France dethrones Hungary and makes history, joining Spain, Italy and Croatia in semis!

European champion Spain, Croatia, Italy and France will play in the semifinals of the 2024 World Men’s Championships in Doha.

France caused one of the biggest surprises in recent water polo history.

The French defeated the 2023 world champion Hungary 11:10 and advanced to the World Championships for the first time ever. The French’s best result until today was 6th place in Fukuoka last year. Hungary led 7:3 at halftime. France made a magnificent comeback and beat the big favorite by scoring a last-gasp goal three seconds from the end. Thomas Vernoux, the hero of the match, scored a winner. The hosts of the Olympic Games have made big progress in the last few seasons. However, few could predict they could beat Hungary.

The Croats and the Italians returned to the top 4 after failing to make the semifinals in Fukuoka last year (Croatia didn’t advance to the quarterfinals in 2023), while Spain will try to reach the podium again. Spain finished in 3rd place last year.

Italy beat the Greeks 11:10, scoring the last three goals in a match. The finish was very similar to the duel between France and Hungary

Croatia defeated Serbia 15:13 in a very close contest.
Only the match between Spain and Montenegro didn’t produce a thrilling ending. Spain recorded a three-goal win 15:12. The Spaniards are the only of the four group winners who advanced to the top four.

On Thursday, France will play against Croatia in the semifinals (17:30 local time – 15:30 CET), and the second pair is Italy – Spain (16:00 – 14:00).

The semifinals of the 5th-8th place classification: Montenegro – Greece, Serbia – Hungary

The classification matches were played earlier today. Team USA and Romania defeated Australia and China, respectively, in the 9th-12th place semifinals. Japan finished in 13th place, Brazil in 14th place, South Africa in 15th place, and Kazakhstan in 16th place.

Day 6 (February 15), schedule – 11th-place match: China – Australia (09:00), 9th-place match: Romania – USA (10:30), 5th-8th place semifinals: Montenegro – Greece (12:00), Serbia – Hungary (14:30), Semifinals: Spain – Italy (16:00), Croatia – France (17:30).

All times are local (CET +2)

For the full schedule and the results, visit Total Waterpolo’s 2024 Doha page.

2023 World Men’s Championships (Doha, February 5 – 17), Day 5

Quarterfinals

Hungary – France 10:11 (4:2, 3:1, 1:3, 2:5)

Hungary: Zalanki 3, Varga 2, Nemet 1, Angyal 1, Manhercz 1, Vamos 1, Nagy 1.
France: Vernoux 5, Crousillat 3, Bodegas 2, Marion-Vernoux 1

The first half didn’t indicate that a big surprise could happen.

The French scored the first goal in the 2nd minute, but Hungary responded with three. Zalanki converted a man-up in the 7th minute for 3:1. Crousillat made it 2:3, but in the dying seconds, Denes Varga scored from a 6 on 4, and Hungary headed into the following quarter with a 4:2 advantage. At the beginning of the second period, Crousillat scored his 2nd goal, this time from a penalty shot and for 3:4. But, Hungary dominated in the second quarter. The 2023 world champions scored three goals (Zalanki’s penalty shot, Varga’s from an extra player, and Nagy’s from a counter). At halftime, they led 7:3 and many believed that the favorites would cruise to the victory.

 

In the middle of the third period, four goals still separated the rivals (8:4). France’s big comeback started with a saved penalty shot in the 20th minute. Fontani, one of France’s key players, blocked a shot from Mahnercz. This one and many other saves encouraged Fontani’s teammates (France’s goalkeeper blocked 15 shots). By the end of the third period, France halved the difference (6:8). Still, a big surprise wasn’t in sight yet.

However, after Crousillat made it 7:8 in the 26th minute, it was clear that France might make a miracle. Immediately after Crousillat’s goal, Nemet responded with a man-up (9:7). Then, France scored three goals, all three from the distance (Romain Marion Vernoux one and Thomas Vernoux two) and France went ahead – 10:9 with 02:48 minutes remaining. Hungary didn’t convert a man-up in its next possession, but Angyal scored from a center-forward position, and the sides entered the final two minutes tied at 10:10.

