Spain, Greece, USA and Hungary into quarterfinals

DAY 4 MATCH REPORTS

Match 24, Group B, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 12 NEW ZEALAND 6 (4-1, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1)

USA won its group with a third win, albeit with a penalty-shootout win in the mix. Tonight, it was a plucky New Zealand who fell to the reigning champion.

USA started strongly and had four goals up before the Kiwis could blink. In fact, New Zealand only made the scoresheet at 0:36 by Holly Dunn from the top. Amber Nowaczek fired in the first two goals for USA with Katherine O’Dea and Sydney Lowell virtually unguarded on the deep left. Bailee Swindells opened on counter for New Zealand in the second quarter and Allison Cohen had her penalty attempt saved. Bianca Pennington skipped in a 10m shot for 4-3 and New Zealand was back in the match. Rosalie Hassett dropped one in on extra from the top and Cohen nailed her first from the empty region on the bottom left — USA’s third goal from this position. Tallulah Goldsworthy buried an acute right-angle shot for the Kiwis from very deep right and the margin was back to two at 6-4 by halftime.

Dunn put away a penalty to start the third quarter for 6-5. However, Nowaczek cross-caged from the top right and Cohen converted a penalty foul for 8-5. New Zealand called a timeout to no extra points on the board and Cohen overstepped the mark on her next penalty attempt. However, she went to centre forward and round-armed a shot into goal for her third of the match and 11^th of the tournament. A USA timeout in the fourth period yielded nothing as neither team could find a gap in the first three minutes. The first goal came from Lowell on counter with a lob finish. Bella Knight missed her penalty attempt, but the ball fell conveniently for her to collect and score for 11-5 at 3:08. O’Dea scored from the top and Pennington grabbed a second after a timeout on extra for 12-6 just inside the final minute.

Match Heroes
Nowaczek, Cohen and Lowell grabbed three each and O’Dea two for player of the match. Dunn and Pennington scored twice each for New Zealand.

Turning Point
 The 4-0 start played a huge part in the tenor of the match. From there it was an 8-6 match.

Stats Don’t Lie
USA converted two from seven and defended seven from nine on extra. USA went two from five on penalty to New Zealand one from one. Both teams made six steals and 29 shots each. Fairly evenly balanced despite the scoreline.

Bottom Line
USA is defending its title and every match counts, even if New Zealand is still winless from three matches. This proves there is nothing much between the top teams.

Match 23, Group D, ISRAEL 10 CHINA 11 (3-0, 2-4, 1-5, 4-2)

China made it three from three in its group, giving it plenty of confidence heading into the crossovers while Israel was unlucky not to have had at least a shootout.

Israel held all the cards in the first quarter with a 3-0 start and then proceeded to make it 4-0 before China could make the scoresheet. By the end of the third period, China had the deck at 9-6 in its favour — a magnificent 9-2 turnaround. Israel scored two centre-forward goals in the first quarter and Yuval Raz sent in a missile from the carpark for 4-0 a minute into the second period. China scored two goals either side of saving a penalty attempt and captain Miya Tirosh, the unfortunate penalty shooter, swam up to take another and converted for 5-2 ahead. China scored twice more by halftime for 5-4, Zhang Yumian gaining her second.

At the start of the third period, it was Zhang Yumian who converted a penalty foul for 5-5. Gili Borenstein scored from the deep right on action to regain the lead for Israel. That’s when China, boosted by a voluble crowd, scored through Shao Yixin on extra and twice through Li Jianyu, on counter and from the left side of the pool after an extra play had expired. Zhang Yumian fired a wishful shot from eight metres and it went in with two seconds left on the clock to hand China a 9-6 advantage at the final break.

After a solid defensive period, Israeli Maya Katzir skipped in a goal from point on action to narrow the margin to two. Zhang Jingwen scored from top left and Raz went on a centre-forward drive to score — 10-8 at 4:11. Goals were traded and Israel came up with a penalty shot at 0:59, which Teva Dorfman converted for 11-10. China missed an attempt and Israel went to a timeout at 0:30 and sent its goalkeeper up. Unfortunately, the ball was stolen by China, it went to a timeout with three seconds left and retained the ball for the victory.

