The group stage of the European qualification for the World League Final Eight was finished today, with four matches of Day 3.
France has made an absolutely the biggest surprise in the season so far. The French beat European champion Hungary 15:10 in the match played in Limoges and grabbed the 1st place in Group C. The European champion played without a few key players. But the main reason for this shocking loss is the problems that the Hungarians had during the trip to France. They arrived in Limoges today, instead of Monday, and that obviously affected their play.
The derby of Day 3 was an encounter between Montenegro and Spain in Oviedo. The Montenegrins convincingly beat the hosts 11:6 to secure 1st place in Group D. In the quarterfinals, Montenegro will play against Croatia, while Spain will face Serbia.
Greece did a clean job in Tbilisi, and beat Georgia 19:7 to confirm the 2nd place in Group A. Croatia finished in 2nd place in Group D since it trashed the Netherlands in Varazdin 16:7.
Pairings for the quarterfinals: Italy – Hungary, Montenegro – Croatia, Serbia – Spain, France – Greece
Men’s World League 2020, European Qualifications, Day 3
Group A
Georgia – Greece 7:19 (1:5, 2:4, 3:5, 1:5)
Georgia: Jelaca 3, Tsrepulja 1, Shushiashvili 1, Baraldi 1, Vapenski 1.
Greece: Vlachopoulos 4, Fountoulis 3, Genidounias 3, Papanastasiou 2, Dervisis 2, Gounas 2, Argyropoulos 1, Kolomvos 1, Gkiouvetsis 1.
Greece cruised to a win over Georgia in Tbilisi. Early in the second period, the Greeks were 7:1 up and never looked back. Greece took 2nd place in the group, while Italy had secured the top spot after the first two competition days.
Results and standings
Greece – Italy 6:9
Italy – Georgia 14:3
Georgia – Greece 7:19
1 Italy 2 – 6
2 Greece 2 – 3
3 Georgia 2 – 0
Group B
France – Hungary 15:10 (5:3, 3:3, 5:2, 2:2)
France: Izdinsky 3, Khasz 2, Crousillat 2, Marzouki 2, Saudadier 2, Vernoux 2, Caumette 1, Camarasa 1.
Hungary: Manhercz 2, Pohl 2, Erdelyi 2, A. Nagy 1, Mezei 1, Jansik 1, Kovacs 1.
Hungary went to France with a rejuvenated squad – Denes Varga, Viktor Nagy, Marton Vamos, Gergo Zalanki… didn’t travel to Limoges. During the trip, the Hungarian team had a lot of troubles. They were stopped in Frankfurt on Monday – the flight from Frankfurt to Limoges was canceled because of bad weather. The Hungarians didn’t arrive in France yesterday, as it was planned. They came to Limoges a few hours before the game.
But, Hungary didn’t want to cancel the game. That decision proved to be a big mistake. The European champions couldn’t prepare for the match, while France has a quite good team which can surprise favorites, especially in situations like this one.
The European champions opened the match with a slim lead (1:0, 2:1), but France managed to build a 2-goal lead before the 2nd period (5:3). From that point on, France was always ahead and didn’t let Hungary equalize. The visiting team reduced the gap to one twice in the second quarter (4:5 and 5:6). At halftime, the Hungarians trailed by two goals (6:8), but they ran out of gas for the second half. Quickly after the middle break, France jumped to a 10:6 lead. Deep into the third quarter, Hungary was three goals behind (8:11), but the French scored two goals in the last two minutes of the quarter for 13:8. In the final eight minutes, the hosts were keeping a safe distance.
France will play against Greece in the quarterfinals, while Hungary will meet Italy. The European or the World champion won’t play at the Final Eight for sure…
Russia is the biggest loser of the day, although it didn’t enter the pool today. After France’s surprising win, Russia fell to 3rd place in the group and didn’t reach the quarterfinals.