Both teams lost the ball in the following two possessions. France had the last attack. Its coach, Florian Bruzzo, called a timeout with 28 seconds left. The French’s last attack started slowly. Therefore, it seemed that the match would enter the shootout. But, just three seconds before the end, Thomas Vernoux sent the ball into the net from seven meters, and France earned an 11:10 lead. The last four goals from the French were scored from similar places from the perimeter.

In the last three seconds, after a timeout called by Zsolt Varga, Hungary’s goalkeeper went in front of France’s goal, but Hungary didn’t score from a 7 on 6, and France made a miracle.

Spain – Montenegro 15:12 (5:2, 3:5, 5:0, 2:5)

Spain: Perrone 5, Granados 4, Tahull 3, Sanahuja 2, Munarriz 1.
Montenegro: Mrsic 4, Averka 2, Popadic 2, Brguljan 1, Ukropina 1, Spaic 1, V.Radovic 1

Spain will play in the World Championships semifinals for the fourth time in a row. Besides, the Spaniards have reached the semifinals at each major tournament since the Tokyo Olympics.

The beginning of the match was similar to the opening minutes of the game between Serbia and Montenegro, played in Group C..

The European champions scored four goals in their first five possessions and took a 4:0 lead after less than four minutes. However, Montenegro recovered from the early shock, unlike in the match against Serbia, and put up a good fight. Mrsic put the Montenegrins on the scoreboard in the 5th minute. Averka made it 2:4, but Felipe Perrone closed the first period with a goal after a nice assist from Granados.

At the start of the second quarter, Sanahuja made it 6:2. It seemed that Spain had returned to the right track. However, Montenegro responded with a 3:0 run. A 39-year-old veteran, Drasko Brguljan, fired the ball from 7 meters and cut the deficit to one (5:6) in the 13th minute. Spain’s head coach, David Martin, called a time-out then. After a one-minute break, the Spaniards earned a man-up, which Perrone converted to a 7:5 lead. It was his 4th goal in the game. In the rest of the first half, the teams tried the goals, and only one separated the rivals at the middle break (8:7).

Spain secured their spot in the semifinals in the third period, with their defense, commanded by Eduardo Lorrio, who was in front of the goal during the entire match (like in the game against Croatia). Montenegro had five 6 on 5 possessions in the third but failed to convert a single one. Spain’s attack also worked well. Roger Tahull converted a man-up after an assist from Alberto Munarriz, restoring a four-goal lead in the 22nd minute (11:7). The same player added one more goal shortly after, and Granados stretched the margin to six with 13 seconds left in the third quarter (13:7).

Montenegro halved the deficit in the final eight minutes, but it wasn’t enough to catch up to Spain. Montenegro had more shots than the rival, with 12 goals from 33 attempts, compared to Spain’s shot percentage of 56% (15/27),

Spain’s goalkeeper Eduardo Lorrio conceded 12 goals, but he played well in the crucial moments and collected 11 saves.

Greece – Italy 10:11 (3:1, 2:5, 3:2, 2:3)

Greece: Genidounias 3, Vlachopoulos 2, Gkiouvetsis 1, Fountoulis 1, Papanastasiou 1, Nikolaidis 1, KKalogeropoulos 1.

Italy: Fondelli 2, Di Somma 2, Condemi 2, Velotto 1, Di Fulvio 1, Damonte 1, Echenique 1, Presciutti 1,

Italy edged out Greece in a game with plenty of twists and turns. Greece had a 3-goal lead. Then, Italy took control of the match, making the most of a 4-minute exclusion in the 2nd quarter. Greece survived a bad period and had a two-goal advantage at the finish. Still, Italy earned a win with three consecutive goals in the last 140 seconds.

Fondelli broke the deadlock in the 4th minute, by converting a man-up., but the Greeks finished the first period with a 3:1 lead. At the beginning of the second period, the Italians wasted a man-up and paid for it. The Greeks were awarded a penalty shot in the next possession. Fountoulis scored from the 5m line for 4:1.

The Greeks had the game in their own hands. In the 11th minute, Di Somma ended Italy’s silence for 2:4. 40 seconds after, one of the critical moments happened. Greece’s ace Stylianos Argyropoulos was sent out because of a brutality foul (after a VAR review, the referees saw that he had kicked Iocchi Gratta in the head with his knee under the water). Italy produced a 4:0 run during a four-minute suspension (Franceso Condemi, the youngest on the team scored two and assisted once) and went to 6:4. Still, Greece came back into the game. Kalogeropoulos scored from a 5 on 4 and halved the difference.

