Two thrillers before knockout round: Greece and Serbia winners of day

There were not many close contests in the first two rounds of the men’s tournament at the 20th World Championships.

However, the last day of the group stage produced a lot of excitement. Two of the eight games were big thrillers with big twists and turns.

Greece beat Team USA 15:14, scoring a winning goal in the very last second, and won 1st place in Group A and the ticket for the quarterfinals.

Serbia defeated Montenegro after a penalty shootout (17:15) in a decisive match in a race for 2nd place in Group C, which brings an easier opponent in the cross-over round.

Greece and Serbia are the winners of the day, not only because of wins in thrillers. They  produced big comebacks to earn victories. Both teams trailed by five goals in their matches but showed mental strength and earned crucial points.

As expected, Croatia finished in 2^nd place in Group C. The European champions recorded a 17:12 victory over Japan. France beat Canada 15:11 to secure 2nd place in Group B.

The three teams that cemented the top spots in their groups after Day 2, had easy matches today. Italy beat China 18:5 (Group B), Hungary was better than Argentina – 22:13 (Group C), and Spain downed South Africa 27:6 (Group D).

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 3

Group A

USA – Greece 14:15 (3:3, 6:1, 2:4, 3:7)

Despite finishing behind the USA in the World Cup, Greece was considered the frontrunner to win first place in Group A. However, during halftime, it appeared that the Americans would come out on top. Max Irving led the American team, scoring six goals out of seven attempts and seeming to have the game in their control until the middle of the fourth period. Nonetheless, Greece managed to pull through with a strong finish and a last-second goal, securing 1st place in the group and a spot in the quarterfinals.

The teams traded goals in the first quarter, Greece took the lead three times, and the Americans leveled on each occasion. After the first break, the team in the white caps started dominating. The Americans went to 5:3, before Gendiounias made it 4:5. However, the USA responded with a 4:0 run. Max Irving scored his third and fourth goal for 7:4. Daube made it 8:4 from a penalty shot. In the last minute of the first half, Ben Hallock scored from a beautiful backhander for 9:4. However, it turned out that a 5-goal lead wasn’t enough for Team USA to secure a win.

By the middle of the third quarter, the Greeks reduced the gap to three (6:9), but the USA still controlled the game and the results. It maintained a 3-goal lead until the middle break (11:8). Greece came closer early in the fourth. Still, the Americans kept a three-goal lead in exchanging goals until 13:10. Three minutes before the end, the USA had a 13:11 advantage. Then, Alexandros Papanastasiou stepped up. He cut the deficit to one (12:13). The USA wasted a man-up in its next possession. Papanastasiou leveled at 13:13 from the deep right. Shortly after, Team USA earned a new 6 on 5. Irving made no mistake this time and put the Americans in front – 14:13. But, Greece leveled once again. Papanastasiou delivered an assist to Kalogeropoulos, who made it 14:14.

Daube missed with 38 seconds left on the clock. Greece’s head coach Theodoros Vlachos called a timeout before his team’s last possession. The Greeks forced a man-up at 00:12. They waited for the last moment. Papanastasiou beat the buzzer, scored a winner with one second left on the clock, and sent Greece to the quarterfinals.

Papanastasiou and Konstantinos Genidounias scored four goals each for Greece. Max Irving netted six for the USA. Hannes Daube scored four. The teams had a similar percentage of power-play shots (USA 3/7, Greece 2/7). Both teams had three penalty shots and converted all.

Australia – Kazakhstan 22:6 (7:2, 3:0,4:2, 8:2)

In a must-win game to advance to the crossover round, Australia dominated the Kazakhs with a 10:2 lead at halftime.

The Aussies didn’t slow and continued dictating the pace until the end. Their last goal came in the last second, showing their tenacity until the very end.  Australia’s very good performances in their previous matches against Greece and USA proved its deserving spot in the crossover round.

Charlie Negus and Chaz Poot emerged as the leaders for Australia with four goals each, while the team showcased a well-rounded effort with ten different scorers.

Standings: 1. Greece 9, 2. USA 6, 3. Australia, 4. Kazakhstan 0.

