The team of Neutral Athletes (Russia) finished the Group Phase of the World Cup Division 2 in Malta in first place and will have the best starting position before the knockout Round that starts tomorrow.
On the last day of the group stage, Neutral Athletes defeated South Africa 31:11. That victory was worth 88.2 TPI points, and the Russians, with an average of 85,3 points, returned to 1st place, where they were after the first day.
Montenegro has achieved the most convincing wins . Today, it beat Great Britain 34:4. The Montenegrins had the absolute best goal difference in the tournament, +67 (Neutral Athletes have a +37 goal difference). But, the Montenegrins finished the group phase in 4th place. It’s because of this new special ranking system. The Montenegrins’ victories weren’t as valuable as those of the teams placed higher than them (Neutral Athletes, Canada, Australia).
Montenegro entered the tournament as the best-placed team in the World Aquatics Rankings and faced weaker opponents than the other teams, so they had to settle for 4th place with an average of 83 points.
To remind you, Neutral Athletes weren’t present in the World Rankings before the tournament because of Russia’s suspension; therefore, they were able to earn a lot of points by beating teams that, based on the Rankings, are ranked higher than them.
Besides Neutral Athletes, Australia, Canada, and Montenegro, Romania, and Germany also had a perfect record in the Group Phase (where Germany played only two games.
Turkiye is in 7th place despite suffering its first loss today. China defeted the Turks after a penalty shootout (16:13).
The best 16 teams advanced to the knockout Round.
Brazil beat Kazakhstan today, 15:8, and grabbed the last ticket for the Round of 16. Brazil will meet Neutral Atheles tomorrow. It will be a replay of the first match at the tournament. The Russians began their winning streak with a 10:7 win over Brazil.
Montenegro will meet host Malta. One of the most interesting duels should be the one between Turkiye and Georgia. The Georgians will seek revenge for a 16:17 defeat to the Turks suffered on Day 1.
Pairs of the Round of 16: Neutral Athletes – Brazil, Canada – Ukraine, Australia – Slovakia, Montenegro – Malta, Romania – Argentina, Germany – China, Turkiye – Georgia, France – Portugal.
World Cup Division 2, Day 3
Australia – Singapore 27:6 (6:2, 8:1, 5:2, 8:1)
Germany – Hong Kong 34:5 (11:0, 8:1, 8:1, 7:3)
Canada – Portugal 17:6 (6:1, 4:1, 7:3, 0:1)
Georgia – Slovenia 24:7 (6:1, 6:4, 6:1, 6:1)
South Africa – Neutral Athletes 11:31 (2:8, 4:8, 3:7, 2:8)
China – Turkiye 16:13 (5:4, 2:1, 3:5, 2:2, PSO 4:1)
Brazil – Kazakhstan 15:8 (1:0, 4:3, 5:3, 5:2)
Montenegro – Great Britain 34:4 (5:1, 8:1, 10:0, 11:2)
Argentina – Ukraine 15:14 (4:4, 5:3, 3:4, 3:3)
Romania – Malta 14:9 (6:2, 3:3, 2:0, 3:4)
France – Poland 29:9 (8:1, 8:3, 8:2, 5:3)
Slovakia bye
- Neutral Athletes 85,3 (the average of TPI points)
- Canada 84,6
- Australia 84,1
- Montenegro 83
- Romania 82,1
- Germany 75,6
- Turkiye 72,5
- France 69,3
- Portugal 68,7
- Georgia 65,7
- China 65,3
- Argentina 64,6
- Malta 61,4
- Slovakia 60,2
- Uraine 57
- Brazil 54,1
- Kazakhstan 43
- Singapore 39,8
- Poland 38,8
- Slovenia 38,7
- Great Britain 38,6
- Hong Kong 36,6
- South Africa 33,1
More articles about the World Cup and the former World League
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
