Montenegro ousts European champion; USA, France, Serbia don’t allow surprises

The first big surprise at the 20th World Championships in Fukuoka happened in the crossover round of the men’s tournament.

Montenegro defeated Croatia 13:12 and the European champion won’t battle for a medal.

The fact that the European champion did not reach the quarter-finals is a surprise in itself. But, given the draw, nothing was impossible. Croatia had the most demanding task of all the second-placed teams in the crossover round.

Even though it hasn’t won a medal at a major competition for a while, Montenegro isn’t an underdog. Anyway, Croatia was the favorite. The Montenegrins proved they could battle against anyone in the first week of the Championships. They played well against Spain on Day 2, and lost to Serbia after a penalty shootout two days ago. This time they endured until the end of the match.

There were no surprises in the other matches of the crossover round. The teams that finished the group stage as runner-ups – Serbia, France and the USA –  qualified for the quarterfinals, but none of them had an easy task.

Team USA defeated Canada 13:10 in the North American derby. France beat Australia 11:8. Serbia recorded a quite convincing win over Japan – 16:10. However, Japan didn’t surrender without a big battle and was in the game until the third quarter.

Kazkhstan and Argentina defeated China and South Africa, respectively, in the semifinals of the 13th-16th place classification.

M The results, live scores, statistics from the men’s competition are available here

20th World Water Polo Championship (Fukuoka, July 17 – 29), Men, Day 4

Crossover round

USA – Canada 13:10 (3:1, 3:4,2:1, 5:4)

The North American derby ended as many expected. Team USA advanced to the quarterfinals, but Canada displayed a very good performance, which could encourage the Canadians before the Pan American Games.

Team USA led 3:0 in the middle of the first and 4:1 early in the second quarter. However, the favorite didn’t have complete control of the match. Canada, which tightened its defense and delivered several great blocks, started narrowing the distance. Matt Halaijan equalized (5:5) from a counterattack a minute and a half before the middle break. However, Hannes Daube gave the USA a 6:5 lead in the next possession by converting a penalty shot.

The Canadians continued defending well in the third period, but they couldn’t find good solutions in the attack.
Daube opened the third period with a nice lob. Constantin Bicari replied from a penalty shot, but that was followed by Canada’s long goalless phase. It couldn’t find the net for more than nine minutes. The Americans scored three, meanwhile.

Team USA struggled in the attack in the third quarter, but it netted two at the beginning of the fourth. Johny Hooper scored a nice action goal. Shortly after, the USA forced another penalty. Daube sent the ball into the net once more, and the USA had a solid 10:6 advantage with 05:45 minutes to go. The Canadians halved the deficit (8:10, 9:11, 10:12) but couldn’t come closer.

Hannes Daube scored more than half of the goals for the USA. He found the net seven times (but four of these goals were from the penalty line). Nicolas Constantin Bicari scored four for Canada. There were not many goals with a man-up, but Canada wasted more opportunities (the USA’s percentage of extra player shots was ½, and Canada’s 2/6). Team USA scored four goals from penalty shots (4/4) and Canada 2 (2/2).

The Americans will face Hungary in the quarterfinals. The Hungarians, the silver medalists at the 2022 European Championships, have a history with Team USA. Last year, the Americans beat the Hungarians in the 5th-8th place classification at the Worlds in Budapest (16:15 after a penalty shootout). Then, the USA shocked Hungary 15:10 in Division 1 of the World Cup in March. Three weeks ago, the USA beat Hungary in the bronze medal match at the World Cup Final Eight after the last 4.24 minutes of the game were repeated following the USA’s appeal.

Australia – France 8:11 (0:4, 5:2, 2:4, 1:1)

France reached a spot among the top 8 teams in the world for the second time in history (for the first since 1986). France opened the match excellently, but Australia was able to come back. However, the “Sharks” had no good response after France’s 3:0 run in the middle of the third period.

The Europeans built a huge 4:0 lead in the first quarter. They played very well in the eight opening minutes. Thomas Vernoux made it 4:0 with a power play just a second before the first break.

However, Australia recovered from a bad start and cut the deficit to one with three straight goals (3:4). France doubled its advantage (5:3 and 6:4). Still, Luke Pavillard closed the first half with a goal from a penalty shot for 5:6.

The “Aussies” leveled at 6:6 in the 18th minute when Tim Putt made it 6:6 with an extra man. However, France earned a crucial advantage in the following few minutes. The Europeans netted three goals within 01:58 minutes. Mehdi Marzouki opened the series with a goal from a powerplay shot. Bouet continued it with a goal from a counterattack. Thomas Vernoux made it 9:6 in the 20th minute. That 3:0 run was a turning point. After it, Australia didn’t come back into the game.

The French maintained a 3-goal difference until the end of the third period. There were a lot of misses, saves, blocks, and steals at both ends of the pool in the fourth period, but there were no goals for a long. That rhythm suited the French. Two minutes before the end, Nathan Power broke the deadlock and woke Australia’s hope by scoring for 8:10. Still, Edo Khasz responded immediately. There were no goals anymore.

The man-up attacks and man-down defenses made the difference. France had an excellent percentage of power-play shots (6/7). Australia scored three goals with a man-up from six attempts. France’s Thomas Vernoux stood out with four goals.

Croatia – Montenegro 12:13 (3:2, 0:3, 5:4, 4:4)

The first quarter indicated that the match would be open until the very end and big turns would occur. Croatia took a 1:0 lead. Montenegro responded with two goals, but the Croats leveled. Kharkov gave the European champion a 3:2 advantage in the 8th minute. But, Montenegro was in front for most of the following three quarters.

