After defeats in dramatic quarterfinals, Spain and Montenegro bounced back with victories in the classification matches at the Men’s World Cup Final Eight in Sydney, booking their places in the 5th-place game.
Spain defeated a young Croatian side 18:14, while Montenegro also scored 18 goals, beating Georgia 18:16.
The 5th-place game and the 7th-place match will be played tomorrow. Saturday’s schedule also includes the semifinals, with Australia facing Hungary (10:30 CET) and Italy taking on Greece (12:15 CET).
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2026 World Aquatics Men’s World Cup Final Eight, 5th-8th place semifinals
(quarters 5:4, 6:4, 3:2, 4:4)
Spain: Daura 4, Biel 4, Tahull 3, Cabanas 2, Valls 2, De Toro 2, Sanahuja 1.
Croatia: Pavlic 7, Dragas 2, Dragosevic 1, Susic 1, Burburan 1, Brubnjak 1, Dobric 1.
Croatia’s young squad once again showcased its potential, just as it had in the quarterfinal against Hungary. However, Spain dictated the pace throughout the contest.
The outstanding Vlaho Pavlic opened the scoring in the very first minute, giving Croatia a 1:0 lead. Spain quickly responded with three consecutive goals to move ahead 3:1 and never relinquished the advantage.
Early in the second quarter, the reigning world champions stretched their lead to four goals for the first time (9:5 and 10:6). Croatia didn’t surrender, though, and remained within striking distance. At the beginning of the fourth period, Dragas reduced the deficit to two goals at 11:9, raising hopes of another comeback.
Unai Biel (Spain) Photo by Krsto Vulović
Spain’s efficiency on the man advantage ultimately proved decisive. The Spaniards converted 10 of their 15 power-play opportunities and extended their advantage to five goals (16:11) in the 26th minute.
Croatia, which also had a good man-up conversion (6/9) responded with a 3:0 run, cutting the deficit to 16:14 with 3:52 remaining. However, that was as close as the young Croatians would get. Spain scored the final two goals of the match to seal the victory.
(quarters: 2:3, 5:6, 4:5, 5:4)
Georgia: Shushiashvili 4, Akhvlediani 3, Magrakvelidze 2, Bitadze 2, Tkeshelashvili 1, Dadvani 1, Vasic 1, Chikovani 1, Rogac 1.
Montenegro: Vuckovic 3, Matkovic 3, Perkovic 2, Vujovic 2, V. Raovic 2, Stupar 2, Dj. Radovic 1, Macic 1, Spaic 1, Gojkovic 1.
The game was a replay of the World Cup Division 2 final match, when Montenegro defeated Georgia 19:17. Today, two goals separated the rivals again, but the two matches weren’t similar as the results suggests. The duel in Division 2 saw many twists and turns. On the contrary, Montenegro was always in front in today’s encounter.
The Montenegrins got off to a flying start, scoring three goals in their first four possessions to take a 3:0 lead. Georgia recovered and cut the deficit by the end of the first period (2:3).
The second quarter was similar. Montenegro built a solid advantage while Georgia made a comeback, but the Georgians never managed to equalize. Counterattacks were Montenegro’s powerful weapon. In the middle of the second quarter, Balsa Vuckovic made it 7:3 from a fast break. But his team didn’t keep a 4-goal lead for long. Georgia went on a 3:0 run in 01:26 minutes and came close once again (6:7). At halftime, the Georgians trailed by two goals (7:9).
Balsa Vuckovic Photo by Krsto Vulovic
The teams traded goals through the third period until the score reached 13:10. Georgia had no response to Montenegro’s 13th goal. Montenegro’s goalkeeper, Ilija Radovic, made a couple of saves, while two left-handed players streched the margin to four. Djuro Radovic made it 14:10 after an assist by Aleksa Ukropina. Akvlediani reduced the gap to 11:14.
The Montenegrins increased their lead to five in the final period (16:11 and 17:12), before slowing down in the last couple of minutes. However, their win wasn’t in danger.
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