Croatia became the world champion for the third time. It beat Italy 15:13 after a penalty shootout in today’s final in Doha and added a new gold after triumphs in 2007 and 2017.
It was the third consecutive World Championships final decided in a shootout. Spain defeated Italy in Budapest in 2022. Last year, Hungary was better than Greece. Today, the Italians fell short in a shootout again.
The teams were in a neck-and-neck race throughout the game. Two goals never separated the rivals in the final. Italy was close to a win in regular time, but Buric scored an equalizer with five seconds to go. Mate Anic, Croatia’s second goalkeeper, posted a crucial save in a shootout.
Earlier today, Spain won bronze, beating France 14:10. Greece defeated Serbia 15:11 in the 5th-place match. Hungary was better than Montenegro in the 7th-place game (18:16 after a shootout in the 7th-place).
The same three nations that reached the podium at the European Champions clinched the medals again, but in different order. Spain won gold, Croatia silver and Italy bronze in Zagreb.
2023 World Men’s Championships (Doha, February 5 – 17), Day 7
Final
Italy – Croatia 13:15 (3:2, 2:3, 2:3,4:3, PSO 2:4)
Italy: Fondelli 6, Di Fulvio 2, Marziali 1, Presciutti 1, Condemi 1.
Croatia: Kharkov 4, Marinic Kragic 3, Buric 2, Biljaka 1, Vrlic 1
Penalty shootout: Marinic Kragic 0:1, Fondelli 1:1, Fatovic – Del Lungo saved, Presciutti 2:1, Buric 2:2, Echenique hit the crossbar, Kharkov 2:3,Di Fulvio – Anic saved, Zuvela 2:4.
The final was the clash of the teams that didn’t make the semifinals in Fukuoka last year. Italy didn’t suffer a loss in regular time in Fukuoka but finished in 5th place (it lost to Serbia after a shootout in the quarterfinals). Croatia was atop the “lower house” (9th place).
Croatia and Italy played in a big final for the third time. The Croats were better in the previous two gold medal matches held a long time ago (at the 2010 European Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games). The Croats kept the tradition with today’s victory.
The Croats took a one-goal lead twice in the opening minutes (1:0 and 2:1). But, Italy had a 3:2 advantage at the first break, as Andrea Fondelli closed the first quarter with two goals in the last 79 seconds (an action goal and a 6 on 5).
In the 9th minute, leftie Konstantin Khrakov scored his and Croatia’s third goal in the match to level the score. In the middle of the quarter, Italy regained a lead with a nice long-distance goal from Francesco Di Fulvio. That was followed by two goals from Jerko Marinic Kragic (from a man-up and from a penalty), but Italy caught up with the Croats before the end of the half with a goal from Presciutti at 00:31.
Konstantin Kharkov Photo: S.Sandic
The third quarter began in the same way as the previous two. Konstantin Kharkov won a swim-off and found the net in Croatia’s first possession. This time, it was a power-play goal – 6:5. Just five seconds later, Italy forced a penalty foul. Presciutti leveled from the 5m line. Italy killed Croatia’s man-up in the following possession. Italy started a quick attack and earned a new penalty shot. This time, Fondelli sent the ball into the net and Italy was in front again. But, not for long. In the 20th minute, Vrlic converted a man-up. Buric scored from another 6 on 5 with 41 seconds left on the clock to give Croatia a new lead. Italy had a man-up in its last possession in the third but didn’t equalize. Bijac saved a shot from Presciutti.
Still, the Italians leveled from their first man-up in the final period. Fondelli attempted to score. Bijac posted another save, but Marziali was in the right place and made it 8:8 from a rebound. Biljaka made it 8:9, but the top scorer of the game, Andrea Fondelli, added another goal, this time from the deep right to level at 9:9.
Jerko Marinic Kragic continued the exchange of goals before Italy netted two in a row – first was from Condemi with a man-up. 100 seconds before the end, Fondelli converted Italy’s fourth penalty in the game -11:10. Croatia had a man-up in its next possession but didn’t score. Jerko Marinic Kragic had his shot blocked.
Italy entered the final minute with a lead. It was focused on defense and wasted the time in the last possession, which finished without an attempt to score. Croatia had the last 29 seconds to equalize. Goalkeeper Marko Bijac went in front of Italy’s goal, and that tactic produced a result. Rino Buric scored from a 7 on 6 to level the score with five seconds left. Italy’s head coach, Alessandro Campagna, called a timeout, but Italy didn’t score a winner.
