Croatia and the United States will play in the final of the 7th World U18 Championships in Rio Maior.
Team USA secured its first-ever medal at the World Championships for the U18 players. Croatia has won one medal at the Worlds in this age group so far. It happened in 2016, when the Croats clinched gold at the 3rd edition, held in Podgorica.
Team USA beat Montenegro 17:13, and Croatia downed Spain only after a penalty shootout, 18:17, in the semifinals.
Both Montenegro and Spain arrived at the semifinals unbeaten.
The Americans controlled the match against Montenegro from the early stages, taking a 5:1 lead early in the second quarter. Several minutes later, Montenegro cut its deficit to 1 goal (5:6), but Team USA responded with a 3:0 run, jumping to a 9:5 lead (18th minute). The Montenegrins came close to their rival once again deep into the third period (7:9), but the Americans earned a safe 18:13 advantage before the final eight minutes. Anderson, Kaneko and Tucker scored three goals each for the USA, while Montenegro’s Durutovic found the net six times.
An encounter between Spain and Croatia was filled with excitement, as the score was tied at every number from 1 to 9. After reaching a score of 9:9, Croatia built a two-goal lead at 11:9. However, the Spaniards kept Croatia goalless for the next six minutes while scoring two goals, leveling the score at 11:11 in the 26th minute.
For the remainder of the game, the teams traded goals. Croatia took the lead three times, and Spain managed to equalize on each occasion. Suarez tied the score at 14:14 with just four seconds remaining, prolonging the match to a penalty shootout. Croatia’s goalkeeper, Batos, saved two shots during the shootout, sending his team to the final. Dragas was the best scorer for Croatia with five goals, while Spain’s Fernandez scored four.
2026 World U18 Championships, Rio Maior, Day 7
Semifinals
Montenegro – USA 13:17 (1:2, 4:5, 3:6, 5:4)
Spain – Croatia 17:18 (4:4, 4:4, 2:3, 4:3, PSO 3:4)
5th-8th place semifinals
Greece – Hungary 18:13 (4:2, 4:5, 6:4, 4:2)
Serbia – Italy 18:15 (5:3, 6:7, 2:2, 5:3)
9th-12th place classification, semifinals: New Zealand – China 13:8, Canada – Turkiye 15:19
17th-place match: Argentina – South Africa 10:11
19th-place match: Hong Kong – South Africa 9:20
Articles about World men’s junior and youth championships
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