Match Heroes
Zhang Yumian with her four goals, was named player of the match and now has 13 goals for the tournament. Raz, Rahum and Tirosh scored twice each for Israel and goalkeeper Rani Kakuzin made a magnificent 13 saves.

Turning Point
China coming from 4-0 down to 9-6 ahead and then Israel coming back to 11-10 behind.

Stats Don’t Lie
China converted only three from 11 on extra and defended four from five. China made six steals to one and buried its one penalty attempt and stopping one of Israel’s three. China shot 33 times to 29.

Bottom Line
China is getting better and better and three victories assured it of group supremacy and a shot at the big league.

Match 22, Group B, AUSTRALIA 8 HUNGARY 18 (4-5, 1-5, 1-5,2-3)

Hungary made sure of a top-two finish and advancement to the quarterfinals with a quality win over Australia, who takes third place in the group.

Australia caught Hungary on the hop. Eszter Varro scooped in a centre-forward goal two minutes in and then the Aussies snapped back with three goals — two on extra — for a 3-1 lead. Natasa Lendvai replied from the top and on counter for 3-3 just inside the three-minute mark. Bless Daly drove into open space, gained the ball and scored for 4-3. Hungary, however, regained the ascendancy through hard-shooting Kata Hajdu and Zoe Lendvay, both on extra to give Hungary a 5-4 advantage at the first break. Daly equalised on extra in the first attack of the second quarter and there the goals dried up for the Aussies despite the intensity of their play. Hungary was sharper, quicker and more agile and sent in five unanswered goals to go to halftime at 10-5. Five different shooters were employed by Hungary with Natasa Lendvai converting a penalty for her third goal and sixth for the tournament.

Hungary had a possible goal disallowed by VAR early in the third period but made up for it through Hajdu at centre forward and Natasa Lendvai on counter for 12-5 at 4:49. Hungary called a timeout at 3:16 and Hajdu bounced in a shot from the top for 13-5. Zoe Lendvay drilled from the top and soon after Olivia Muir stole the ball off  an opponent and swam to the Hungarian goal for a counter-attack goal — 14 and a half minutes after the previous Aussie goal. Zoe Lendvay converted a penalty foul inside the final minute.

Hajdu started the final quarter on extra and Australia sent in a slider from the top thanks to Emma Pittman and a counter-attack goal from Sienna Owen for 16-8. Natasa Lendvai and Luca Bereczki, for her first of the week, both scored from the top on action. Another long break to study a possible violent action ensued, leaving players to cool down in the pool at 2:47. Varro was suspended with a red card with substitution. Two minutes later Australia’s Bridget Cranley was red-carded, although another long visit to VAR followed while Hungary had a timeout. The referees then awarded another timeout , supposedly to Australia and Australia went on attack and shot with the possession hooter sounding after the shot had been rebounded. Australia snapped in the rebound but it was disallowed. Players and officials were stunned just as much as the spectators were.

Match Heroes
Natasa Lendvai was the star of the match with five goals, one more than Hajdu and two more than Zoe Lendvay. Hungary’s goalkeeper Luca Torma (above) was awarded player of the match. Daly scored a pair for Australia.

Turning Point
Those five unanswered goals in the second quarter made the match even harder for Australia.

Stats Don’t Lie
Hungary went five from nine on extra and stopped 11 from 14. It scored two penalty goals, made nine steals to three and shot 32 times to 30.

Bottom Line
Hungary is here for a medal and showed just how powerful it can be with a vast range of power shooters who are also fast shooters. Australia had too many wayward passes, something its will need to address.

Match 21, Group A, NETHERLANDS 5 SPAIN 13 (3-3, 1-5, 1-2, 0-3)

Spain made sure of group supremacy with a third victory and slightly easier than the penalty-shootout win over  Greece on day three.