Before the final, both teams played games that ended in a shootout in Doha. The Croats beat France in the semifinals, while Italy lost to Hungary in the group stage.
Italy started better in today’s penalty shootout. Del Lungo saved a shot from Fatovic in the 2nd round. But, the Italians didn’t score from two shots in a row. Echenique hit the post. Mate Anic, who was a hero of a shootout win over France, saved a shot from Fondelli. Zuvela sealed Croatia’s win.
5th-place match
Greece – Serbia 15:11 (5:2, 3:3, 2:4, 5:2)
Greece: Kakaris 3, Gkiouvetsis 3, Vlachopoulos 2, Kalogeropoulos 2, Genidounias 1, Papanastasiou 1, Gkillas 1, Argyropoulos 1.
Serbia: Drasovic 3, Mandic 2, Ubovic 2, S.Rasovic 1, Randjelovic 1, P.Jaksic 1, Vucinic 1.
Greece won a replay of the Olympic final. The Greeks opened the match excellently, which put them on the right track.
Serbia scored the first goal in the match and leveled at 2:2. From that point on, the Greeks were always in front. They built a 5:2 lead by the end of the first period. After 2:2, the Genidounias scored from a counter-attack, and center-forward Kakaris added two goals.
Kakaris (GRE) and Vucinic (SRB) photo : Water Polo Federation of Serbia/Marcel ter Bals/MTB Photo
The Greeks continued their series in the first attack in the second period. Gkillas made it 6:2. In the middle of the second period, it stood 8:4. After eight conceded goals in the first 12 minutes, Serbi consolidated its defense, but the attack didn’t work well, until the 15th minute, when Mandic scored for 5:8.
The Greeks rebuilt a 4-goal lead (9:5 and 10:6) after the middle break, but the Serbs had an excellent finish in this period. They netted three goals in the last two minutes. A second before the last break, Dusan Mandic converted a man-up for 9:10. That goal indicated that the final quarter might be interesting. Still, Greece retook control after the last break. In the 26th minute, Serbia lost the ball after a wrong pass, and Vlachopoulos punished that with a goal from a counterattack. Gkilass scored for 12:9. Two minutes before the end, Greece gained a four-goal lead again (14:10), and everything was decided.
All medal winners
1973 (Belgrade): 1. Hungary, 2. USSR, 3. Yugoslavia.
1975 (Cali): 1. USSR, 2. Hungary, 3. Italy.
1978 (West Berlin): 1. Italy, 2. Hungary, 3. Yugoslavia.
1982 (Guayaquil): 1. USSR, 2. Hungary, 3. FR Germany.
1986 (Madrid): 1. Yugoslavia, 2. Italy, 3. USSR.
1991 (Perth): 1. Yugoslavia, 2. Spain, 3. Hungary.
1994 (Rome): 1. Italy, 2. Spain, 3. Russia.
1998 (Perth): 1. Spain, 2. Hungary, 3. Yugoslavia.
2001 (Fukuoka): 1. Spain, 2. Yugoslavia, 3. Russia.
2003 (Barcelona): 1. Hungary, 2. Italy, 3. Serbia and Montenegro.
2005 (Montreal): 1. Serbia and Montenegro, 2. Hungary, 3. Greece.
2007 (Melbourne): 1. Croatia, 2. Hungary, 3. Spain.
2009 (Rome): 1. Serbia, 2. Spain, 3. Croatia.
2011 (Shanghai): 1. Italy, 2. Serbia, 3. Croatia.
2013 (Barcelona): 1. Hungary, 2. Montenegro, 3. Croatia.
2015 (Kazan): 1. Serbia, 2. Croatia, 3. Greece.
2017 (Budapest): 1. Croatia, 2. Hungary, 3. Serbia.
2019 (Gwangju): 1. Italy, 2. Spain, 3. Croatia.
2022 (Budapest): 1. Spain, 2. Italy, 3. Greece.
2023 (Fukuoka): 1. Hungary, 2. Greece, 3. Spain.
2024 (Doha): 1. Croatia, 2. Italy, 3. Spain
More articles about the World Championships
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For more video content, subscribe to our Youtube Channel and Tik Tok account
