Croatia, the home team, and Spain, the 2024 World Cadet Champion, will play in the final of the 2026 World U16 Championships in Zagreb tomorrow at 20:30 CET.
Both semifinals were extremely exciting and were decided by a single goal. Croatia secured its ticket for the final in regular time, beating Serbia 12:11, and Spain recorded a victory over Team USA in a penalty shootout (17:16)
The first semifinal was a water polo classic between two big water polo nations. Croatia narrowly defeated Serbia 12:11 in a highly anticipated clash between these two water polo powerhouses.
Serbia started strong, taking an early 5:2 lead late in the first quarter. However, Croatia managed to equalize at 6:6 in the 11th minute. The Serbians regained a two-goal lead early in the third period (8:6).. That was followed by Croatia’s 3:0 run, putting them ahead 9:8 befre the final eight minutes.
In the last quarter, Serbia regained control, taking the lead twice (10:9 and 11:10). Ultimately, Croatia scored the last two goals of the match. With just 69 seconds left, Lokas netted the decisive goal to make it 12:11, and the hosts managed to maintain that slim advantage until the final buzzer.
Spain reached the semifinals after defeating Italy in a penalty shootout yesterday during the quarterfinals. Today, the Spaniards faced another intense match, ultimately triumphing over the USA with a score of 17:16 after a 10:10 draw in regular time.
During the 24 minutes of regular time, Spain only held the lead twice. They were ahead 3:2 at the end of the first quarter and again, at 7:6, early in the third period. However, the USA responded with two quick goals, entering the final quarter with an 8:7 lead. They extended their advantage to 9:7 with less than five minutes remaining. The USA seemed to have control as they entered the final minute with a solid 10:8 lead.
In a dramatic finish, Adri Lopez scored for Spain, cutting the deficit to one with 40 seconds left. Just 30 seconds later, he equalized the game at 10:10.
The penalty shootout saw both teams convert their first six attempts without any misses. However, in the seventh round, an American player failed to score, which led to Spain’s victory. The USA will now compete against Serbia for the bronze medal.
Brazil and Russia will play in the 5th-place match.
Brazil returned to the winning track with an 11:9 victory over Egypt. The Africans have what to regret. After a slow start and a 2:4 first quarter, Egypt started dictating the pace and earned an 8:6 lead in the 14th minute. But Brazil was able to make a comeback. The South Americans scored four straight goals in as many minutes and turned around a 2-goal deficit to a 10:8 advantage midway through the final period. In the rest of the match each side scored a goal apiece.
Russia and Italy suffered losses in thrilling quarterfinal matches. Russia recovered from its defeat better than the Italians and beat the “Settebello” thanks to a good finish. Italy opened the match with a 3:1 lead. Russia responded with a 5:0, going to 6:3 midway through the third period. The Italians refound their rhythm, leveled at 6:6 and 7:7, but the Russians had the last laugh, scoring a winner in the 23rd minute from a penalty – 8:7.
Hungary and Greece easily beat Malta and Turkiye to advance to the 9th-place match.
There were few exciting games in the classification matches today. One of these was a neck-and-neck race involving Romania and Australia in the 13th- 16th place classification. Defenses dominated, and the goalscorers got tired on the sixth day of the championships. Each side scored a goal apiece in each quarter. After a 4:4 draw in regular time, Australia achieved an 8:5 victory after a penalty shootout.
Semifinals
Croatia – Serbia 12:11 (4:5, 2:2, 3:1, 3:3)
Spain – USA 17:16 (3:2, 2:4, 2:2, 3:2, PSO 7:6)
Classification 5th – 8th place, semifinals
Egypt – Brazil 9:11 (2:4, 4:1, 2:3, 1:3)
Italy – Russia 7:8 (2:0, 1:3, 1:3, 3:2)
Classification 9th – 12th place, semifinals
Hungary – Malta 12:2 (4:0, 3:1, 2:0, 3:1)
Greece – Turkiye 14:5 (4:0, 2:1, 3:1, 5:3)
Classification 13th – 16th place, semifinals
Germany – New Zealand 11:8 (4:1, 2:2, 3:2, 2:3)
Romania – Australia 5:8 (1:1, 1:1, 1:1, 1:1, PSO 1:4)
Classification 17th – 20th place, semifinals
Georgia – Singapore 15:16 (5:3, 3:3, 1:2, 4:5, PSO 2:3)
Netherlands – Montenegro 7:15 (2:4, 0:4, 2:4, 3:3)
Classification 21st – 24th place
Kazakhstan – Canada 7:9 (3:4, 1:3, 2:1, 1:1)
Poland – Peru 7:5 (0:0, 2:3, 2:1, 3:1)
Classification 25th – 28th place, semifinals
China – Slovenia 8:7 (2:2, 1:1, 2:1, 3:3)
Israel – Ukraine 5:6 (0:0, 3:2, 1:1, 1:3)
Classification 29th – 32nd place, semifinals
Portugal – Zimbabwe 18:2 (5:0, 4:1, 5:0, 4:1)
South Africa – Czech Republic 12:7 (4:1, 3:1, 3:3, 2:2)
Group 33rd – 36th place
Round 2: Mexico – Malaysia 11:7, Puerto Rico – Uruguay 8:6.
Standings: 1. Mexico 6, 2. Malaysia 3, 3. Puerto Rico 3, 4. Uruguay 0.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
