After the second competition day of the men’s tournament at the World Championships in Hungary, we know two participants of the quarterfinal games.
Hungary and Serbia secured themselves spots in the last eight.
Hungary achieved a comfortable 20:6 victory over Brazil and cemented 1st place in Group A.
Serbia secured the top spot in Group D after a hard-fought win over Australia (6:5). The match was completely different from Serbia’s first game in the tournament (a 17:13 victory over the USA). Team USA beat Kazakhstan in this group today (17:4)
In other matches, there were no surprises, but Serbia wasn’t the only favorite that passed through some scary moments today.
Montenegro had ups and downs in the match against Georgia and saved a 10:9 victory in dying seconds (Group A).
Spain recorded the biggest win in the tournament so far – 28:2 against South Africa in the only game in Group C .
The match Italy-Canada wasn’t played today because of three Covid cases at the team Canada. The three players have been already placed in isolation.
The Italian Swimming Federation announced that there was a possibility of playing the match on Friday. The FINA Covid Task Force decided that the Canadian team would have to undergo PCR testing on Thursday evening and a rapid test on Friday morning. If there are up to four positive tests, then the match between Italy-Canada will be played tomorrow, probably before the start of the women’s program. Otherwise, the Canadian team will be excluded from the tournament
The favorites recorded convincing wins in Group B: Greece – Japan 18:7 and Croatia – Germany 13:9. Croatia will chase a 12-goal victory against Japan on Saturday to climb to 1st place in the group.
2022 World Men’s Championships, Day 2
Group A (Budapest)
Georgia – Montenegro 9:10 (1:4, 3:0, 3:4, 2:2)
Georgia: Razmadze, Adeishvili, Dadvani, Shushiashvili 1, Bitadze 2, Jelaca, Jakhaia, Saric 1, Imnaishvili 1, Vapenski 1, Baraldi , Vasic 3, Shubladze. Head coach: Stanojevic.
Montenegro: Lazovic, Mrsic, Vucurovic 1, Averka, Cuckovic, Popadic, V.Radovic 2, Djurdjic 4, Perkovic 1, Banicevic, Matkovic 2,Petkovic, Tesanovic. Head coach: Gojkovic.
Montenegro got off to a good start, and few believed that the game would enter a thrilling finish. The Montenegrins built a 4:1 lead in the first quarter but lost goalkeeper Petar Tesanovic, who got injured. An experienced Dejan Lazovic replaced Tesanovic in the second period. Georgia, with several players from the ex-Yu countries on the roster (and a Serbian coach Dejan Stanojevic), tightened its defense after the first break and started coming back step by step. Just three seconds before the halftime, Dusan Vasic leveled at 4:4.
Montenegro retook control after the middle break and produced a 3:0 run for a 7:4 lead. The Montenegrins had an 8:5 lead at the finish of the third quarter. Still, Serbs in the team of Georgia Vapenski and Vasic scored two goals in the last 64 seconds of the quarter (both with a man-up) for 7:8.
Dejan Lazovic Photo: Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo
The fourth period started with a penalty shot for Georgia. Jovan Saric made no mistake – 8:8. But, shortly after, Montenegro’s Bogdan Djurdjic added his fourth goal this evening for 9:8. In the middle f the quarter, Vasilije Radovic doubled the advantage (10:8), but Bitadze responded immediately (9:10). Montenegro had a chance to secure a win in its last possession, but Djurdjic got his shot blocked with 36 seconds left on the clock. Georgia earned a man-up with 18 seconds to go and a great chance to secure a point. Five seconds before the buzzer, Dusan Vasic took responsibility. Djurdjic blocked his shot. Marko Jelaca tried to score from a rebound, but Dejan Lazovic saved a shot from Jelaca and two points for Montenegro. After this win, the Montenegrins will probably finish in 2nd place in the group.
Hungary – Brazil 20:6 (7:1, 4:2, 4:1, 5:2)
Hungary: Levai, Angyal 2, Manhercz 2, Pohl 1, Vamos 1, Mezei 1, Zalanki 3, Burian 1, Nagy 3, Varga 3, Jansik 1, Harai 2, Vogel. Head coach: Marcz.
Brazil: Barella, Cabral, Lacerda 1, Coutinho, Freitas, Pedroso 1, Real 2, De Paula 1, CHiappini, Vicazre, Guimaraes 1, Silva, Mendez. Head coach: Silva.
