Game 41, 9.00, Qualification Round: Kazakhstan vs. Peru 11-8
Quarters: 4-1, 2-3, 3-1, 2-3
Referees: El Shamy (EGY), Shiraki (JPN)

KAZAKHSTAN: Alexandr Lopatkin, Stanislav Shvedov, Temirlan Myrzakhmet, Stanislav Savin 1, Miras Aubakirov 2, Sergey Bogomolov, Iliyas Shamshat, Egor Berbelyuk 4, Altay Altayev 1, Azat Bolatov, Alexey Rogalev, Nikita Prokhin 3, Vladislav Kolesnik. Head coach: Dmitry Khodzinskiy.
PERU: Jefferson Pinedo, Nick Pizarro, Javier Checa 1, Santiago Nunez 1, Gabriel Noriega, Rodrigo Gonzales, Eduardo Angulo, Piero Padro, Sebastian Morales, Diego Villar 4, Augusto Otero 2, Sebastian Dancourt, Sebastian Bravo. Head coach: Jose Luque Garcia.

Extramen
Kazakhstan: 6 for 11
Peru: 3 for 11

In the games of mixed fortunes the Kazakhs had the better finish but the Peruvians had also fine chances but they extramen play let them down. The Kazakhs started the encounter strongly, led 4-0 but by the middle of the second period it stood 4-4. Again, the Kazakhs produced a three goal rush, what’s more, the gap was expanded to four again with 3 minutes to go in the third (9-5). However, with just 3:15 remaining from the game, the South Americans came back to 9-8. 13 seconds later, Altayev netted a fine goal from action, killing the Peruvians’ momentum, who missed a couple of man-ups before conceding another goal 24 seconds from time.

Game 42, 10.20, Qualification Round: Argentina vs. South Africa 7-6
Quarters: 2-1, 1-3, 1-1, 3-1
Referees: Brooks (NZL), Daei Taghi (IRE)

ARGENTINA: Lucas Cattarozzi, Agustin Jewerowicz, Augustin Gonzalez, Guido Martino 1, Felipe Alfonso 1, Augusto Rey 1, Franco Chinellato 1, Guido Roggi 1, Carlos Camnasio 2, Tomas Manocchio, Augustun Villoria 1, Augustin Capriotti, Juan Sanz. Head coach: Federico Longas.
SOUTH AFRICA: Andy Durning, Wyatt Edwards, Dayne Jaega 2, Michael Brakspear, Paul Du Plessis, Nicholas Downes, Jason Evezard 1, Jordan Rumbelow, Kinon Haralambous 1, Luke Schoeling 2, Liam Neill, David Ron, Zubairi Cassiem. Head coach: Brad Rone.

Extramen
Argentina: 3 for 11
South Africa: 1 for 3

Penalties
Argentina: 2 for 2
South Africa: –

Another game of twists and turns. Argentina took the lead three times but the South Africans managed to level the score from time to time and they went front by the middle break (3-4). What’s more, Jaega expanded their lead to 3-5 after a minute into the third period – few would have guessed that the South Africans next (and last) goal would come 14.30 minutes later, half minute before the end. It happened, their attacks fell apart, the Argentinian defence worked much better and their offence also came alive. They scored four straight goals, one in the third quarter, two in 37 seconds in the fourth and the decisive one (for 7-5) 55 seconds from time. The South African answer came way too late to force the penalty shootout.


Game 43, 11.40, Qualification Round: Egypt vs. New Zealand 18-17 (pen)
Quarters: 3-5, 2-3, 4-3, 4-2, penalties: 5-4
Referees: Aimbetov (KAZ), Mackay (CAN)

EGYPT: Ayman Mohemed, Omar Elhadidi 1, Aly Abdelaziz 2, Ahmed Abdelaal 1, Walid Essameldin, Hassan Haroun 2, Ahmed Abdelghaftar 2, Andrew Bekheet 2, Abdelrahman Ahmed 1, Omar Zaki, Ahmed Roshdi 3, Ahmed Sayed, Karim Rizk. Head coach: Aly Warda.
NEW ZEALAND: Matthew Taylor, Lachlan Watson, Mathew Hansen 2, Tomati Harris 4, Cameron Hayes 1, Daniel Marsden, Jack Ross, Christopher Cormack 1, James McLean 2, Anton Sunde 2, Phillip Hargraves, Callum Lane 1, Denzel Njuelua. Head coach: Andrew Skora.

