Greece and Spain will battle for the gold medal in Podgorica tomorrow.
Greece defeated Hungary in the first semifinal match of the Final Eight in Podgorica – 18:14. Spain defeated Croatia 19:14. The final results were similar, but the games were completely different. Greece and Hungary were in an even contest for almost three quarters. Spain secured a win over Croatia, thanks to an almost perfect percentage of shots in a 14:9 first half.
Spain will try to defend the gold medal won in the previous edition of the World Cup, held in 2023, while Greece advanced to the final of a major competition for the fourth time in history (after silver medals in the 1997 World Cup, the 2021 Olympic Games, and the 2023 World Championships).
Granados (ESP) and Kharkov (CRO) Photo by Krsto Vulovic/WPF of Montenegro
In the 5th-8th place semifinals, Montenegro beat Germany 19:15, and the Netherlands defeated Japan 20:15.
World Cup Final Eight Podgorica, Semifinal Day
Semifinals 1st – 4th place
Hungary – Greece 14:18 (4:4, 4:3, 2:5, 4:6)
Hungary: Manhercz 4, Ad. Nagy 3, Tatrai 2, Burian 2, Vin. Vigvari 1, Fekete 1, Ven. Vigvari 1.
Greece: Argyropoulos 5, Skoumpakis 3, Genidounias 2, Kakaris 2, Gkiouvetsis 1, Pouros 1, Kalogeropoulos 1 Alafragkis 1
Three months ago, Hungary defeated Greece by ten goals (20:10) in the semifinals of Division 1 in Otopeni. Both teams have slightly changed since then. However, Greece has improved its shape and managed to take revenge
The Greeks broke a rejuvenated team of Hungary in the last ten minutes of an interesting encounter
Two goals never separated the rivals in a close contest in the first half. The Hungarians had an advantage only twice. Deep into the first quarter, Hungary earned its first lead – 4:3. Skoumpakis leveled with a man-up, and Pouros gave Greece a new advantage – 5:4 in his team’s first possession in the second quarter, and the Hungarians had to chase their rival again. They leveled at 5:5, 6:6, and 7:7. In the dying seconds of the first half, Greece’s goalkeeper Zerdevas saved a close-range shot from Manhercz, but the ball returned to the Hungarian striker, who was fouled, and Hungary earned a penalty shot. Manhercz converted it with 16 seconds remaining –8:7.
Photo by Krsto Vulovic/WPF of Montenegro
Argyropoulos scored two consecutive goals in the first half of the third period, putting Greece ahead once again – 9:8. Hungary managed to equalize twice after that. With a minute and a half left before the last break, Dimitrios Skoumpakis found the net from nearly eight meters away, giving Greece a two-goal lead for the first time at 12:10. In the final seconds of the quarter, he attempted to score from almost the same spot again but hit the crossbar.
In the 28th minute, Argyropoulos scored his fifth goal, the fourth coming from a man-up situation, increasing Greece’s lead to four – 16:12, leaving Hungary with no chance of recovery.
Statistically, power-play conversion made the difference. Greece scored nine goals out of 13 attempts. Hungary’s conversion was 50% (6/12).
Spain – Croatia 19:14 (8:6, 6:3, 3:2, 2:3)
Spain: Granados 7, Munarriz 4, Sanahuja 4, De Toro 2, Valera 1, Bustos 1.
Croatia: Basic 3, Zuvela 3, Pavlic 2, Susic 2, Buric 1, Butic 1, Vrlic 1.
Just under four minutes into the play, the score was 4:4, suggesting the game would be a scoring festival. Then, Spain tightened its defense and kept playing well in the attack. They scored three consecutive goals in 80 seconds. Granados opened the series with a goal from a penalty shot. Sanahuja made it 6:4, and Granados added a goal from a distance for 7:4. The Croats narrowed the gap by the end of the first period (6:8).
Until the middle of the second quarter, Spain maintained an impressive attacking rhythm, scoring one goal per minute and leading 12:7 in the 12th minute. Most of the goals came from long-range shots. At halftime, Spain boasted an excellent shooting percentage, scoring 14 goals out of 18 attempts and leading 14:9 as the teams headed into the second half.