As expected, the duel between Hungary and Brazil was a one-sided contest. Hungary cruised to a victory and didn’t disappoint its supporters, playing at a high level throughout the game. The fans enjoyed a festival of goals.
All field players of the home team got on the scoresheet
1.Hungary 2 – 4
2.Montenegro 2 – 2
3.Georgia 2 – 2
4. Brazil 2 – 0
Group B (Debrecen)
Croatia – Germany 13:9 (4:1, 4:1, 2:2, 3:5)
Croatia: Bijac, Buric 1, Fatovic 2,Krapic 3, Lazic, Bukic, Vukicevic, Zuvela 1, Marinic Kragic 1, Vrlic 1, Basic 3, Kharkov 1, Popadic. Head coach: Tucak.
Germany: Schenkel, Bozic 1, Korbel, Rotermund, Schutze 2, Jungling, Strelezkij 2, Kuppers 3, Dolff, Kubisch, Schipper, Gansen 1,Gotz. Head coach: Porobic.
Croatia needed two quarters to secure the victory over Germany. The Croats played better from the first whistle and proved who the favorite was. They conceded only two goals in the first 16 minutes. Croatia had an 8:1 lead before the Germans scored their second goal. It happened 21 seconds before the middle break.
Midway through the third period, Croatia regained a 7-goal advantage (10:3) and after that slowed down and saved energy for the game against Japan, which will be crucial in a battle for 1st place. Still, their win wasn’t in danger. Germany reduced the gap to three goals (7:10 and 8:11). But, Croatia controlled the match.
Japan – Greece 7:18 (1:3, 2:4, 2:5, 2:6)
Japan: Tanamura, Adachi, Watanabe, Ogihara, Maita, Suzuki 2, Date, Takata 2, Arai, Inaba 2, Okawa 1, Araki, Fukushima. Head coach: Shiota.
Greece: Zerdevas, Genidounias 1, Skoumpakis, Kalogeropoulos, Fountoulis 2, Papanastasiou 2, Dervisis, Argyropoulos 6, Gouvis, Kakaris 2, Nikolaidis 1, Vlachopoulos 2, Tzortzatos. Head coach: Vlachos.
Greece started slowly, but the Olympic silver medalists recorded a solid 11-goal victory. In two days, we’ll see if it is enough for 1st place in the group.
The Japanese scored the 1st goal in the game, but Greece earned a 2-goal lead by the first break. Stylianos Argyropoulos, who was unstoppable today (6 goals from as many attempts) stretched the margin to three early in the second quarter (4:1). Japan fought hard, but already in the middle of the match, it was clear that they couldn’t surprise the favorite. Only a winning margin was in question in the second half.
If there are no surprises in the last round – if Croatia beats Japan and Greece defeats Germany, the Croats, and the Greeks will finish the group play with 5 points each
In that case results against the 3rd-placed team in the group, Japan will be decisive for 1st place in the group. Croatia needs a 12-goal win (or 11-goal win with more than 18 goals scored) to climb to 1st place. If Croatia beat Japan with the same result as Greece today (18:7), the next criterion will be the results against Germany, which can’t move from 4th place.
1.Greece 2 – 3
2. Croatia 2 – 3
3. Japan 2 – 2
4. Germany 2 – 0
Group C (Sopron)
Spain – South Africa 28:2 (7:1, 7:0, 6:1, 8:0)
Spain: Aguirre, Munarriz 2, Granados 6, Sanahuja 3, De Toro, Larumbe 2, Famera 3, Cabanas 2, Tahull 2, Perrone 3, Mallarach 4, Bustos 1, Lorrio. Head coach: Martin.
South Africa: Madi, Badenhorst, Wheeler, Howard 1, Mayman, Olver, Laurenson, Tucker, Cronje 1, Ston, Roman, Swanepoel, Mfikili. Head coach: Marlow.
Spain demolished South Africa in its final rehearsal before the derby of the group against Italy. However, the result against South Africa might be important in the race for the top spot. Much depends on Canada’s future participation in the tournament. Italy beat South Africa 22:4.
Italy – Canada postponed
1. Spain 2 – 4
2. Italy 1 – 2
3. Canada 1 – 0
4. South Africa 2 – 0
Group D (Szeged)
Serbia – Australia 6:5 (1:1, 2:2, 2:2, 1:0)
Serbia: Dobozanov, Mandic 2, Subotic, Randjelovic, Lazic, Vico, S.Rasovic, Lukic 2, Jaksic 1, Radulovic, Drasovic 1, V.Rasovic, Mitrovic. Head coach: Savic.
