Team USA will be the only non-European team in the quarterfinals of the 2021 World Junior Championships.
The games of playoffs (eighth-finals) were played at the tournament in Prague today.
The USA played against Germany. The Americans were three goals down, but they managed to come back and achieved a 10:8 victory.
Italy beat South Africa easily (15:3). Serbia started slowly, but it recorded a convincing win over Brazil (15:5). Title-holder Greece defeated Russia (11:7)
Scores and fixtures
Day 6, playoffs: Italy – South Africa 15:3, Serbia – Brazil 15:5, Greece – Russia 11:7, USA – Germany 10:8. Classification 13th – 18th place: Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan 8:19, Czech Republic – Egypt 5:9.
Quarterfinals (September 3): Croatia – Serbia, Spain – Italy, Hungary – Greece, Montenegro – USA.
2021 World U20 Men’s Championships, Prague, Day 6
Quarterfinals
Italy – South Africa 15:3 (5:0, 3:2, 4:1, 3:0) play by play and statistics
Italy: Iocchi Gratta 5, Ferrero 3, Mladossich 2, Gianazza 2, Caldieri 1, Tartaro 1, Condemi 1, Occhione 1, Pathaliev 1, Parella 1.
South Africa: Neilsen 1, Sneddon 1, Harrod 1.
Extra player shots Italy 3/7, South Africa 0/3. Penalty shots: Italy 2/2.
As expected, Italy beat South Africa easily in the first game of the knockout round. The Italians kept the Africans goalless until the middle of the second period. They rushed to a 6:0 lead before their rival scored the first goal. Matteo Iocchi Gratta, the man of the match, guided Italy’s offense successfully, and his team cruised to a big win.
Ferrero (ITA) and Bungane (RSA) All photos by Total Waterpolo Team
Serbia – Brazil 15:5 (3:2, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1) play by play and statistics
Serbia: Radulovic 4, Brankovic 3, Stanojevic 2, Pljevancic 1, Gak 1, Milojevic 1, Martinovuc 1, Gavrilovic 1, Radovic 1.
Brazil: Chiappini 2, Madureira 1,Ferreira 1, De Mattos 1.
Extra player shots Serbia 3/8, Brazil 4/8.
Brazil stunned Serbia in the opening minutes. The South Americans earned a 2:0 lead. The Serbs needed some time to find their rhythm and the back of the net. After a lot of misses and lost balls, Serbia finally got on the scoreboard two and a half minutes before the end of the first period (Gavilovic scored an action goal for 1:2). The favorite added two quick goals and entered the second quarter leading 3:2.
Chiappini (BRA) and Radulovic (SRB)
But, Brazil was still keeping up with Serbia. Early in the second, De Mattos leveled at 3:3. In the middle of the quarter, after Radovic converted a man-up, the Serbs started breaking the persistent rival. The Europeans dominated the following minutes. Serbia, led by Marko Radulovic jumped to a 10:3 lead and secured a win before the final eight minutes.
The Serbs will have to play much better tomorrow because they will have a challenging task in the “Water polo classic” against Croatia.
Russia – Greece 7:11 (1:3, 2:4, 3:2, 1:2) – play by play and statistics
Russia: Ivannikov 3, Iarullin 2, Volkov 1, Vasilev 1.
Greece: Kalogeropoulos 2, Chalyvopoulos 2, Gkillas 2, Mokkas 2, Kechalaris 1, Pouros 1, Panagiotis-Sgouridis 1.
Extra player shots: Russia 3/6, Greece 4/13. Penalty shots: Greece 1/1.
Russia fought hard, but it couldn’t surprise reigning champion Greece. The Greeks scored their first goal in the first possession in the match and from that point on, they were always in front.
Efstathios Kalogeropoulos (GRE)
In the first quarter, the Greeks built a 2-goal lead (3:1). In the 16th minute, the World champions stretched the margin to five (7:2). However, Russia’s Ivannikov closed the first half with an action goal just four seconds before the middle break.
The Russians started coming back step-by-step. Early in the fourth, they reduced the gap to only two goals (7:9). That was a wake-up call for the Greeks, who responded with two goals within 60 seconds (Mokkas and Pouros) and went to 11:7. In the remaining time, both defenses did their jobs well, Greece controlled the match and secured the quarterfinals.
USA – Germany 10:8 (2:2, 2:4, 4:0,2:2)- play by play and statistics
USA: Tierney 3, Hosea 3, Kranz 2, Cain 1, Zamanian 1.
Germany: Bozic 2, Froreich 2, Gansen 2, Rotermund 1, Sekulic 1
Extra player shots: USA 4/8, Germany 5/12. Penalty shots: USA 2/2, Germany 0/1.
