Game 25, 09.00, Group D: New Zealand vs. Canada 6-9
Quarters: 1-0, 1-5, 4-2, 0-2

Referees: Schulz (GER), Taghi (IRI)

NEW ZEALAND: Matthew Taylor, Lachlan Watson, Mathew Hansen, Tomati Harris 1, Cameron Hayes 2, Daniel Marsden 2, Jack Ross, Christopher Cormack, James McLean, Anton Sunde 1, Phillip Hargraves, Callum Lane, Denzel Njuelua. Head coach: Andrew Skora

CANADA: Liam Duncan, Evan Scoffield 2, Pavle Kotarac, Gaetan Patterson 1, Aleksa Gardijan, Paul Bucheff, Sever Topan 2, Sean Spooner 1, Jeremie Blanchard 2, Aria Soleimanipak 1, Bilel Talah, Giordano Marconato, Samuel Reiher. Head coach: Nikola Maric

Extramen
New Zealand: 0 for 1
Canada: 3 for 6

Penalties
New Zealand: 1 for 1
Canada: 1 for 1

The Canadians woke up a bit later than the actual start of the game, around 9.20AM in the second period and after failing to score in the first they netted five connecting goals for 1-5 which seemed to secure them comfort for the rest of the game. Perhaps they thought that as well and by the end of the third their rivals came back for 6-6. Their last two goals came within 12 seconds – but the Canadians managed to retake the lead with 10 seconds from the third with Patterson’s goal scored in a man-up. And the final eight minutes belonged to the Canadians, they hit twice from action without any answer from the other side.

Game 26, 10.20, Group D: Serbia vs. Croatia 11-9
Quarters: 3-4, 2-2, 3-2, 3-1

Referees: Severo (ITA), Bartels (AUS)

SERBIA: Alen Osmanovic, Aleksa Petrovski, Filip Jankovic, Filip Radojevic 2, Nebojsa Toholj, Ivan Gvozdanovic 1, Radomir Draskovic 1, Aleksandar Andrejevic 3, Nemanja Bakic, Marko Manojlovic 3, Ognjen Stojanovic 1, Borislav Jovanovic, Radoslav Filipovic. Head coach: Vladimir Vujasinovic

CROATIA: Fran Cubranic, Rino Buric 3, Ivan Domagoj Zovic 3, Marko Buconic, Nikola Pavlicevic, Marin Dajic 1, Antonio Duzevic, Dario Rakovac, Marin Delic 1, Loren Fatovic 1, Domagoj Jajcinovic, Mislav Vrlic, Marin Sparada. Head coach: Jakta Buljan

Extramen
Serbia: 3 for 8
Croatia: 3 for 11

Penalties
Serbia: 1 for 1
Croatia: –


Team Serbia - credit: Turkish Water Polo

The fierce rivalry between these two nations is just the same at age-group level in an early morning encounter – and the twists and turns recalled the excitement of the senior sides’ best clashes. The Serbs jumped to a 2-0 lead but by the end of the first the Croats went front by scoring twice in 33 seconds in the last minute (3-4). The Croats even extended the gap in the second (4-6) but the Serbs pulled one back before the middle break. The third was a real thriller, the Croatians took a 5-7 lead but the Serbs hit back with three connecting goals for 8-7 but their rivals levelled the score with 7 seconds to go (8-8). They were still tied at 9-9 but the Serbs had the better finish, Manojlovic put away his third and Gvozdanovic’s shot from an extra decided the outcome (11-9), as the Croats missed two 6 on 5s in the remaining three minutes.

Game 27, 11.40, Group A: Kazakhstan vs. United States 3-18
Quarters: 2-1, 0-6, 0-5, 1-6

Referees: Shiosaki (JPN), Zambrano (VEN)

KAZAKHSTAN: Alexandr Lopatkin, Stanislav Shvedov, Temirlan Myrzakhmet, Stanislav Savin, Miras Aubakirov, Sergey Bogomolov 1, Iliyas Shamshat, Egor Berbelyuk 1, Altay Altayev, Azat Bolatov 1, Alexey Rogalev, Nikita Prokhin, Vladislav Kolesnik. Head coach: Dmitry Khodzinskiy

USA: Alexander Wolf, Thomas Dunstan 1, Bryce Hoerman 1, Kent Inoue 4, Warren Snyder 2, David Kessler 1, Marco Stanchi 2, Nicholas Carniglia 2, Matthew Maier, Timothy Simenc, Nicholas Bisconti 1, Bennett Williams 4, Conrad Gordon. Head coach: Alex Rodriguez

Extramen
Kazakhstan: 1 for 4
USA: 3 for 6

Penalties
Kazakhstan: -
USA: 1 for 1

The first eight minutes promised some unexpected excitements as the Kazakhs took a 2-1 lead but the U.S. boys made order in the second period. They scored three goals in a span of 2:01 minutes and added another three till the middle break for a 2-7 lead. In fact they won the last three periods 17-1 which tells their story – with a forgettable first chapter.