Australia: Porter, Mardsen, Ford 1, Negus, Power 2, McJannett, Pavillard, Holden, Townsend, Putt, Poot, Edwards 2, Hedges. Head coach: Hamill.
Dejan Savic criticized his players during and after the game against the USA two days ago, primarily because of a bad defensive play. Today, the Serbs played better in defense, but the attack didn’t shine. Moreover, Australia managed to dictate the pace in the first half. The rhythm of the game and a small number of goals suited the “Sharks”. Their goalkeeper Nic Porter was outstanding today. He posted 12 saves today (8 in the first half).
Serbia had an opening 1:0 lead. Australia turned around a deficit to a 2:1 lead. Dusan Mandic answered with two goals – one from a penalty shot and one with an extra player (between these goals, he missed one penalty). Still, Australia’s George Ford closed the first half with a power-play goal – 3:3.
At halftime, Dejan Savic switched the goalkeepers – Dobozanov replaced Mitrovic. But, Serbia couldn’t find the right solutions in the attack. The Olympic champions wasted a lot of man-ups and missed chances. Serbia led 4:3 in the third period. Australia had a 5:4 advantage. In the 23rd minute, Radomir Drasovic converted a man-up for 5:5.
Nikola Lukic Photo by Slobodan Sandic/WaterpoloSerbia
Australia was increasingly focused on defense as the game was approaching an end. The Australians’ attacks weren’t very dangerous in the final eight minutes, but the defense worked well, while Serbia continued missing chances. Three minutes and 18 seconds from the end, a debutant Nikola Lukic scored from the distance to give Serbia a 6:5 lead. Still, the game was open until the very end. Serbia couldn’t build a 2-goal lead. Thirty seconds before the buzzer, Australia’s Ford hit the back of the net, but he committed an offensive foul before that, so it wasn’t a goal. In the last 30 seconds, Serbia kept the ball and booked the ticket for the quarterfinals.
Serbia will finish the group stage with a match against Kazakhstan, which has no importance. In the following six days, the Serbs will have to work on improving their shape.
Kazakhstan – USA 4:17 (1:7, 2:3, 1:2, 0:5)
Kazakhstan: Makhmetov, Tsoy, Pustovalov, Vuksanovic, Lamayev 1, Artyukh, Shakenov 1, Berbelzuk, Akhmetov 1, Shmider 1, Khassanov, Shonzhigitov, Liplin. Head coach:Ukumanov.
USA: Weinberg, Dodd 1, Vavic 1, Gruwell 1, Daube 1, Ehrhardt 1, Hallock 3, Woodhead, Bowen 3, Stevenson 1, Farmer 1, Irving 4, Holland. Head coach: Udovicic.
The Americans collected the first points in Szeged with a convincing victory over Kazakhstan. The first quarter determined the rest of the encounter. The Americans earned an early 5:0 lead. After the first break, Kazakhstan started recovering from an opening shock, but it wasn’t able to come back. In the 14th minute, Team USA gained a 7-goal lead for the first time, when Bowen converted a man-up for 9:3. The following minutes offered a more-less balanced battle. Still, Team USA demolished Kazakhstan in the fourth period.
The game between USA and Australia will be decisive for 2nd place in the group. The Americans are the favorites, but Australia proved that it could surprise the favorites. If the match USA-Australia ends in tie, Australia will be in 2nd place, because of the results against 1st-placed Serbia (USA lost to Serbia by four goals – 13:17).
1.Serbia 2 – 4
2. USA 2 – 2
3. Australia 2 – 2
4. Kazakhstan 2 – 0
Day 3 (June 25)
Group A: Brazil – Montenegro (19:30), Hungary – Georgia (21:00)
Group B: Japan – Croatia (18:00), Greece – Germany (19:30)
Group C: Italy – Spain (18:00), Canada – South Africa (19:30)
Group D: Kazakhstan – Serbia (18:00), USA- Australia (19:30)
All times are CET
Road to the Finals
Crossover round (June 27):
Match 1: 2A – 3B
Match 2: 3A – 2B
Match 3: 2C – 3D
Match 4: 3C – 2D
Quarterfinals (June 29):
QF1: 1A (Hungary)– winner Match 3
QF2: 1B – winner match 4
QF3: 1C – winner match 1
QF4: 1D (Serbia)– winner match 2
Semi-finals: (July 1):
SF1: winners QF1 – QF2
SF2: winners QF3 – QF4
Finals (July 3)
Final: winner SF1 vs winner SF2