Group B

France – Canada 15:11 (5:4, 5:3, 3:2, 2:2)

The first quarter of the battle for 2nd place in the group was a neck-and-neck race. Canada was in front three times (1:0, 3:1, 4:3). France was chasing the rival and at the finish of the quarter, earned an advantage for the first time. The French forced a penalty, which Ugo Crousillat converted to a 5:4 lead.
French started taking control in the second quarter. They took advantage of their 6 on 5 chances (France’s power play conversion was 5/5 in the first half). In the 15th minute, leftie Duje Zivkovic made it 10:6, and France had a 4-goal advantage for the first time. Canada’s star No.1 Nicolas Constantin-Bicari narrowed the distance to three (7:10) from a counter-attack with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.

Early in the third quarter, Canada reduced the gap to two (8:10, 9:11). Then, defenses started dominating. But that was because neither of the teams could create good chances in the attack. Still, France restored a 4-goal lead with two goals in the last 74 seconds (Zivkovic with a nice lob and Bjorch from a 6 on 5) – 13:9. The French had a good finish of the third and the beginning of the fourth was the same. They earned a 14:9 advantage after Ugo Crousillat found the net after a penalty shot. Canada couldn’t come back into the game.

Three players of the French team found the net three times each – Mehdi Marzouki, Emil Bjorch, and captain Ugo Crousillat. The same is for Canada, three players achieved hat tricks – Bogdan Djerkovic,Nicolas Constantin Bicari, Jeremie Cote.  The teams had the same percentage of powerplay shots – 6/9.

China – Italy 5:18 (2:2, 1:7,2:6,0:3)

Before the first whistle, it was known that China would go to the 13th-16th place classification and that Italy would finish 1st and qualify for the quarterfinals.

The Chinese found a better motivation to prove themselves in a duel with one of the best teams in the world. They kept up with Italy until the 12th minute. Then, the “Settebello” quickly jumped from 3:3 to 9:3, scoring six goals in four minutes. The second half was a formality, Italy dominated and cruised to a big win.

Francesco Di Fulvio and junior Francesco Condemi scored four goals each for Italy. It’s interesting to mention Luca Marziali’s het trick. Midway through the third period, Italy’s center-forward scored three goals in 01:26 minutes.

Standings: 1. Italy 9, 2. France 6, 3. Canada 3, 4. China 0.

Group C

Croatia – Japan 17:12 (4:3, 3:3, 8:3, 2:3)

The game had a similar storyline to many other clashes between Japan and the best European teams.

Croatia had trouble stopping the fast Japanese players and with their deep pressing in the first two quarters, but it earned a big lead in the second half of the game.

Japan took the lead just once – 3:2 in the 6th minute, but the Croats turned the score and entered the second period with a 4:3 advantage. The Japanese scored their three goals in the first quarter from counterattacks.

The second quarter was balanced, and Japan successfully followed the rhythm imposed by the Croats for two quarters and a half. In the 20th minute, only a goal separated the rivals (Croatia led 10:9). In the following minutes, the Europeans started breaking the Asians’ resistance. Croatia scored five unanswered goals before the last break. Jerko Marinic Kragic opened the series. Luka Bukic escaped Japan’s defense and scored from the left after a long pass from Butic and gave Croatia a three-goal lead for the first time (12:9). Zvonimir Butic, Franko Lazic and Konstantin Kharkov added a goal each at the finish of the quarter for a comfortable 15:9 advantage. The match was decided in these four minutes.

Japan didn’t want to disappoint a few thousand fans that cheered the hosts until the end and narrowed the distance in the fourth period.

Konstantin Kharkov and Luka Bukic contributed to Croatia’s win with four and three goals respectively. Japan’s Seiya Adachi had a perfect percentage of shots (4/4). Each team had 33 shots. Action goals made the difference. Croatia scored 12, and Japan five goals from a 6 on 6.

Hungary – Argentina 22:13 (7:1, 6:4, 4:4, 5:4)

Both teams did not feel any pressure because the encounter between Hungary and Argentina did not have any impact on the standings,

However, Hungary displayed their exceptional skills and proved that they belong to the elite circle of the best teams in the world, while Argentina still has a lot to learn. In the first quarter, the European team quickly took a 7:1 lead.

After that, Hungary’s defense weakened, and Argentina managed to score 13 goals, which was almost equal to their combined goals in the previous two matches against Croatia and Japan, where they scored five and nine goals, respectively.

The youngest player in the match, Vince Vigvari, emerged as the best scorer with four goals, while Adam Nagy netted three. Argentina’s Carlos Camnasio and Esteban Corsi of Argentina also scored three goals each.

Standings: 1. Hungary, 2. Croatia 6, 3. Japan 3, 4. Argentina 0.