Extramen
Egypt: 2 for 5
New Zealand: 2 for 4

Penalties:
Egypt: 1 for 1
New Zealand: –

Sport can do this kind of things, too. The Egyptians never led in the entire match – but finally they prevailed in the shootout. New Zealand built a three-goal advantage twice in the game, in the first period (2-5) and at the half-time break (5-8) but they couldn’t keep it. The Africans fought hard and had the answers all the time. Soon after they levelled the score at 9-9, their rivals went ahead again and started the last period with a 9-11 lead. But that wasn’t enough. The Egyptians managed to equalise that, and also after 11-12 and 12-13 for the first time in this tournament, a penalty shootout decided the game and one miss cost the New Zealanders the win.

Game 44, 13.00, Qualification Round: Iran vs. Brazil 4-12
Quarters: 0-2, 2-2, 1-2, 1-6
Referees: Randall (RSA), Varela (PER)

IRAN: Hamed Karimi, Masoud Ahmadi 1, Amirhossein Raharjedi, Arshia Almasi, Amirhossen Kehany, Erfan Lashgari, Mohammadmahoi Heydari, Seyedsajjad Saviz 1, Sohel Rostamian 2, Mohammad Rasoul Feizabhaee, Hamidreza Moghaddam, Amin Ghavidelhajagha. Head coach: Lutzbernd Muller.
BRAZIL: Bernardo Oliveira, Pedro Stellet 3, Psanquevich William, Rafael Real, Roberto Freitas, Eduardo Wainberg 3, Lucas Pinto, Henrique Vasconcelos 3, Guilherme Gomes 3, Caio Pereira 3, Pedro Real, Wisricardo da Silva, Leonardo da Silva. Head coach: Angelo Coelho.

Extramen
Iran: 0 for 4
Brazil: 2 for 7

Penalties
Iran: 2 for 2
Brazil: 1 for 1

It was the morning session’s only one-sided battle – but it wasn’t that easy for Brazil until the final period. The Iranians battled hard, came back after being 0-4 down to 3-4 early in the third quarter but two goals in the last minutes put the writing on the wall. And two more fast goals from the first two Brazilian attacks ceased the contest in the fourth (3-8). In fact, Brazil scored eight unanswered goals while marching from 3-4 to 3-12, a penalty-goal in the dying seconds wasn’t even good for consolation.

Game 45, 16.00, Qualification Round: Spain vs. Canada 10-6
Quarters: 3-1, 4-3, 0-1, 3-1

Game statistics coming soon

The game had to be moved to the Tozkoparan indoor pool: the rain was so heavy at the championships' site that this seemed to be the only wise option. Spain kept the game under control for most of the time. Apart from a minor setback in the third quarter they managed to achieve what the wanted: qualifying without too much energy burnt.

Game 46, 17.20, Qualification Round: Japan vs. Turkey 14-15
Quarters: 1-8, 5-3, 3-1, 5-3
Referees: Putnikovic (MNE), Ivanovski (RUS)

JAPAN: Kazuki Hashimoto, Miki Sato 2, Shu Hamada 3, Kohei Inaba 5, Shingo Ishiyama 1, Kazuki Omoto, Shotaro Yamada 1, Suguru Kabasawa 1, Yushi Miyazawa, Yuki Shimizu, Taichi Yamada, Kiyomu Date 1, Yosuka Oguza. Head coach: Takamitsu Nakashima.
TURKEY: Emirham Ozdemir, Engin Ege Colak 2, Yordan Yordanoglu, Atamer Albayrak 1, Safak Simsek, Anil Yaman, Davud Sutcuoglu, Atakan Destici 2, Kaan Baskaya 1, Sertan Gectan 1, Cemil Bahadir Ozbakis 6, Kaan Ozden Yildiz 2, Burak Banda. Head coach: Mehmet Alp Olcaytu.