Both teams struggled with man-up attacks in the second quarter. Croatia didn’t convert a single of its three extra-player attacks in this period. Montenegro had five man-ups and scored from two attempts which gave them the lead. In the 12th minute, Konstantin Averka made it 4:3. Twenty seconds before the middle break, leftie Aleksa Ukropina doubled Montenegro’s advantage with a long-distance shot from the right.

However, it wasn’t the end of the Montenegrins’ series. They earned a new 6 on 5 in their first possession in the second half. Matkovic scored from that opportunity for 6:3.

After Montenegro netted four consecutive goals, the European champions did the same in three minutes and 10 seconds. Jerko Marinic Kragic ended Croatia’s silence, which lasted for 10:13 minutes, with an action goal. Lazic added another 6 on 6 goal. In the 12th minute, Marinic Kragic converted a penalty to level at 6:6. Zvonimir Butic made it 7:6 from the deep right and the favorite was in front again, but not for long.. ALjosa Macic leveled at 7:7. Just 14 seconds later, Djuro Radovic put Montenegro in front to put Montenegro in front – 8:7.

The Montenegrins entered the fourth quarter with a slim 9:8 advantage. Croatia opened the final period with two nice action goals (Vukicevic and Butic) and made a new turn – 10:9. Still, the Montenegrins responded with two. They earned their fourth penalty in the match at 03:18. Djuro Radovic, scored from the 5m line for the third time and put Montenegro step closer to the quarterfinals – 11:10. In the remaining time, the teams traded the goals.

A minute and 21 seconds before the end, Dusan Matkovic added his fourth goal today, this time from the deep left with an extra player– 13:12. Croatia had no response this time. The European champions had the last possession in the match. It was a 7 on 6, as goalkeeper Marko Bijac went to the center-forward position. The Croats didn’t score Jerko Marinic Kragic had his shot blocked with five seconds left on the clock. After that, Montenegro called a timeout and kept the ball and the big victory.

Dusan Matkovic and Djuro Radovic scored four goals each for Montenegro (Radovic three from penalty shots). Jerko Marinic Kragic scored four for Croatia, Zvonimir Butic and Konstantin Kharkov added three each. Both goalkeepers collected a lot of saves – Croatia’s Bijac posted 16 saves, and Montenegro’s Tesanovic 12. There was a big difference in powerplay goals. Montenegro converted six of 15 shots, and Croatia went on 3/9. Croatia scored two goals from the 5m line (2/2), and Montenegro three (3/4).

I For the first time after 2003, when it finished 9th, Croatia won’t play in the semifinals of the World Championships.

Japan – Serbia 10:16 (3:3, 2:3, 2:7, 3:3)

As usual, the Japanese showed they could battle against the best European teams and be an equal opponent, but they couldn’t keep the same rhythm throughout the game. One quarter was enough for Serbia to secure a convincing victory.

The hosts started strongly and took a 2:0 lead. Strahinja Rasovic put Serbia on the scoreboard in the 6th minute. Shortly after, the Europeans added two quick goals, but Inaba equalized (3:3) from a distance with seven seconds left in the first period.

Jaksic opened the second period with a goal for 4:3. The Japanese leveled at 4:4 and 5:5. In the 12th minute, Rasovic sent the ball into the net from the 5m line to set the score of the first half – 6:5.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Japan leveled for the last time – 6:6. In the 19th minute, the home side trailed by a goal (7:8). Still, Serbia dominated in the next five minutes, scoring as many goals and moved to 13:7 before the last quarter. The Serbs controlled the match in the balanced fourth period.

Japan’s Yusuke Inaba was the best scorer. He found the net four times. Strahinja Rasovic and Marko Radulovic contributed to Serbia’s win with three goals each. Japan’s goalkeeper Tanamura made several mistakes, but he posted 10 saves in the first three quarters (in the fourth period, Nishimura replaced him). Serbia’s goalies combined 14 saves (Vladimir Misovic, who was in front of the goal in the first 24 minutes, posted eight, and an experienced Branislav Mitrovic six saves – including two penalties).

Serbia’s man-up percentage was 3/7, and Japan’s 2/7. The hosts didn’t convert a single of its three penalty shots, Serbia scored from its only.

Classification 13th – 16th place

Kazakhstan – China 12:5 (1:1, 4:0, 3:1, 4:0)

Four months ago, China trashed Kazakhstan in the semifinals of the Asian qualifications for the World Cup 10:1. Today, Kazakhstan turned the tables and recorded a surprisingly convincing win.

The teams exchanged goals in the middle of the first period. Vuksanovic gave Kazakhstan a 1:0 lead, and Xie responded with a double man-up. The Kazakhs dominated the middle two quarters. They produced a 7:0 run to earn a 8:1 lead. China was without a goal for almost 20 minutes. At the finish of the third quarter, Peng ended China’s goalless phase from a counter-attack (2:8). Still, Kazakhstan controlled the game until the end and re-earned a 7-goal margin.
Dusan Markovic led Kazakhstan with four goals.

Argentina – South Africa 15:6 (3:0, 4:2, 5:1, 3:3)

Argentina will make its best-ever result in the history of the World Championships. It finished in 16th place in its debut in 2015. This year, the Argentines will go at least two steps further.

South Africa has been a regular participant in the World Championships for two decades, but, unlike Argentina, it has no professional players on the roster. Most of the Argentinians are amateurs. However, a few players have played in the European leagues, and that probably made the difference.

Argentina took a 3:0 lead in the first quarter. South Africa found the net in its first two possessions in the second quarter and cut the deficit to 2:3. But, Argentina responded with a 6:0 run. Midway through the third period, the South Americans went to 9:2 and the contest was practically over.

Carlos Camnasio, one of those Argentinians who have played in the Spanish League was the top scorer, with four goals.

For more news and the schedule about the Worlds in Fukuoka, visit Total Waterpolo’s 2023 World Championships page.

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