The last duel of the playoffs was the most exciting match of the day.
After the first quarter, the teams were at the same starting point. Germany opened the second period excellently. Midway through this period, the Europeans scored three goals in 1:24 minutes and earned a 5:2 lead. They had a 6:4 advantage at halftime.
However, the Americans dominated the third period. They kept the momentum gained in the finish of the first half. In the 19th minute, Tierney found the net for 5:6. The Americans continued their series with three goals in the last two and a half minutes and went to 8:6. Germany had an excellent chance to half the deficit 11 seconds before the last break, but Bozic hit the post from a penalty shot.
Goalkeper Adrian Weinberg (USA) was the MVP of the game
In the middle of the fourth period, Hosea gave the USA a 9:6 advantage. Immediately after this goal, the Germans finally ended their scoreless phase that lasted more than 14 minutes. Gansen converted 6 on 4 for 7:9 and kept his team’s hopes alive. A minute and 50 seconds before the final buzzer, Gansen scored on an extra for 8:9. But, the Germans’ hopes didn’t last for long. Forty-five seconds after Gansen’s goal, Hosea converted a man-up (10:8), and the Americans kept a two-goal lead until the end.
Classification 13th – 20th, quarterfinals
Uzbekistan – Kazakhstan 8:19 (1:3, 1:4, 3:6, 3:6) – play by play and statistics
Uzbekistan: Krikokhijin 3, Dashkov 2, Nasyridinov 1, Turgunov 1, Mirzaakhmedov 1.
Kazakhstan: Khassanov 4, Kanysh 4, Gruzintsev 3, Vilin 2, Yurvey 2, Gorodetskiy 1, Ussov 1, Nedokontsev 1, Hrtyukh 1
Extra player shots: Uzbekistan 1/1, Kazakhstan 7/12. Penalty shots: Uzbekistan 1/1, Kazakhstan 2/3
Kanysh (KAZ) and Dashkov (UZB)
Uzbekistan, which conceded 139 goals in the group stage, and scored only ten, wasn’t an equal opponent to Kazakhstan in the clash between the only two Asian teams at the Championships in Prague. Kazakhstan took an opening 3:0 lead. Uzbekistan managed to reduce the gap to two goals twice (1:3 and 2:4), but that was all. Kazakhstan was too strong for the neighbors.
Czech Republic – Egypt 5:9 (1:2, 1:3, 0:2, 3:2) – play by play and statistics
Czech Republic: C. Rames 2, Chodl 1, Kriz 1, V. Rames 1.
Egypt: Serry 3, Youssef 3, Z.Ezzat 2.
Extra player shots: Czech Republic 3/8, Egypt 1/5. Penalty shots: Czech Republic 1/1.
The home team, which is the only debutant at the tournament, still has to wait for its first-ever win at the World Junior Championships. Only the first quarter was more or less balanced. Egypt scored an opening goal. The Czech Republic equalized shortly after, but the Africans had a 2:1 lead at the first break. From the second period, Egypt controlled the match and even had a 6-goal lead twice (8:2 and 9:3). Abdel Mohamed Serry and Abdelrahman Youssef gave the biggest contribution to the solid 9:5 victory.
Remaining matches
SEPTEMBER 3
Quarterfinals
QF1: Croatia – Serbia (15:30)
QF2: Spain – Italy (17:00)
QF3: Hungary – Greece (18:30)
QF4: Montenegro – USA (20:00)
Classification 9th – 12th
Game 53: South Africa- Brazil (12:30)
Game 54: Russia – Germany (14:00)
Classification 13th – 18th
Game 50: Argentina – Slovakia (8:00)
For 17th place: Uzbekistan – Czech Republic (9:30)
Game 52: Kazakhstan – Egypt(11:00)
All photos by Total Waterpolo Team
SEPTEMBER 4
Semifinals 1st – 4th
Winners QF1 and QF3 (18:00)
Winners QF2 and QF4 (19:30)
Semifinals 5th – 8th
Losers QF1 and QF3 (15:00)
Losers QF2 and QF4 (16:30)
Classification 9th – 16th
For 15th place: losers G50 and G52 (9:00)
For 13th place: winners G50 and G52 (10:30)
For 11th place: losers G53 and G54 (12:00)
For 9th place: winners G53 and G54 (13:30)
SEPTEMBER 5 (Final day)
7th-place match (13:30)
5th-place match (15:00)
3rd-place match (16:30)
FINAL (18:00)
Follow all the games live on TOTAL WATERPOLO ARENA
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