Extramen
Japan: 1 for 4
Turkey: 3 for 5

Penalties
Japan: 1 for 1
Turkey: 3 for 4

The Turks blew a 3 goal-lead against Italy a day before. This time, they led 1-8 after eight minutes. And they almost lost again. The first period was just like a dream for the local squad. They flew above the water, whatever they did it worked. A lead like this usually lasts until the end. But this is junior water polo where everything is possible. Especially when you have the Japanese on the other side. They didn’t give in, restarted their engines, scored three connecting goals in the second which gave them belief. They trailed 6-11 and in the third they came closer and closer. Three more goals brought them up to 9-11 and the Turks missed a penalty. Then Colak scored for 9-12 with 56 seconds to go but the scares hadn’t gone. With 2:46 remaining on the clock, the Japanese levelled the score at 13-13. Remember, it was 1-8 after the first period. With 1:40 to go it was 14-14, but then came the Turkish hero, Ozbakis, and he scored his sixth goal of the afternoon, which proved to be the game winner as the Japanese ran out of miracles for the remaining 29 seconds.

Game 47, 18.40, Qualification Round: United States vs. Croatia 6-8
Quarters: 1-2, 2-4, 1-1, 2-1
Referees: Severo (ITA), Kun (HUN)

USA: Alexander Wolf, Thomas Dunstan, Bryce Hoerman 3, Kent Inoue 1, Warren Snyder, David Kessler 1, Marco Stanchi, Nicholas Carniglia, Matthew Maier, Timothy Simenc, Nicholas Bisconti, Bennett Williams 1, Conrad Gordon. Head coach: Alex Rodriguez.
CROATIA: Fran Cubranic, Rino Buric 1, Ivan Domagoj Zovic 2, Marko Buconic, Nikola Pavlicevic, Marin Dajic 1, Antonio Duzevic, Dario Rakovac 1, Marin Delic, Loren Fatovic 3, Domagoj Jajcinovic, Mislav Vrlic, Marin Sparada. Head coach: Jakta Buljan.

Extramen
USA: 3 for 13
Croatia: 3 for 5

The Croatian boys did a very professional job, especially in the back: their defence, especially in man-downs was simply superb. They killed 10 US 6 on 5s, including four in a row in the opening period, enough to harm their rivals’ confidence. On the top of it they scored for 1-2 with 2 seconds left from the first period and added another goal while one second was shown on the shot-clock during their first attack of the second. They went 2-5 up late in the second and again, scored for 3-6 4 seconds before the middle break. Soon they gained a 3-7 lead in the third and despite a minor U.S. surge – they came back to 5-7 in the fourth quarter – the Croats managed to keep their calm, Zovic put away an extra after a time-out for 5-8 with 2:01 to go.

Game 48, 20.00, Qualification Round: Australia vs. Italy 3-9
Quarters: 0-3, 2-2, 0-2, 1-2
Referees: Inesta (ESP), Garibaldi (ARG)

AUSTRALIA: Joshua Zekulich, Timothy Reeves, Kieran Mulcahy, Christopher Perrott, Luke Pavillard 1, James Smith, Angus Lambie, Rhys Holden, Alex Bogunovich, Lachlan Pethick 1, Mitchell Marsden, Keenan Marsden 1, Jack Bell. Head coach: Andrew Yanitsas.
ITALY: Massimiliano Cicali, Giacomo Cannella 1, Christian Gandini 4, Nicolo Rocchi, Gaetano Baviera, Filippo Gavazzi, Emilio Caivavina, Eduardo Campopiano, Jacopo Alesiani 2, Mario Guidi, Biagio Borrelli 2, Gabriele Bassani, Fabio Viola. Head coach: Ferdinando Pesci.

Extramen
Australia: 2 for 8
Italy: 2 for 10

Penalties:
Australia: 1 for 2
Italy: –

A win in the good old Italian way: magnificent defending and effective attacking – finally the 'junior Settebello' came up with a flawless performance after some struggling in the prelims. A 0-3 opening period was the best start imaginable for the Italians while the Aussies needed a further 3:13 minutes to get on the scoreboard. The 'Azzuri' weren’t disturbed, scored two more for 1-5 which gave them comfort. And in the third period, they finished off their opponents by netting two goals in the same way, both came in the 23rd second of the given attack, right after their 6 on 5 expired. The fourth period was a bit tense but the Italian seal for the win was never questioned.