Group D

Serbia – Montenegro 17:15 (3:6, 4:2, 2:3, 4:2, PSO 4:2)

The encounter between the neighbors was the first in Fukuoka that ended in a draw in the regular time and in a penalty shootout eventually. Besides, it was the first-ever match in a group stage in the history of the senior World Championships that went to a shootout since the rules were changed this year.

The Montenegrins led most of the time, primarily because of an excellent opening of the game. They scored in each of their first five possessions (with an almost perfect percentage of shots – 5/6). The Montenegrins stopped Serbia’s attacks with strong pressure, so after less than five minutes of play, Montenegro led 5:0. Serbia was in a similar situation as in the game against Spain on Day 1, when it trailed 2:7. Head coach Uros Stevanovic tried to shake the team, switching the goalkeepers Misovic and Mitrovic a few times.

By the end of the first quarter, Serbia narrowed the gap to three (2:5 and 3:6). Serbia’s captain Jaksic made it 4:6 in his team’s first possession in the second quarter. Immediately after, Serbia’s goalkeeper Mitrovic saved a penalty from Djuro Radovic. However, the Montenegrins went to +4 with two quick goals. Ukropina and Matkovic (with a powerplay advantage) made it 8:4. Still, the finish of the quarter belonged to the Serbs. Captain Jaksic converted a penalty, and Djordje Vucinic closed the first half with two almost identical goals. Serbia trailed just 7:8 at halftime.

However, the middle break suited the Montenegrins, who refound their rhythm and netted two goals in the first three minutes of the second half to stretch the margin to 10:7, so Serbia had to start a new chase. Djordje Vucinic did the same as he did in the second quarter. He scored two back-to-back goals, this time both with a powerplay advantage, for 9:10. Still, Montenegro entered the final period leading 11:9 as Matkovic converted a man-up at 00:35.

At the beginning of the fourth period, the teams exchanged the goals, and Montenegro kept a 2-goal lead (12:10), but not for long. Drasovic halved the distance from a penalty shot. Four and a half minutes before the end, Sava Randjelovic fired the ball from a distance, and Serbia caught up with Montenegro – 12:12. The Serbs tightened their defense, they killed Montenegro’s three man-ups in the fourth quarter. Goalkeeper Vladimir Misovic came up with several good saves. A minute and 16 seconds before the end, the Serbs went in front after a nice goal from Radulovic – 13:12. Still, the match entered a shootout. Aleksa Ukropina leveled at 13:13 with 19 seconds left on the clock.

The Serbs proved better prepared for the shootout. Montenegro’s goalkeeper Petar Tesanovic, who posted even 15 saves in the regular time (most of them in the first half), didn’t block a single shot in the penalty drama. At the other end of the pool, Djuro Radovic hit the post. Branislav Mitrovic (who returned to the goal for the shootout) saved a shot from Matkovic (he did it with his head), and the Serbs earned two points and 2nd place in the group.

Serbia will play against host Japan, which proved to be a tough opponent to the Europeans. Anyway, it’s certainly better to try to find the way to the quarterfinals in the match against the best Asian team than in the duel with the European champions, who will be Montenegro’s rivals.

Djordje Vucinic, who scored six goals (five in the regular time and one in the shootout) and took responsibility in crucial moments, was the hero of Serbia’s victory. Nikola Jaksic scored four. Dusan Matkovic was the best scorer in the Montenegrin team with three goals. Serbia’s conversion of man-up shots was 6/8, and Montenegro scored four goals with an extra player (4/8)

South Africa – Spain 6:27 (2:8, 2:7, 2:8, 0:4)

The last game in the group was a training session for Spain before the quarterfinals. At the same time, it was a good opportunity for South Africa to test their abilities and prepare for the 13th-16th place classification.

Spain’s head coach David Martin offered more chances to younger players. Veteran Felipe Perrone, who was instrumental in the wins over Serbia and Montenegro, was the only one on the winning team who didn’t get on the scoresheet. The best scorer was Fran Valera, who debuted at the Worlds, scoring five goals. Spain dominated from the beginning.

It was a very peaceful game, with only four personal fouls. Spain scored from its only man-up opportunity, while South Africa’s powerplay conversion was 1/3. As mentioned, Valera contributed to Spain’s victory with five goals, and Blai Mallarach scored four.

Standings: 1. Spain 9, 2. Serbia 5, 3. Montenegro 4, 4. South Africa.

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

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