalty, won the steals 10-seven and the shots 34.3 to 10.5 per cent — 35-19. HUN scored twice on counter and twice in the hole.
Match 104. GRE 14 TUR 5 (4-0, 2-1, 3-1, 5-3)
GRE trampled TUR in a match that should have been closer. GRE is unlucky not to be in the top eight and TUR had an excellent run of results. This heavy loss would be distressing. Panagiotis Korakas started with a penalty goal and added an extra-man goal for good measure soon after. Xenofon Karalis on penalty and Konstantinos Litinas from the top, had GRE comfortably sitting at 4-0 by the first break. Litinas and Karalis took it to 56-1 before TUR called a timeout and set up captain Cagan Kir on extra to score at 3:02. Goals were exchanged in the third period with Efe Ilik nabbing TUR’s second on extra at 4:22. Korakas at two metres and Konstantinos Spandagos from outside, made it 9-2 by the last break. Kir struck again at 3:39 in the last with Angelos Almpertis scoring on penalty and counter within 20 seconds. A timeout ploy attracted TUR’s fourth goal through Ilik on extra. Karatazas and Almpertis on extra boosted it to 13-4. Emir Zulfikari sat up on a six-metre, free-throw shot for 13-5 and Litinas swiftly replied from the top at 0:39 for the final score of 14-5.
Match Heroes
Litinas, Korakas, Almpertis made three each and goalkeeper Andreas Glyniadakis stopped 10 shots. Kir and Ilik scored twice each for TUR.
Stats Don’t Lie
GRE hit five from six on extra and defended six from nine. GRE nailed all three penalty shots, took the steals seven to three and the overall shooting at 45.2 to 20.8. GRE scored four from outside and once on counter.
Classification 13-16 Semifinals
Match 101. GER 11 NZL 8 (4-1, 2-2, 3-2, 2-3)
GER moved into the play-off for 13th spot with a well-controlled win over NZL. The Kiwis scored first on penalty and then GER scored the next three in quick succession, the fourth off a cross pass to the far post on extra — the second extra-man strike. A cross to the left-post position gave Jonas Seidel his 18th goal of the week and 5-1 at 3:19. Olly Jones, who scored the early penalty goal, fired from the top left on extra for 5-2. An extra-man strike from the top had GER at 6-2. Eddie Perry converted a penalty foul for 6-3 for the halftime score. Basil Blanc smashed one in from the top left for 7-3. Luca Mayall gained his 13th goal of the week from centre-forward, lobbing over the advancing goalkeeper for 7-4. It quickly became 8-4 from left-hand-catch. Seidel shot big on counter for 9-4 at a time when the Kiwis were struggling to get clean ball to the centre forward. On the next attack, Nathan Singleton scored from the bottom right after a big break just before the buzzer. The burly Blanc muscled in another shot from the left-post position to bring up double figures for GER. Mayall’s shot from deep left needed close scrutiny before being awarded, coming off the right post and bobbling on the line. It was good for 10-6. Both teams took a timeout but it was the Kiwi one that brought a goal, Jonah Teokotai converting extra from the top right on the second pass — 10-7. NZL gave up a penalty foul, with the shot saved. NZL went to a timeout at 1:16 and the ball worked left to Mayall who scored with a twist from the left-post position for 10-8 at 1:04. GER called a timeout at 0:45 and at 0:28, Julian Konitzer rifled from top right for 11-8 and the punctuation mark on an excellent match.
Match Heroes
Blanc scored a hat-trick and Karlo Thiele made seven saves in the GER goal. NZL captain Mayall also scored a hat-trick and Isaiah Hornibrook made seven saves in his three quarters in the water. Chase Davies collected four more.
Stats Don’t Lie
GER made three from nine on extra and NZL two from four. GER missed one penalty shot and NZL made two. GER made 13 steals to five and lost the shooting 35.5 to 40 per cent — but had more shots — 31-20.