Spain made the running in the first quarter and each time Netherlands levelled. Pien Gorter levelled at one from a 10m shot and Queralt Anton had her penalty rejected and it bounced back into her hand for an easy rebound score at 2-1. Gorter converted extra to be the only double scorer of the period. Gorter hit her third and eighth for the tournament from centre forward to start the second quarter. Then it was all Spain as Carlota Penalver added another two from her first-quarter goal; Anton gained her second and Itziar Almeda struck twice — on penalty and from the left-hand-catch position for the 8-4 lead.

Tess van der Meer breathed hope into the Dutch psyche with a score on extra from the top, only for Anton to lob the goalkeeper on extra for 9-5 at 3:18 in the third period. A Dutch timeout came to nothing and with just 14 seconds left on the clock, Luna Vara scored from left-hand-catch for 10-5 by the final break. The final quarter involved a lot of swimming and tight defence as neither side could pierce a gap. It was at 4:01, that Almeda scored her third goal from the point position to edge the margin to six. Ariadna Temprano drove down the right post and received the ball, sat up and blasted in for 12-5 at 2:03 for her fourth goal. Irene Briceno netted her first of the week on extra from the top on the next Spanish attack for 13-5 and the victory.

Match Heroes
Penalver, Anton and Almeda scored three each for Spain with the latter collecting the match award. Gorter was the best for the Dutch with three goals.

Turning Point
Spain’s five-goal haul in the second quarter that turned the match from 4-3 behind to 8-4 ahead.

Stats Don’t Lie
Spain hammered in 31 shots to 16 — a telling statistic. Spain converted four from seven on extra and defended seven from 10. Spain converted two from three on penalty and dominated the steals 12-7.

Bottom Line
Spain wants to go better than fifth this year and is making great strides having beaten Italy, Greece and now Netherlands for top position in the group. The Dutch are winless, but stranger things have happened.

Match 20, Group A, ITALY 4 GREECE 11 (1-3, 1-3, 1-2, 1-3)

This was a battle for second place in the group and possibly higher. Greece made sure Italy was subserviant and shot out to a 6-1 advantage that Italy could not recover from.

Greece started the stronger, scoring twice on extra and a third on counter. Italy’s sole goal, two minutes in, was to Emma Bacelle from the top left. There were plenty of chances with Italy taking eight shots and Greece 13. Italian goalkeeper Olimpia Sesena made five saves in the period. Theofaneia Galanopoulou, who scored Greece’s counter-attack goal in the first quarter, converted extra from centre forward to start the second period. Efstathia Kovatsevits gained her second goal with a drill from the top and Ariadni Karampetsou converted extra for 6-1. Bianca Rosta scored after the excluded player returned and the ball stopped on the line, going over enough for 6-2 before the halftime buzzer.

Goals were traded to start the third period and then after some deliberation with VAR, Karampetsou was red-carded for a violent action. Greece carried on doing what it does best by going on counter for Galanopoulou to score her third and shunt Greece’s margin to five, which held until the third-quarter buzzer. Italy started the fourth with a centre-forward backhand goal by Giulia Bozzo, only her second goal of the tournament. Aspasia Fouraki made sure of Greece’s dominance with consecutive goals, the first a rifle shot from the top and the second a cross-cage lob from the right-hand-catch position, bringing up double figures. She scored a third from the top left at 1:03 to secure the victory.
Match Heroes

Fouraki with her three goals in the final quarter was special. Kovatsevits and Galanopoulou also scored three with the latter named player of the match. Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou made 10 saves in the Greek goal. For Italy, goalkeeper Sesena finished with 11 saves. For Italy, Bacelle was the only double scorer.

Turning Point
Having a 6-1 lead just short of halftime was the biggest turn of all. From there it was an easy slope to travel.

Stats Don’t Lie
Greece converted three from seven on extra and defended five from six. Greece had 39 shots to Italy’s 28.