Game 28, 13.00, Group A: Spain vs. Hungary 6-6
Quarters: 1-1, 1-3, 3-1, 1-2

Referees: Desper (BRA), Uz (TUR)

SPAIN: Miquel Linares, Sergi Cabanas 1, Bruno Navajas, Marc Urbalan, Xavier Serra 1, Agusti Perilas, Borja Fenoy, Miquel Gasulla 1, Roger Tahull 1, Pol Barbena, Guillem Garcia, Alejandro Bustos 2, David Allon. Head coach: David Martin

HUNGARY: Soma Vogel, Viktor Vadovics, Kristof Szejf Kiss, Kristof Szatmari 1, Frank Pellei 1, Oliver Hornyak, Adam Nagy, Erik Csacsovszky, Krisztian Manhercz 1, Simon Vogel 1, Kristof Toth, Peter Lovas 2, Benedek Molnar. Head coach: Gyorgy Horkai


Spain - credit: Turkish Water Polo

The second big clash of the morning also turned into a thriller. The Hungarians gained control in the second period, went 2-4 up and had a fine chance to break their rivals. They missed it and the Spaniards came alive in the third, defended brilliantly and attacked effectively while turning the cards and leading 5-4. And they went even further, scored a lucky one for 6-4 with 2:09 minutes to go. However, the Magyars weren’t done. They scored after a long time (it was quite long: their fourth goal came in the middle of the second so they needed 18:56 minutes to get the fifth), denied the following Spanish attack earned a 6 on 5 at 0:27 and Lovas sent the ball home with 0:05 remaining on the clock for 6-6.

Game 29, 16.00, Group B: Australia vs. Montenegro 4-8
Quarters: 2-1, 1-2, 0-3, 1-2

Referees: Kun (HUN), Stankevich (HUN)

AUSTRALIA: Joshua Zekulich, Timothy Reeves, Kieran Mulcahy 2, Christopher Perrott, Luke Pavillard 1, James Smith, Angus Lambie, Rhys Holden, Alex Bogunovich, Lachlan Pethick 1, Mitchell Marsden, Keenan Marsden, Jack Bell. Head coach: Andrew Yanitsas

MONTENEGRO: Milos Konatar, Marko Konatar 1, Bogdan Durdic 3, Petar Cetkovic, Vlado Popadic, Stefan Pjesivac 1, Aleksa Ukropina 2, Janko Krivokrapic, Dimitrije Krijestorac, Danilo Adzic, Nikola Moskov 1, Nicolas Saveljic, Arsenije Stanovic. Head coach: Mirko Vicevic

Extramen
Australia: 1 for 4
Montenegro: 4 for 9

The middle two periods showed the difference between the two sides: the Montenegrins were more effective in earning man-ups and they managed to score from them: in the second and in the third they netted 4 extramen goals from four opportunities and after trailing 3-2 they went 3-6 up by the end of the third. The Aussies pulled one back early in the fourth but two fast Montenegrin goals in 53 seconds for 4-8 (this time both from action) froze the rest of the match.


Game 30, 17.20, Group B: Iran vs. Argentina 9-10
Quarters: 1-2, 3-4, 3-3, 2-1

Referees: Inesta (ESP), O’Brien (IRE)

IRAN: Hamed Karimi, Masoud Ahmadi 2, Amirhossein Raharjedi, Arshia Almasi, Amirhossen Kehany 2, Erfan Lashgari, Mohammadmahoi Heydari 1, Seyedsajjad Saviz, Shoel Rostamian 2, Mohammad Rasoul Feizabhaee, Hamidreza Moghaddam 1, Amin Ghavidelhajagha 1. Arash Sharifi. Head coach: Lutzbernd Muller

