Italy’s defense stops Spain, and Croatia edges out France in thriller for spots in final in Doha

Italy and Croatia will meet in the final of the men’s water polo tournament at the World Championships in Doha.
Both semifinals were very exiting. Italy managed to secure a ticket to the final in regular time, beating Spain 8:6.

Croatia was better than France, a surprise team in Doha. After 32 minutes of play, the score was 11:11 and the match entered the penalty shootout. The Croats secured a win after six rounds of shots – 17:16.

Serbia and Greece will play in the 5^th-place match. Serbia defeated the outgoing champion Hungary (11:10), and Greece beat Montenegro (14:13 – penalty shootout) in the 5^th-8^th place semifinals. The coaches of both winning teams couldn’t field their best players. Dusan Mandic (Serbia) and Stylianos Argyropoulos (Greece) watched the matches from the stands because of red cards in the quarterfinals.

The USA defeated Romania 13:9 in the 9^th-place match. Australia finished in 11^th place thanks to a 17:7 victory over China.

Day 7 (February 17) – FINAL: Italy – (17:30), bronze-medal match: Spain – (11:30), 5th-place match: Greece – Serbia (16:00), 7th-place match: Montenegro – Hungary (10:00)

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 6

Semifinals

Spain – Italy 6:8 (1:1, 1:3, 1:2, 3:2)

Spain: Munarriz 2, Larumbe 2, Graandos 1, Cabanas 1.
Italy: Di Fulvio 2, Fondelli 2, Condemi 2, Bruni 1, Velotto 1,

Italy beat Spain after three consecutive losses in the medal match at big competitions in the past year and a half (the bronze medal game at the 2022 Europeans, the World Cup final in 2024, and the European Championships semifinal this year).

Italy had control of the game during the middle two quarters, managing to keep Spain from scoring for a full 10 minutes and increasing their lead from 2:2 to 6:2. Although the Spanish goalkeeper, Unai Aguirre, put in a good performance, it wasn’t enough to stop Italy However, Spain did make a comeback, and the game remained open until the very last minute. Still, the Spaniards missed a chance to equalize,

The first quarter indicated that the match would be a hard defensive battle. Marc Larumbe opened the scoring in the 4th minute with an extra player. Italy got on the scoreboard only in the 8th minute, when Condemi netted an action goal. It took a long before the third goal came. Velotto put Italy in front in the 12th minute, but Munarriz leveled immediately. Still, Spain couldn’t go further. Italy scored four unanswered goals between the 14th and 20th minute and went to 6:2. Spain struggled in the attack. Italy played well in defense, but Spain made too many mistakes and became nervous. They were more aggressive in the attack, but that didn’t produce the result. Spain’s percentage of shots was only 19% (6/32), and Italy’s 30% (8/27).

The “Settebello” was on the right track to take full revenge for a 4:7 defeat in Zagreb in January.

Still, late into the third period, Spain, encouraged by Aguirre’s saves, started coming back. Larumbe ended his team’s 10-minute goalless phase and made it 3:6. By the middle of the fourth period, the European champions narrowed the gap to one (Granados scored from a counter and Munarriz from an action) and trailed 5:6 in the 28th minute. Shortly after, Spain had a man-up chance to equalize, but Del Lungo blocked a shot from Granados, posting his 10th save.

Two minutes before the end, Francesco Di Fulvio converted a man-up with a great distance shot – 7:5 with two minutes remaining. Spain earned a 6 on 5 in its next possession. Cabanas scored for 6:7. A minute before the end, Condemi drew a penalty, and Fondelli made no mistake from the 5m line to seal Italy’s win – 8:6.

Croatia – France 17:16 (3:2, 3:3, 3:1, 2:5, PSO 6:5)

Croatia: Fatovic 3, Marinic Kragic 2, Kharkov 2, Buric 1, Lazic 1, Biljaka 1, Zuvela 1
France: Bouet 3, Khasz 2, Vernoux 2, Marion-Vernoux 2, Bjorch 1, Nardon 1.

Penalty shootout – Croatia: Marinic Kragic 2, Fatovic, Buric, Zuvela,Vukicevic; France:Khasz,Bouet, Vernoux, Marion Vernoux,Bodegas (Anic saved a shot from Khasz in Round 6)

After a quarterfinal victory over Hungary, France is no longer a surprise team . So, the fact that they were very close to the final isn’t surprising. The French proved they were able to play against the high class teams.

Ivica Tucak made the right move before the seventh round of the penalty shots by switching goalkeepers. A debutant Mate Anic replaced Marko Bijac, and posted a crucial save.