The Italians regained a two goal lead in the 17th minute – Damonte scored from a nice long-distance lob for 7:5. The Greeks caught up with the rival in the middle of the quarter – 7:7. Each team scored before the end of the quarter.
Greece’s defense was better and better. Emmanouil Zerdevas posted one save after another. The Italians became nervous, they finished several attacks rashly.

The water was boiling. In the 27th minute, Genidounias converted a penalty and Greece went in front for the first time since the middle of the 2nd quarter – 9:8. At 02:48, Kalogeropoulos doubled the advantage, but the goal was disallowed because the time for the attack expired before the shot. However, a few seconds later, Gonzalo Echenique was red-carded (an exclusion with substitution) because of an irregular entry into the water (Italy had 8 players in the pool), and Greece was awarded a new penalty. Genidounias took responsibility again and made no mistake – 10:8.

Greece didn’t keep that lead. Fondelli responded with a man-up (9:10). Then, Del Luongo saved an extra player shot from Gkiouvetsis, and Italy started a counterattack. Francesco Di Fulvio was in a great position, Papanastasiou fouled him, and Italy got a penalty shot. Di Somma sent the ball into the net and leveled. That goas was followed by another Greece’s unsuccessful attack with a man-up, but Italy didn’t make mistakes at the finish. Francesco Di Fulvio, who had a terrible percentage of shots today, found the net with 42 seconds left on the clock. It was his only goal from eight attempts, but it came when it was most important. Greece’s bad run in extra-player attacks continued. The Greeks missed a man-up in the dying seconds and Italy went to the semifinals.

Serbia – Croatia 13:15 (4:4, 5:5, 1:2, 3:4)

Serbia: S.Rasovic 3, Mandic 2,  Randjelovic 1, Vucinic 2, N. Jaksic 2, Vico 2, Ubovic 2, Lukic 1.

Croatia: Fatovic 4, Buric 3, Zuvela 3, Kharkov 2, Marinic Kragic 1, Loncar 1, Lazic 1.

One of the water polo classics was a very exciting match. Croatia’s excellent percentage of powerplay shots (10/15 – compared to Serbia’s 7/14), an outstanding goalkeeper, Marko Bijac, who posted nine saves (including two penalty shots), and the fact that Serbia played with a man fewer in the last 100 seconds (Mandic was excluded) made the difference).
Croatia had a 1:0, 3:1 and 4:3 advantage in the first quarter. Just four seconds before the end of the first period, Strahinja Rasovic tied the score, 4:4.

Serbia took the first lead in the second quarter (5:4), and the Croats became a team that had to chase their rival. Nikola Jaksic gave Serbia a 7:5 advantage with two excellent action shots. However, Croatia managed to catch up with Serbia. Each of the Croat’s five goals in the second quarter was with a man-up with a perfect percentage of shots (5/5). Serbia converted one of its two opportunities in 6-on-5 attacks, one from a penalty and scored three goals from 6 on 6.

The Croats maintained an excellent percentage of powerplay shots in the second half and took a 10:9 lead in the middle of the third period. After that goal, Marko Bijac saved a penalty from Dusan Mandic, but a little bit later, Serbia equalized with a man-up (Vico). However, Fatovic gave Croatia a slim 11:10 lead before the final quartet – with a man-up.

In the last quarter, Serbia managed to equalize twice – 11:11 and 12:12. Both coaches, especially Serbia’s Stevanovic had fewer and fewer available players because of personal fouls. Croatia went to 14:12 with two powerplay goals (Fatovic and Buric). Between those two goals, Serbia failed to convert another penalty (Bijac stopped Strahinja Rasovic’s shot).
At one minute and 40 seconds before the end, Dusan Mandic tried to score from a backhander. He did not succeed, and while returning to the defense, he committed a personal foul. Serbia defended with a man-down, but then the VAR video was reviewed and the referees judged that Mandic committed brutality, so our team had one less player until the end, and Croatia got a five-pointer, which was realized by Fatovic, who sealed Croatia’s win – 15:12.