Bottom Line
Greece was dominant and will be thinking the two-goal loss to Spain could have been reversed on day two. There is plenty of time for Greece to manoeuvre into the medal reckoning. Italy needs to work harder to advance to the last day.

Match 19, Group D, MEXICO 9 TURKIYE  16 (2-4, 0-3, 5-3, 2-6)

Turkiye gained its first victory in Chengdu, setting it up for the crossovers while Mexico has yet to taste a win.

Turkiye made the plays in the first quarter, making Mexico draw level at one and two before sliding out to a 4-2 advantage by the first buzzer. Hanzade Dabbag, who scored a goal in each of her team’s first two matches, had three goals by quarter time, all from the left side and once very deep. Both teams scored an extra-play goal. Mina Bozkurt, who also came into the match with two goals, opened the second quarter from deep right to give Turkiye a 5-2 lead. Arik Bilge, who scored five goals against China, accepted a cross pass to score and Eda Moroglu also received a cross pass, on extra, for 7-2, the halftime score.

Mexico bounced back into the match with extra enthusiasm in the third period, winning it 5-3 and closing to 10-7 behind. It could have been two goals in arrears but Mia Brondo’s late centre-forward strike was disallowed. Mercedes Feliciano scored a centre-forward goal. The final period  solidified Turkiye’s victory, winning it 6-2 with two penalty goals. For Mexico, Brondo gained her second goal on extra and Victoria Feliciano punched in the final goal from the top for 16-9 a minute from time.

Match Heroes
Turkiye’s Bilge collected the match award with her four goals and nine in Chengdu. Dabbag and Derin Pehlivanoglu scored three apiece. For Mexico, goalkeeper Alma Luna was best with 12 saves while three of her team-mates scored twice each.

Turning Point
Turkiye moving from 2-2 to 7-2 and 8-7 to 11-7 early in the fourth quarter.

Stats Don’t Lie
Turkiye scored three from five on extra and defended five from nine. Turkiye converted three of four penalty attempts and shot 32 times to 20. Both teams made eight steals.

Bottom Line
Turkiye deserved the victory, giving it a boost ahead of the crossovers. Mexico scored 11 goals before today and added nine more.

Match 18, Group C, CANADA 12 CROATIA 20 (3-5, 5-6, 1-7, 3-2)

Croatia notched its third victory and 64^th goal after three matches and is looking good for the crossovers. Canada has two wins from its three matches.

Croatia desperately wanted a third consecutive win and set about it in competent fashion.

With the first four goals and three to captain Jelena Butic, Croatia was off a to a magnificent start. Goals were traded to 5-2 and Cianne Benjamin scored twice with the second from the penalty line after Croatian goalkeeper Lana Korac muddied her copybook with three major fouls. The second was for sinking and the third because she went back into the cage, earning a penalty, making it her third major foul. It was the second match of the day to lose a goalkeeper in this fashion.

Nina Jazvin started the second quarter with a centre-forward goal for 6-3. It was to be a busy period in which goals flowed freely. Canada pulled it back to 6-4 behind and Croatia stretched it to 8-4 thanks to a Butic counter-attack goal. Canada slipped in the next three to be just a goal down, but Butic used her long shot from the right-hand-catch position twice for 10-8 and Ria Glas gained her second from two metres for the 11-8 halftime advantage. Benjamin picked up her third for her 10^th in Chengdu and Butic was on 11 goals. Neli Jankovic was in the mix and gained her 11^th goal.

Blood kept being spilled in the third period as Croatia went rampant at 7-1. Jankovic scored three, including one from penalty, and Srhoj netted two more to give her eight for the tournament. The one shining light for Canada was Natalia Blazevic’s second goal from the top. Croatia is the full package.

Jaya Basu scored a couple at the top of the final period to bring Canada within seven. However, Jazvin turned strongly at centre forward and the margin was eight again.

Match Heroes
Butic was in rare form with seven goals, although from 13 attempts. It boosted her tally in Chengdu to 12 goals. Jankovic’s four lifts her to 14. She was named player of the match. Benjamin scored three for 10 goals in total for Canada.