Like in the quarterfinals against Serbia, power-play shots were Croatia’s strong weapon. The Croats scored three goals with a man-up form as many opportunities in the first quarter and took a 3:1 lead. Late into the first goal with a man-up after two missed opportunities and trailed by 2:3.

Romain Marion Vernoux opened the second quarter with an action goal to level at 3:3.Until the end of the first half, the teams exchanged the goals. The French leveled at 4:4, 5:5, but Croatia regained a slim lead on each occasions, even though the percentage of their extra player shots decreased. In the 14th minute, the Croats had a great chance to earn a 2-goal lead, but Hugo Fontani saved a shot from Loren Fatovic in a counter-attack. However, the French didn’t score from their opportunities and Croatia kept a 6:5 advantage until the end of the first half.

Lazic scored the first goal in the second half. It happened only in the 22nd minute. The Croats finally regained a 2-goal lead (7:5) but not for long as Nardon converted a 6 on 5 in the next possession. Still, Croatia netted two goals in the last 66 seonds (Marinic Kragic from a penalty and Zuvela with an extra player) and three goals separated the rivals for the first time (9:6).

Then, France did something similar as in the match against Hungary. They managed to erase a three-goal deficit, but they didn’t take a lead this time. Early in the fourth period, the French scored twice and showed they hadn’t say their last word – 8:9. Buric scored on an extra for 8:10., but immediately after, France forced a penalty shot, which Vernoux converted to 9:10. Thomas Vernoux wasn’t the top scorer today, but he delivered four assists.

Two and a half minutes before the end, Bouet made it 10:10. But, Fatovic put the Croats closer to the final with a power play goal for 11:10 when two players tried to block him at 00:52. France earned a man-up with 32 seconds to go. Khasz leveled at 11:11 from that action. Croatia couldn’t score in its last possession and the winner of a thriller was decided in a shootout.
Both goalkeepers (Croatia’s Bijac and France’s Fontani) were excellent in regular time *Bijac posted 12 and Fontani 10 saves), but neither of them blocked a shot in a shootout. Before the 7th round, Bijac was replaced by Mate Anic, who caught a shot from Khasz and sent Croatia in the final.

Semifinals 5th – 8th place

Montenegro – Greece 13:14 (2:2, 3:4, 1:2, 4:2, PSO 3:4)

Montenegro:Dj.Radovic 3, Brguljan 1,Popadic 1, Spaic 1, Matkovic 1, V.Radovic 1, Mrsic 1, Vujovic 1.
Greece: kakaris 3, Skoumpakis 1, Gkiovetsis 1, Fountoulis 1, Gkillas 1, Nikolaidis 1, Vlachopoulos 1, Papanikolaou 1.

Penalty shootout – Montenegro: Vidovic, Perkovic, Mrsic (Dj.Radovic missed in Round 1, Zerdevas saved a shot from Popadic in Round 3 ); Greece: Genidounias, Skoumpakis, Vlachopoulos, Fountoulis (Lazovic saved a shot from Gkiouvetsis in Round 2

For most of the time, Greece led, and Montenegro only once (4:3), but the score was tied at every number from one to 10 except at five and seven.

The game had a slow pace in the opening minutes. Greece took a 1:0 and 2:1 , but Montenegro leveled on both occasions. Greece’s center-forward Nikolaidis opened the second quarter, but two goals from Montenegro followed that. In the 11th minute, Dusan Matkovic made it 4:3. Greece responded with three goals and took a 2-goal lead for the first time (6:4). The Greeks entered the fourth period leading 8:6.

Midway through the fourth period, Montenegro’s leftie Djuro Radovic found the net in two consecutive attacks to equalize at 8:8 (it was his only third game at the tournament; at the previous two – against Serbia and Spain, he scored only one). In the following attack, Dejan Lazovic (Montenegro’s starting goalkeeper for the first time in Doha) saved a shot from Papanastasiou. Still, Kakaris managed to send the ball into the net from a rebound. Brguljan leveled the score again in the 30th minute.

Just 12 seconds from the end, Gkiouvetsis scored from the deep left -10:9. Montenegro’s head coach Gojkovic called a time-out and set a 7 on 6 attack. Goalkeeper Lazovic went to the centre-forward position. Popadic scored for 10:10 and prolonged the match into a shootout, Greece had stronger nerves in the penalty thriller

Serbia – Hungary 11:10 (5:2,2:5, 2:1, 2:2)

Serbia: S.Rasovic 3, Drasovic 2, P.Jaksic 1, Randjelovic 1, Vucinic 1, Vico 1, Lukic 1, Lazic 1.

