The Greeks lost the second quarter of the match 6-1 and were trailing by three goals with less than five minutes left in the game, but one second before the whistle, Alexandros Papanastasiou sold the man advantage that turned the game around.
The Americans will play the Canadian or French national team in order to reach the quarter-finals, and if the paper form is confirmed and they win, they will face the Hungarian national team among the eight.
“It was a fun game, the Americans dominated the whole time, they played especially well in the first half and in the first three quarters. I wouldn’t even say they didn’t do well in the fourth, the Greeks simply felt that they were going forward without concessions, because they believed that in the end they would win anyway.
The two teams met only three weeks ago in the bronze medal match in the FIFA World Cup final held in Los Angeles, the Hungarians won the “first place” after five meters, but because of the host team’s caution, the last 4:24 minutes was returned after two hours, and then the hosts won the bronze medal.
At the World Cup, the first five-meter duel took place at the group stage: the national teams of Serbia and Montenegro were decided by a penalty shootout, which led to the success of the first.
The two winners of the World Cup finals will qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
results:
Water Polo: Men’s Championship, Group Stage, Round 3: Group A: Greece-USA 15-14 (3-3, 1-6, 4-2, 7-3) Australia-Kazakhstan 22-6 (7-2, 3-0, 4-2, 8-2)
The final result of the group: 1. (And the quarter-finals) Greece 9 points, 2. The United States 6, 3. Australia 3, 4 Kazakhstan 0
Group D: Spain – Republic of South Africa 27-6 (8-2, 7-2, 8-2, 4-0) Serbia and Montenegro 17-15 (3-6, 4-2, 2-3, 4-2, 4-2) – by five meters.
The final result of the group: 1. (and reached the quarter-finals) Spain 9 points, 2. Serbia 5, 3. Montenegro, 4. South Africa 0
Later:
Group Two: China – Italy 10.30 France – Canada 13.30 Group C:
previously:
Hungary-Argentina 21-13 (7-1, 5-4, 4-4, 5-4)
LATER: Croatia-Japan at 12:00 noon
(MTI)