Turning Point
The opening four goals and a four-goal spurt either side of the final break.

Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia scored only one from four on extra to Canada’s four from nine. Canada also sent in three from four on penalty and Croatia one from one. Croatia made 11 steals to five and took 39 shots to 35.

Bottom Line
Croatia is making a statement in Chengdu and we await how well it will perform against the leading nations.

Match 17, Group C, SOUTH AFRICA 11 THAILAND 14 (1-3, 3-2, 2-5, 5-4)

Thailand gained its first win in Chengdu and the first at this level of competition. South Africa still has to await that reward.

Thailand came through the first half as victor, only just, as a last-gasp, sliding South African shot evaded the goalkeeper but stopped short of going fully over the line, which could have sent the teams to the long break at 5-5. Thus, Thailand had the ascendancy, coming from one down to lead 2-1 with three minutes left of the first quarter and then 3-1 after South Africa blew a penalty attempt and Raksina Rueangsappaisan scored from the top right. Thanita Kongchouy plugged one from centre forward for an agreeable 4-1 advantage only for Tori Voke to score on counter. Yanisa Turon who scored a lob goal in the first quarter, converted extra for 5-2 at 3:26. Voke went on another counter for 5-3 and Mia Loizides did the same for 5-4, receiving her long pass from goalkeeper Ogechi McMurray.

Although South Africa levelled at five and six, Thailand had the better of the remaining six minutes, scoring four unanswered goals, two on extra and one from the penalty line. The final goal came extra less than a second from the buzzer off the hand of Rueangsappaisan for her third goal and eighth for the tournament.

Voke started the fourth quarter with another counter-attack goal and Roxy Uys scored her first goal at centre forward when heavily guarded, making it 10-8 in arrears. Thailand scored the next three to put the match beyond doubt at 13-8 despite South Africa’s late charge of three goals to one for 14-11. South Africa’s ninth goal came when Thai goalkeeper Nareenum Kittipolpuwarag came unstuck after giving up a penalty foul in the first quarter. She interfered with a free throw, so was ejected and South Africa made the most of a field player in goal. She returned and gave up a second penalty foul — her third — and was replaced by second goalkeeper Kanruetai Riangsuntea who could not stop Loizides’ shot. Alexa de Villiers scored her second with a centre-forward drive to finalise the scoring.

Match Heroes
Kittipolpuwarag made 13 saves for an excellent match, although she was fouled out. Turon top scored with four and was awarded the player of the match. Kongchouy and Rueangsappaisan both scored three goals. Voke topped the South African scoring with three goals.

Turning Point
The four Thai goals at the end of the second quarter that separated the teams and kept South Africa at arm’s length for the remainder of the match.

Stats Don’t Lie
Thailand went seven from 10 on extra and South Africa two from two. Thailand converted one penalty and South Africa one from two. Both teams took 10 steals and South Africa had the higher shooting number at 33 to 26.

Bottom Line
Thailand was probably the better team on the day. South Africa is getting better, but with three losses, a high ranking seems out of the question.

Final Points    

Group A: ESP 8, GRE 7, ITA 3, NED 0
Group B: USA 8, HUN 7, AUS 3, NZL 0
Group C: CRO 9, CAN 6, THA 3, RSA 0
Group D: CHN 9, ISR 6, TUR 3, MEX 0

Day 5 Schedule

Crossovers

Classification 1-12 Crossovers
Match 27. 10:00. Italy v Canada
Match 28. 11:30. Netherlands v Croatia

Classification 13-16 Crossovers
Match 25. 13:00. Thailand v Mexico
Match 26. 14:30. Turkiye v South Africa

Classification 1-12 Crossovers
Match 29. 17:00. Australia v Israel
Match 30. 18:30. New Zealand v China

https://www.worldaquatics.com/athletes?gender=&discipline=&nationality=&name=Amber%20Nowaczek