9th-12th place semifinals

China – Romania 7:9 (2:1, 2:2, 1:4, 2:2)

China: Z. Chen 2, Zhang 2, Y. Chen 1, Zhu 1, Shen 1.
Romania: Georgescu 3, Vancsik 2, Prioteasa 1, Tepelus 1, Colodrovschi 1, Neamtu 1.

China started strong, dictating the pace in the first half and taking the lead (2:0, 3:2, and 4:3).

Zhang’s goal in the 17th minute gave China a 5:3 advantage. However, Romania fought back and took control of the game. The Europeans kept China goalless for more than 13 minutes, primarily thanks to the excellent performance of goalkeeper Marius-Florin Tic, who posted 15 saves throughout the match. The Romanians capitalized on their defensive efforts. They netted five goals in a row and turned around the 2-goal deficit to an 8:5 lead, which proved vital for their victory.

Australia – USA 10:16 (3:4, 4:5, 1:3, 2:4)

Australia: Pavillard 6, Maksimovic 3, Negus 1.
USA: D.Woodhead 3, Bowen 3, Vavic 2, Daube 2, Obert 1, Cupido 1, Hallock 1, Ch.Dodd 1, R.Dodd 1, Irving 1.

Luke Pavillard was the star of the game, scoring six impressive goals. However, despite his performance, the Americans managed to advance to the 9th-place match, thanks to a strong team effort. The USA effectively shut down Blake Edwards and Jacob Mercep, Australia’s best scorers in the previous four games, and had ten different players contribute to the scoreline.

Australia had a one-goal lead in the first quarter (2:1, 3:2), but the Americans managed to enter the second quarter with a 4:3 advantage. The match continued to be a closely fought battle in the second quarter, with the USA always in front but Australia not far behind. In the 11th minute, the “Aussies” trailed by a goal (5:6), before the USA netted three straight goals in less than two minutes, jumping to 9:5. In the last 41 seconds of the first half, Australia kept its hopes alive. Negus scored from the deep left and Pavillard from a penalty for 7:9.

However, the Americans dominated the third period. Their defense was almost perfect, while they scored three goals, for 12:7. Australia netted its first goal in the second half only in the 23rd minute (Pavillard for 8:12). The fourth period was very similar to the previous one.

13th-place match

Brazil – Japan 11:22 (4:6, 2:5, 3:5, 2:6)

Brazil:R. Real 3, Vinicius Pires 2, Freitas 2, Guimaraes 2,Da Silva 1, Silva 1.
Japan: Inaba 7, Watanave 4, Araki 3, Katayama 2, Suzuki 2, Adachi 1, Ogihara 1, Nitta 1, Okawa1 .

Japan, led by unstoppable Yusuke Inaba (seven goals from nine shots), secured 13th place in a scoring festival against Brazil. The Asians went to 2:0 and 3:1. Brazil made a 3:1 run in a minute and a half and leveled the score at 4:4. Japan answered with three goals. Early in the fourth, the Asians had a 7:4 advantage. They were 11:6 up at halftime and increased the margin to 11 in the following 16 minutes.

15th-place match

South Africa – Kazakhstan 11:10 (3:0, 4:3, 1:4, 3:3)

South Africa: Swanepoel 4, Stone 3, Howard 2, Faber 1, Neill 1.
Kazakhstan: Akhmetov 3, Pustovalov 2, Tsoy 1, Yeremin 1, Beloussov 1, Nedokontsev 1, Shonzhigitov 1.

South Africa earned its first win at the World Championships after almost nine years and a victory over Argentina in Kazan in 2015 (South Africa finished in 12th place in 2017 and 2022, but it didn’t record a win).

The Africans scored five unanswered goals in the first 12 minutes. After a quarter and a half, Kazakhstan „woke up“ and managed to come back from a 0:5 deficit.

The Asians narrowed the gap to one in the third period (6:7 and 7:8). They opened the final quarter with two goals and went ahead for the first time – 9:8. Stone equalized. A 17-year-old Yegor Bellousov replied with a power-play goal and the Kazakhs regained the lead, but they couldn’t keep it. South Africa’s Stone set the final score with 01:34 remaining on the clock.

For the full schedule and the results, visit Total Waterpolo’s 2024 Doha page.

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