Match 102. ROU 5 AUS 8 in penalty shootout. FT: 4-4. Pens: 1-4. (1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 1-1)
These two teams clashed on day three for an Aussie 10-6 victory. ROU won the first half and AUS the second. Five days of experience can make a huge difference and it proved so with nothing separating the teams in the quarters and penalties deciding the victor with AUS proving superior in this theatre. Today the scoring was more sedate, especially in the first quarter where it finished at 1-1. On day three it was 3-2 to ROU. Australia scored first off a cross pass to the left post where Nate Kell obliged. David Filipoiu received a cross pass on counter to equalise at 3:09. The next goal did not come until 4:20 in the second period via a Vlad Nistor penalty strike. Kell equalised big time with a right-handed, backhand missile from point blank at 4:06. The defence was solid at both ends and by halftime, both goalkeepers had four excellent saves. Filipoiu had a penalty shot blocked and on the next attack, George Kennedy converted extra from deep left for 3-2. Filipoiu made amends on the next attack, accepting a long upfield pass to turn at centre forward and score the equaliser. Jacob Hebden swatted away another penalty attempt just before halftime. It was hard work with shots and saves and blocks in the final quarter until Thomas Gamble finished off three shots from the Aussies off two rebounds from slap bang in front at 1:57 and the 4-3 go-ahead goal. ROU retaliated immediately with the shot from top left bouncing off the hand of Hebden into the bottom left for 4-4 at 1:39. AUS had its shot go wide and ROU called a timeout at 0:21. The shot was blocked and Hebden’s long shot went askew, forcing a penalty shootout. AUS shot first and scored four straight while two shots failed to make their mark for ROU — one saved and one hit wood — gifting AUS a 4-1 shootout for an 8-5 victory.
Match Heroes
Aussie Hebden with 12 saves — two on penalty in the match plus another in the shootout. Kell was the only double scorer. Filipoiu scored twice for ROU and goalie Ilie Maximciuc dragged in nine saves. The goalkeepers were the true stars of the match.
Stats Don’t Lie
AUS converted a sad two from nine and ROU none from two. AUS missed two of its three penalty attempts, took the steal nine-eight and the shots 18.2 per cent to 16 — a stunningly low percentage. AUS shot 25 to 22.
Classification 21-24 Semifinals
Match 96. KAZ 7 CAN 9 (3-4, 1-3, 2-1, 1-1)
CAN bounced back from its one-goal loss to SGP the day before to shut out KAZ with the 7-4 first half the killer punch. Alizhan Audanbekov on extra and Nikola Tesanovic kicked off proceedings and Tesanovic converted a penalty for 3-1. KAZ scored on extra and penalty to level and Dmitriy Rebenko sent one in on extra for a CAN 4-3 advantage at the first break. Audanbekov was in an early trade in the second quarter with Matei Pirusca scoring on extra and counter for 7-4. Audanbekov and the equally potent Assanali Amangeldinov narrowed the margin to one. Juan Cardona on extra regained a two-goal gap to close the third-period scoring at 2:28. Tesanovic traded goals with Shyngyskhan Askerbekov by 1:25 for 9-7, the final score.
Match Heroes
Tesanovic scored a hat-trick for CAN, as did Audanbekov for KAZ.
Stats Don’t Lie
CAN made four from seven on extra and KAZ two from three. CAN converted one and KAZ missed one of two on penalty. Can made five steals to three and took the shooting at 52.9 per cent to 41.2 — both taking 17 shots.
Classification 25-28 Semifinals
Match 94. CHN 8 SLO 7 (2-2, 1-1, 2-1, 3-3)
CHN was 23rd two years ago and will now play for 25th after a narrow victory over SLO. SLO was 16th four years ago but did not contest in 2024. CHN began the scoring and needed a penalty goal to level at 2-2 inside the final minute of the first period. Vuk Petrovic and Luo Zijin traded goals with a CHN timeout bringing nothing to the board. Li Bingze broke a drought on extra at 4:08 in the third period with Patrik Mekinda replying, also on extra. Li scored on extra again for 5-4 at the last break. Uros Cvijanovic and Petrovic stole the lead midway through the fourth period and Bine Stromajer stretched it to 7-5 on counter at 3:15. Zhou Letian at 2:02 on action; Luo on extra at 1:05 after a timeout and Wang Yintian on counter at 0:05 snatched the victory for CHN.
