The female teams of the USA, Russia, Spain, and Italy clinched top places in their respective groups at the World Championships in Gwangju and qualified for the quarterfinals.
Spain and the USA secured their spots among top 8 teams after Day 2, while Italy and Russia joined them today after wins in the last matches of the Group Stage.
The most anticipated match of the day was an encounter between Russia and Hungary, which decided the 1st place in Group B. Russia dominated the match (17:12).
A clash of Australia and Japan offered a lot of excitements, but the “Aussies” didn’t let surprise (9:7).
Other today’s games saw expected outcomes, favorites collected points with ease.
Crossover matches will be played on Saturday (July 20). The winners of four games will advance to the quarterfinals (July 22).
Quarterfinals (July 22)
USA (1A) – Greece (2C) or China (3D)
Russia (1B) – Australia (2D) or Kazakhstan (3C)
Spain (1C) – Netherlands (2A) or Canada (3B)
Italy (1D) – Hungary (2B) or New Zealand (3A)
Semifinals for places 13 – 16 (July 20): South Africa – South Korea, Cuba – Japan
18th FINA World Championships, women’s water polo tournament, Day 3
Group A
South Africa – USA 1:26 (0:7, 1:8, 0:6, 0:5)
South Africa: Meecham 1.
USA: Musselman 5, A. Fischer 4, Neushul 3, Haralabidis 3, Hauschild 3, Seidemann 3, Gilciirst 2, M. Fischer 2, Steffens 1
New Zealand – Netherlands 6:15 (0:2, 3:4, 1:4, 2:5)
New Zealand: McDowal 3, Doyle 2, McKenty 1.
Netherlands: Megens 5, Ven Der Sloot 3, Voorvelt 2, Wolves 1, Stomphorst 1, Rogge 1, Koolhaas 1.. Van De Kraats 1.
The USA ran past South Africa. The Olympic and World champions, led by Madeline Musselman (5 goals), let South Africans just one goal.
The Netherlands had a slow start against New Zealand. The European champions scored the 1st goal in the 4th minute, from a penalty shot, and doubled an advantage 12 seconds before the first break. The Dutch had troubles in the second part of the game, too. They missed a lot of chances. New Zealand’s defense and a goalkeeper Jessica Milicich did a good job. At halftime, the Netherlands had a 3-goal lead (6:3) and finally broke the opponent in the third quarter, with a 4:0 series for a comfortable 10:3 advantage.
1 USA 3 – 6
2 Netherlands 3 – 4
3 New Zealand 3 – 2
4 South Africa 3 – 0
Group B
Hungary – Russia 12:17 (4:6, 3:5, 1:2, 4:4)
Hungary: Valyi 4, Keszthelzyi 3, Gurisatti 2, Szilagyi 1, Illes 1, Gyongyossy 1.
Russia: Bersneva 4, Ryzhkova 3, Karimova 2, Gorbunova 2, Serzhantova 2, Prokofyeva 1, Tolkunova 1, Timofeeva 1, Soboleva 1.
Canada – South Korea 22:2 (5:0, 6:0, 6:0, 5:2)
Canada: Christmas 3, E. Wright 3, Eggens 2, McKee 2, Bekhazi 2, Lemay-Lavoie 2, McKelvey 2, Alogbo 1, Crevier 1, Paul 1, Fournier 1, C Wright 1, Gaudreault 1.
South Korea: Lee 1, Kyung 1.
Russia took a flying start in a derby match against Hungary and grabbed a 4:0 lead after just 3 minutes. The Hungarians recovered and reduced the gap to 1 (4:5) deep into the first quarter, but they weren’t’ able to go further. Russia took control again and early in the second quarter built a new 4-goal lead (9:5). Spectators enjoyed a festival of goals in the opening minutes. (14 goals were scored in the first 10 minutes), but after that, both teams tightened their defenses. Russia maintained a 4-goal lead until the middle break (11:7) and entered the last period with a 5-goal advantage (13:8). Hungary scored twice in a span of 50 seconds to come close (10:13), six and a half minutes from the end. Russia answered with two fast goals (15:10) and the Hungarians couldn’t come back once more. The Russians kept a big advantage and secured themselves three days of rest.