After the middle break, Spain slowed and started making mistakes, which allowed Croatia to narrow the gap to 11:14 (24th minute). Granados woke up his team with two almost identical goals from the left wing, while Sanahuja added one, so two minutes after Croatia’s 11th goal, Spain earned a 17:11 advantage. There were no goals in the rest of the third period, and Spain was very close to the final.
Pavlic (CRO) and Munarriz (ESP) Photo by K.Vulovic/WP Federation of Montenegro
Croatia opened the final quarter the same way as the previous one, scoring twice (13:17). Munarriz netted for 18:13, and then Granados scored a beautiful goal. It would be his eighth in the match. However, the Croats requested a VAR review of the situation in front of Spain’s goal that occurred before Granados’ goal. The referees accepted the challenge and awarded a penalty shot to Croatia, resulting in the cancellation of Granados’ goal. Basic scored from a penalty for 14:18 to keep Croatia’s slim hopes alive with 03:36 minutes left on the clock. But, Valera sealed Spain’s victory with a power-play goal in the 31st minute.
Semifinals 5th-8th place
Netherlands – Japan 20:15 (6:2, 2:5, 7:4, 4:4)
Netherlands: S. Hassels 4, Te Riele 3, B.Hassels 2, Van der Weijden 2, De May 2, Ten Broek 2, Van der Werve 2, Rouwenhorst 1, Van den Burg 1, De Weerd 1
Japan: Inaba 5, Ogihara 2, Suzuki 2, Adachi 2, Watanabe 1, Date 1, Araki 1, Lowrey 1.
The Netherlands and Japan had not faced each other in official games for the last two decades, as the Dutch had been absent from major intercontinental tournaments since 2003, when they finished in sixth place in the World League. Maybe the Japanese didn’t know what its today rival was capable of.
Japan took an early 2:1 lead. However, the Dutch team responded with an impressive 5:0 run in just 2 minutes and 11 seconds, ending the first quarter with a 6:2 advantage. Midway through the second quarter, Sebastian Hessels scored from a distance, extending the Dutch lead to 8:3. Nonetheless, Japan managed to bounce back, narrowing the gap to 6:8 with three quick goals. At halftime, the Netherlands held a 9:7 lead. The Dutch maintained their momentum, not allowing Japan to claw back into the match. The third period was decisive for the outcome. Mart van der Weijden converted a man-up opportunity to stretch the lead to 13:8 in the 22nd minute, and the Dutch team maintained this difference until the end of the game.
Germany – Montenegro 15:19 (3:5, 4:8, 4:3, 4:3)
Germany: Strelezkij 5, Gansen 4, Chiru 3, Bozic 2, Sekulic 1.
Montenegro: Moskov 3, Gardasevic 3, Gojkovic 2, Spaic 2, Dj.Radovic 2, Obradovic 2, Matkovic 2, Macic 1, D.Radovic 1, Perkovic 1.
After an exhausting game against Croatia the previous day, Montenegro rallied enough energy to secure a comfortable victory against Germany. The home team still has only one goalkeeper, as Tesanovic hasn’t recovered from an illness. Three 3:0 runs in the first half were crucial for the hosts’ win.
Spaic (MNE) and Metten (GER) Photo by Krsto Vulovic/WPF of Montenegro
The German team kept pace with Montenegro for most of the first quarter and even took the lead twice early on (1:0, 2:1). Montenegro responded with its first of the three mentioned 3:0 series to build a 4:2 lead. A minute before the first break, the Germans trailed by 3:4. Strahinja Gojkovic closed the half with a goal, making it 5:3 and initiating Montenegro’s new 3:0 streak. Djuro Radovic and Dimitrije Obradovic contributed further goals early in the second quarter, widening the gap to 7:3. Although Gansen managed to break Montenegro’s scoring streak, the hosts quickly replied with three goals, establishing a commanding 10:4 lead by the 14th minute.
Montenegro maintained a 6-goal advantage until the score reached 16:10. The Germans managed to cut their deficit towards the end of the game (14:17 and 15:18). Still, the Montenegrins’ win was never in jeopardy.
Final day (April 13)
Follow all the results live on Total Waterpolo Arena
7th-place match: Germany – Japan at 14.00
5th-place match: Montenegro – Netherlands at 16.10
Bronze-medal match: Hungary – Croatia at 18.20
Final: Greece – Spain at 20.30