Hungary: Zalanki 3, Varga 2, Nagy 1, Nemet 1, Jansik 1, Kovacs 1, Vigvari 1.

Serbia showed a significant improvement in the elements that didn’t work well in the quarterfinal loss to Croatia. The Serbs displayed a strong defense against Hungary, conceding only three goals when playing with a man-down (3/12) and scoring four goals with a man-up (4/7). Goalkeeper Radoslav Filipovic displayed an excellent performance with 12 saves.

The Hungarians took a 1:0 lead. It was the outgoing champions’ only lead in the match. Serbia quickly turned it around (2:1), with goals from Lazic (header) and Vucinic. Varga equalized with an extra player in the third minute, but by the end of the quarter, Serbia led 5:2.

Serbia did not keep the momentum after the first break. Hungarian coach Zsolt Varga replaced the goalkeeper (Banyai instead of Vogel). Hungary tightened its defense and took control. It leveled at 5:5. Serbia regained a lead (6:5 and 7:6), but the Hungarians equalized both times.

After the middle break, Serbia re-found its good rhythm. They defended four man-downs in the third quarter. Serbia went to 9:7 with goals from Randjelovic and Vico. However, Zalanki cut the deficit in half before the last part.

However, Serbia didn’t let the 2023 champions come back. In the first attack in the last quarter, Drasovic converted a man-up that Serbia earned in the dying seconds of the previous period. Lukic scored from a distance for 11:8. Hungary started a new comeback and was close to an equalizer, but Serbia saved a well-deserved victory. Two and a half minutes before the final siren, Vince Vigvari made it 10:11. The Hungarians had the last attack in the match. 14 seconds before the end, goalkeeper Vogel (who returned to the water after the 3rd period) joined his teammates in the attack. He attempted to equalize from the center-forward position, but Filipovic posted his 12th save and Serbia advanced to the match for fifth place.

9th-place match

Romania – USA 9:13 (2:3, 2:2, 4:3, 1:3)

Romania: Georgescu 4 , Belenyesi 2, Prioteasa 1, Tepelus 1, Colodrovschi 1.
USA: Bowen 3, Irving 3, Obert 2, Hooper 1, Cupido 1, Hallock 1, D.Woodhead 1, C.Dodd 1.

Team USA suffered three losses to European teams in Doha (Montenegro, Serbia, and Italy), but it managed to close the Championships with a victory over the team from the “Old Continent”.

Today, the Americans were the favorites, but Romania kept up with them for more than three quarters.

The 9th-place match was one of the several games in Doha in which an ejection after a VAR review partially impacted the outcome. It wasn’t a four-minute exclusion, but it halted Romania’s comeback.

Georgescu gave Romania a 1:0 lead in the first minute and equalized at 2:2. After the equalizer, Team USA answered with three goals, heading into the second period with a 5:2 advantage. The Europeans cut the deficit to one in the 14th minute (4:5), but the Americans rebuilt a three-goal lead before the middle break (7:4).

In the third period, Team USA increased its lead to four (9:5) with two quick goals from Max Irving within 39 seconds, including an action goal and a penalty shot. Romania halved the deficit by the end of the third quarter, trailing 8:10.

A crucial moment occurred in the 26th minute when Neamtu scored from a counterattack to make it 9:10. However, the goal was disallowed after a VAR review due to a foul committed by Bota in front of Romania’s goal preceding the counterattack. Bota was excluded with substitution, and Team USA capitalized on the man-up situation.
Later, Romania’s goalkeeper Tic saved a penalty. But four minutes before the end, Bowen scored from a distance after a deflection (12:9) and held back Romania’s comeback attempt.

11th-place match

China – Australia 7:17 (2:8, 0:4, 1:4, 4:1)

China: Z. Chen 3, Zhang 2, Zhu 1, Chu 1.
Australia: Mercep 4, Maksimovic 4, Power 3, Edwards 2, Lambie 1, Negus 1, Poot 1, Berehulak 1.

Australia was very motivated to finish the tournament with a big win.

The Asians leveled just once – 1:1. Australia went to 6:1. The Chinese scored their second goal in the 5th minute. In the following 13 minutes, the “Sharks” held China goalless, jumping from 6:2 to 14:2. The Aussies went to 17:3. Four minutes and 15 seconds before the end (shortly after China’s fourth goal), Australia’s best scorer Luke Pavillard (who didn’t found the net today) committed a brutality foul. China had a man up for four minutes and scored three goals to narrow the difference to ten.