After three exciting days at the World U20 Championships in Zagreb, there were not a lot of thrills today.
Australia and Germany comfortably beat their Asian rivals in the crossover matches and secured themselves relatively easier opponents in tomorrow’s eighth-finals. Besides the two games in the crossover round, the first matches in the groups for the 13th-20th place classification were held today.
2025 World U20 Championships, Zagreb, Day 4
Crossover round
Iran – Germany 6:22 (0:4, 2:6, 1:6, 3:6)
Australia – China 19:8 (5:3, 9:1, 4:1, 1:3)
The Germans quickly demonstrated that they wouldn’t be surprised by Iran, jumping out to an 8:0 lead at the start of the match. Iran didn’t score until the 14th minute. Midway through the third period, one of Iran’s players received a red card for a violent foul, leaving Germany with a man advantage for the next four minutes. By that point, the match was already decided, with Germany ahead 15:2. The Germans ultimately extended their lead to 22:6 by the end of the game, with Hofmann leading the scoring with four goals.
Photo by CRO WP (Croatian Water Polo Federation)
Australia also got off to a strong start against China, taking a 3:0 lead within the first two minutes. However, the Chinese team refused to give up easily, narrowing the gap to just two goals (3:5) by the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Australia surpassed their first-quarter performance by scoring four unanswered goals in the first three minutes, extending their lead to 9:3 and dashing any hopes of an upset from China. In the fourth quarter, Australia had a 14-goal lead (19:5) and then let China score the last three goals. Magasanik led Australia’s attack with five goals.
All teams that played in the crossover round will face challenging matches in tomorrow’s eighth-finals. Australia will take on Italy, which finished fourth in Group B. That game is likely to be the derby of the next stage. Germany will face Montenegro, which finished fourth in Group A. Iran will meet Team USA, while China’s opponent will be Greece.
Road to medals
CROSSOVER ROUND (June 17)
Iran – Germany 6:22
Australia – China 19:5
EIGHTH-FINALS (June 18)
EF1: Iran – USA (16.00 CET)
EF2: China – Greece (17.30 CET)
EF3: Germany – Montenegro (19.00 CET)
EF4: Australia – Italy (20.30 CET)
QUARTERFINALS (June 19)
QF1: Hungary– Winner EF4
QF2: Spain– Winner EF2
QF3: Croatia – Winner EF3
QF4: Serbia– Winner EF1
SEMIFINALS (June 20)
Winners QF1 – QF4
Winners QF 2 – QF3
FINAL DAY (June 21)
13th – 20th place classification
The most exciting match in the first round of the 13th-20th place classification was an encounter between South Africa and Kazakhstan. It was the first match at the Championships in which both teams scored fewer than 10 goals. Moreover, there were only 13 goals. Kazakhstan had a 7:6 advantage before the fourth quarter. Nobody could find the net in the final eight minutes.
In other matches, American teams – Brazil, Argentina and Canada – collected the points.
Group G, Round 1
Brazil – New Zealand 14:8 (4:2, 5:1, 4:2, 1:3)
Argentina – Singapore 14:12 (6:5, 3:4, 4:0, 1:3)
Group H, Round 1
South Africa – Kazakhstan 6:7 (0:1, 2:2, 4:4, 0:0)
Colombia – Canada 11:17 (2:3, 3:6, 2:3, 4:5)