Canada blew away a young Korean water polo team. The most interesting details of the encounter happened in the last quarter. South Korea scored it both goals in the fourth period, while both Canadian goalkeepers (Claire Wright and Jessica Gaudreault) hit the back of Korea’s net in the last minutes. All 13 Canadians managed to score in this game.
1 Russia 3 – 6
2 Hungary 3 – 4
3 Canada 3 – 2
4 South Korea 3 – 0
Group C
Cuba – Spain 6:19 (0:7, 1:6, 4:3, 1:3)
Cuba: Bernal Villa 3, Chavez Pena 2, Gonyalez Sanchez 1.
Spain:Ortiz 4, Garcia 4, Forca 3, Crespi 3, A. Espar 2, Gonzalez 1, Pena 1 .
Greece – Kazakhstan 13:7 (4:1, 4:1, 1:3, 4:2)
Greece: Xenaki 3, Asimaki 2, Eleftheriadou 2, Chydirioti 2, Ninou 2, Avramidou 1, Kotsia 1.
Kazakhstan:Zakirova 3, Myrzabekova 2, Turova 1, Roga 1.
As expected, Spain and Greece didn’t have any problems to finish the Group Stage with big wins.
Spain continued a series of big wins. The Spaniards trashed Greece on Day 1 (14:4). Afterward, they beat Kazakhstan (18:6), while they were even more convincing in today’s match against Cuba. They defeated the opponent by 13 goals. Cuba its first goal scored early in the second period (1:7). The third quarter belonged to the Cubans (4:3), but Spain retook control in the last period.
The match Greece – Kazakhstan was a battle for the 2nd place. The Greeks proved that they were favorites in this encounter. The gold medal winners at the 2001 WCH secured the two points in the first half (8:2). Early in the third quarter they added a goal for a 7-goal lead (9:2) and played relaxed in the remaining time.
1 Spain 3 – 6
2 Greece 3 – 4
3 Kazakhstan 3 – 2
4 Cuba 3 – 0
Group D
Italy – China 14:6 (5:1, 3:1, 4:2, 2:2)
Italy: Tabani 3, Garibotti 3, Bianconi 2, Emmolo 2, Viacava 2, Aiello 1, Chiappini 1.
China: Xiong 2, X. Wang 1, H. Wang 1, Chen 1, J. Zhang 1.
Japan – Australia 7:9 (2:3, 2:1, 1:2, 2:3)
Japan: Arima 2, Inaba 2, Nizawa 2,Noro 1.
Australia: Buckling 3, Bishop 2, Arancini 2, Gofers 1, Webster 1.
Italy confirmed the 1st place with a convincing win over China. The Italians started strongly, they were leading 8:2 at halftime. They slowed down after a 3-minute break, but their win was never in danger
Australia finished 2nd in the group. The „Stingers“ avoided a surprise in today’s very tough match against Japan. The Asians had an opening 2:1 lead, but Australia was 3:2 up after the first quarter. The sides were tied (4:4) after 16 minutes of play. Australia had a slim 6:5 advantage before the last eight minutes. The fourth quarter decided the outcome. Japan leveled to 6:6 in the 27th minute. Australia responded quickly with three goals in less than three minutes for 9:6 and secured the points. Japan’s 7th goal came too late, 35 seconds before the end.
Japan goes in a battle for places 13 – 16, despite the team has played pretty well since the start of the tournament. The Japanese suffered three two-goal losses against strong opponents. But, they didn’t have luck and completed the group stage with no points.
1 Italy 3 – 6
2 Australia 3 – 4
3 China 3 – 2
4 Japan 3 – 0
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