Results and standings
Hungary – Russia 14:6
Russia – France 13:12 (PSO)
France – Hungary 15:10
1 France 2 – 4
2 Hungary 2 – 3
3 Russia 2 – 2
(The match of the Women’s World League France –Netherlands had also supposed to be played in Limoges today. But, the encounter was canceled because the Dutch didn’t come to France due to the bad weather and canceled flights.)
Group C
Croatia – Netherlands 16:7 (5:3, 2:2, 4:1, 5:1)
Croatia: Jokovic 6, Bukic 2, Buric 2, Lozina 1, Benic 1, Buslje 1, Milos 1, Setka 1, Lazic 1.
Netherlands: Koopman 2, Filipovic 2, Janssen 1, Van den Burg 1, Weenhuis 1.
As expected, Croatia convincingly defeated the Netherlands in Varazdin and confirmed 2nd place in the group. The hosts opened the match with a 3:0 lead. They had a 5:2 advantage in the seventh minute, but they let the Dutch come back. The Netherlands equalized – 5:5 in the second minute of the second period. Croatia, led by Maro Jokovic, responded with three goals and earned a new 3-goal advantage (8:5) early in the third period. By the last break, the home team extended the margin to five (11:6), and after that, their win wasn’t in danger.
All results and standings
Netherlands – Serbia 7:12
Serbia – Croatia 15:11
Croatia – Netherlands 16:7
1 Serbia 2 – 6
2 Croatia 2 – 3
3 Netherlands 2 – 0
Group D
Spain – Montenegro 6:11 (2:2, 1:2, 2:5, 1:2)
Spain: Munarriz 2, Granados 1, Larumbe 1, Pericas 1, Barroso 1.
Montenegro: Draskovic 4, Djurdjic 2, Ukropina 2, Petkovic 1, Moskov 1, Pjesivac.
Two weeks ago, Spain won the silver medal, while Montenegro finished in 3rd place at the European Championships. Today, neither of the teams played in the same squad as in Budapest.
Spain’s captain Felipe Perrone, Francisco Fernandez, and goalkeeper Dani Lopez missed today’s match. The visitors played without their leader Aleksandar Ivovic, Uros Cuckovic, Dimitrije Obradovic, Vladan Spaic.
After a balanced 1st quarter (2:2), Montenegro built a 4:2 lead in the middle of the second period. Spain’s Alberto Munarriz leveled the score (4:4) in the 18th minute. Less than a minute later the Montenegrins’ show started. They produced a 5:0 rush and jumped to a 9:4 lead (23rd minute). Spain reduced the gap before the last break, but the hosts weren’t able to come back and Montenegro celebrated a convincing win.
All results and standings
Montenegro – Ukraine 23:3
Spain – Ukraine 20:8
Spain – Montenegro 6:11
1 Montenegro 2 – 6
2 Spain 2 – 3
3 Ukraine 2 – 0
Day 4 (March 17th)
Quarterfinals
Game 1: 1A (Italy) – 2B (Hungary)
Game 2: 1B (France)– 2A (Greece)
Game 3: 1C (Serbia) – 2D (Spain)
Game 4: 1D (Montenegro) – 2C (Croatia)
Classification 9 – 12
3C (Netherlands) – 3A (Georgia)
3B (Russia)– 3D (Ukraine)
Day 5 (April 14th)
Semifinals
SF1: Winner game 4 – Winner game 1
SF2: Winner game 3 – Winner game 2
Semifinals 5 – 8
SF3: Loser game 4 – Loser game 1
SF4: Loser game 3 – Loser game 2
Classification 9 – 12
3D -3C
3A – 3B
Day 6 (April 24th)
Final: Winner SF 1 – Winner SF2
For 3rd place: Loser SF 1 – Loser SF 2
For 5th place: Winner SF 3 – Winner SF 4
For 7th place: Loser SF3 – Loser SF4
Classification 9 – 12
3A – 3D
3B – 3C