Match Heroes
Luo netted three for CHN while Petrovic and Stromajer made two each for SLO.
Stats Don’t Lie
CHN buried all four extra-man attempts and SLO made two of three. CHN scored one penalty goal, lost the steals eight to three but won the shooting 66.7 to 53.8 on a low 12-13 tally.
Match 95. ISR 5 UKR 6 (0-0, 3-2, 1-1, 1-3)
UKR plucked the victory from the jaws of death, scoring from the top for the winner before the final buzzer. What a close encounter this was. So close that the first goal did not come until 3:43 in the second period through Alon Peleg off a cross pass from his right at two metres. Ido Baruch made it 2-0 on extra from the top left with a bouncer. UKR responded through Kyrylo Boruta with an arrow from the top left at 1:28. Peleg found the goal again, on extra with a lob from the top — only his second goal of the week. Vitalii Dyadyura closed it to 3-2 at 0:17 from deep left to bring up halftime. Filippo Soroka converted a penalty at 2:32 in the third for 3-3. Aviv Gidron sent ISR to the last break 4-3 ahead, scoring on extra from deep left. Yoav Berger lobbed from eight metres off a six-metre, free throw for 5-3. Dyadyura replied on extra from deep left on extra after a timeout to narrow the difference to one. At 2:22, Dyadyura converted a penalty foul for 5-5, splashing the pool with delight. ISR called a timeout but the resulting shot was saved by the keeper. Two UKR shots were dismissed and one for ISR at 0:09. UKR went to a timeout at 0:07. The ball was passed four times and Dyadyura nailed his 18th goal from the top into the bottom left with milliseconds left on the clock.
Match Heroes
Dyadyura was the hero with four of UKR’s five goals. Peleg was the only double scorer for ISR.
Stats Don’t Lie
UKR struggled on extra at one from seven while ISR made three from nine. UKR scored both penalty attempts and ISR missed one of two. UKR won the steals two to one and on shooting, took 22 shots to 17 but only at 27.3 per cent to 29.4.
Classification 29-32 Semifinals
Match 92. POR 18 ZIM 2 (5-0, 4-1, 5-0, 4-1)
It was a fourth big loss for ZIM in a row and a reprieve for POR after a six-goal loss to CHN the day before. The quarter scores show just why POR won the encounter, setting itself up for the 29th play-off spot. POR scored three on action, two from centre and five counter-attack goals, showing its versatility. POR shot 31 times to ZIM’s nine attempts on target. It was a pleasing outing for POR but not for ZIM, finding out what it takes to play at this level.
Match Heroes
Gabriel Ferreira and Miguel Santos scored three goals each for POR while ZIM’s two goalkeepers made four saves each.
Stats Don’t Lie
POR hit six from 11 on extra and blocked all four of ZIM’s hopes. POR missed two from four on penalty while ZIM converted its sole attempt; POR took the steals 10- five and the overall shooting 58.1 to 22.2.
Match 93. RSA 12 CZE 7 (4-1, 3-1, 3-3, 2-2)
RSA came good after a three-goal loss to ISR the day before. The opening half made the win that much easier. RSA had three goals safely in its pouch before Filip Otahal replied for CZE at 2:29. Lincoln Burger squeezed in an extra-man goal for 4-1 before the buzzer. Chris Davidson scored his second on counter for 5-1 with Burger ramming one home from outside and then from centre forward for 7-1. Matyas Rehak addressed the deficit on extra at 0:43. RSA blew a penalty chance, 13 seconds from halftime. Goals were traded early before Ondrej Kadlec and Otahal covered a Burger action shot. Burger countered late in the period for 10-5. Lukas Zachoval covered extra and Davidson did the same for RSA at 4:00 for 11-6. A trade including Otahal on counter boosted the score to 12-7 at 1:37, the final score.