ARGENTINA: Lucas Cattarozzi, Agustin Jewerowicz 1, Augustin Gonzalez, Guido Martino 3, Felipe Alfonso, Franco Chinellato, Augusto Rey 3, Guido Roggi 1, Carlos Camnasio 1, Tomas Manocchio, Agustin Villoria 2, Agustin Capriotti, Juan Sanz. Head coach: Federico Longas

Extramen
Iran: 2 for 9
Argentina: 4 for 13

Penalties
Iran: 1 for 1
Argentina: 2 for 2


IRI vs ARG - credit: Turkish Water Polo

Argentina kept the game under control for most of the time but the Iranians never gave in and came back from time to time. They were 1-5 down deep into the second but soon after the beginning of the third they got close at 5-6. The South Americans scored three straight goals in 2:40 minutes for 5-9 but before the final period it stood 7-9. Argentina converted a penalty for 7-10, Moghaddam pulled one back and pushed on, Heydari netted another one for 9-10 with 39 seconds left but that wasn’t enough to do a miracle.

Game 31, 18.40, Group C: Italy vs. South Africa 17-1
Quarters: 4-0, 4-0, 4-1, 5-0

Referees: Mackay (CAN), Varela (PER)

ITALY: Massimiliano Cicali, Giacomo Coppella 2, Christian Gandini 1, Nicolo Rocchi 1, Gaetano Baviera 1, Filippo Gavazzi, Emilio Calvinga 2, Eduardo Campopiano 3, Jacopo Alesiani 4, Mario Guidi 1, Biagio Borizelli 2, Gabriele Bassani, Fabio Viola. Head coach: Ferdinando Pesci

SOUTH AFRICA: Andy Durning, Wyatt Edwards, Dayne Jagger 1, Michael Brakspear, Paul Du Plessis, Nicholas Downes, Jason Evezard, Jordan Rumbelow, Kinon Haralambous, Luke Schoeling, Liam Neill, David Ron, Zubairi Cassiem. Head coach: Brad Rone
 
Extramen
Italy: 4 for 8
South Africa: 0 for 4

Penalties
Italy: –
South Africa: 0 for 1
 
After their shaky start – lost to Russia, barely survived a shocking defeat against Brazil – the Italians managed to gain some confidence by routing the South Africans. It was a totally one-sided game from the beginning to the end, the Africans’ lonely goal came from the first attack of the third period at 8-0.

Game 32, 20.00, Group C: Brazil vs. Turkey 16-19
Quarters: 3-5, 5-5, 3-4, 5-5

Referees: Ni (CHN), Radicevic (MNE)

BRAZIL: Bernardo Oliveira, Pedro Stellet, Psanquevich William, Rafael Real 3, Roberto Freitas 1, Eduardo Wainberg 1, Lucas Pinto, Henrique Vasconcelos, Guilherme Gomes 7, Caio Pereira 1, Pedro Real 3, Wisricardo da Silva, Leonardo da Silva. Head coach: Angelo Coelho

TURKEY: Emirham Ozdemir, Engin Ege Colak 3, Yordan Yordanoglu, Atamer Albayrak 3, Safak Simsek 2, Anil Yaman, Davud Sutcuoglu, Atakan Destici 3, Kaan Baskaya 4, Sertan Gectan 1, Cemil Bahadir Ozbakis 3, Kaan Ozden Yildiz, Burak Banda. Head coach: Mehmet Alp Olcaytu

Extramen
Brazil: 4 for 9
Turkey: 7 for 16

Penalties:
Brazil: 1 for 1
Turkey: 2 for 2


BRA vs TUR - credit: Turkish Water Polo

Yes, you can believe your eyes: 35 goals were scored in the game which saw almost no defending at either end but vibrant attacking play, plenty of excitement. Finally the hosts prevailed despite an incident in the dying minutes. It was close for a while but in the second part of the second period the Turks managed to score three consecutive goals after 7-7 and that was the key for their win. Afterwards the Brazilians tried desperately to catch up with them but the hosts always found a way to widen the gap. It was 11-12 for a while but then came two Turkish goal, then after 14-15 the hosts jumped to a 14-18 lead. Another turning point might have come here when Yildiz was expelled from the game for a brutal punch with 2:12 to go but even playing 5 on 6 in the remaining time the Turks managed to score once more while Brazil could net only two – Gomes tried everything he closed with 7 goals – and that wasn’t enough this time.