Match Heroes
Burger scored five goals and captain Davidson three for RSA. Otahal was best with a hat-trick for CZE.
Stats Don’t Lie
RSA made just two from four on extra and CZE three from five. RSA missed the only penalty attempt. RSA was good for the steals at 11-eight and the overall shooting at 54.5 to 36.8 per cent.
Classification Round 33-36
Match 118. MEX 11 MAS 7 (3-1, 4-3, 3-1, 1-2)
MEX had a well-rounded shooting portfolio with two on action, three on centre, one on extra, one from the top, three of penalty and one on counter. Quite the mix. It was also its second win in the lower-four series. Carlos Nunez scored the first two MEX goals, either side of a Tajesh Thanabalan extra goal. Matiaz Ramirez also scored on penalty for 3-1 at 1:08. Jian Wong converted extra at 4:46 in the second period for 3-2. Two quick MEX goals came before Keegan Sta Maria pulled one back for MAS. Nunez scored from the top and on counter for 7-3 with Shee Lau also countering for MAS with two seconds left in the half. Wong was in a trade midway through the third quarter for 8-5 and Carlos Ramos lifted MEX to 9-5. Brandon Gomez finished extra for 10-5 at 2:29, which became the three-quarter-time score. Wong countered at 5:46 in the fourth, Danish Mohammad scored off extra at 3:44 for 10-7 and Jose Dominguez sent home a penalty shot at 0:27 for 11-7.
Match Heroes
Nunez netted four goals from nine attempts for MEX. Wong was best with three goals for MAS.
Stats Don’t Lie
MEX converted only one from three and MAS three from six. MEX scored three penalty goals won the steals 20-13 and the shots 52.4 per cent to 43.8.
Match 109. PUR 8 URU 6 (3-2, 1-2, 2-2, 2-0)
PUR bounced back from the 18-8 loss to MAS the day before and URU had to settle for a second loss in the group. PUR opened through Yanmanuel Diaz from the top and Leon Varela replied at 1:44. Lexiel Morales and Noah Rodriguez took it to 3-1 at 0:21 before Santino Decia put one away on the buzzer for 3-2. Diaz was in a trade and Decia levelled at 0:35 on penalty. Two PUR goals around the five-minute mark of the third period lifted PUR to 6-4. Varela replied two minutes later and Diego Odella equalised at 6-6 from an outside shot. Stalin Alburquerque started the fourth period for PUR on action and turnovers and blocks were the main feature until a penalty strike by Diaz at 1:31 for 8-6 secured the match. Alburquerque was the first of three shots by URU that failed to find their mark before the final buzzer.
Match Heroes
Diaz scored a hat-trick for PUR with the star being goalkeeper Jeremy Davila with 10 stops. Varela and Decia scored twice each for URU and Mateo Campal made nine saves. It was definitely a day for the goalies.
Stats Don’t Lie
PUR managed just the one from six on extra and URU none from two. PUR missed one of two on penalty and URU one of three. PUR won the steals five to four and the shots at 32-22.2 per cent.
Day 7 Schedule
Classification 33-36 Round
08:30: MEX v PUR
08:35: MAS v URU
Classification 15-16
10:00: NZL v ROU
Classification 31-32
10:05: ZIM v CZE
Classification 13-14
11.30: GER v AUS
Classification 29-30
11:35: POR v RSA
Classification 11-12
13:00: MLT v TUR
Classification 27-28
13:05: SLO v ISR
Classification 9-10
14:30: HUN v GRE
Classification 25-26
14:35: CHN v UKR
Classification 23-24
15:50: KAZ v PER
Classification 7-8
16:00: EGY v ITA
Classification 21-22
17:05: CAN v POL
Classification 5-6
17:30: BRA v RUS
Classification 19-20
18:20: GEO v NED
Classification 3-4
19:00: SRB v USA
Classification 17-18
19:35: SGP v MNE
Classification 1-2
20:30: CRO v ESP