2024 WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- February 4-17, 2024 (Water Polo)
- Competiton Central
After beginning men’s competition on Monday, the second round of group play was on Wednesday in Doha.
Group A
| Won | Lost | Tied | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
| ESP | 2 | 0 | – | 31 | 11 | 20 | 6 |
| AUS | 1 | 1 | – | 37 | 20 | 17 | 3 |
| CRO | 1 | 1 | – | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| RSA | 0 | 1 | – | 12 | 50 | -38 | 0 |
After falling to Croatia in their first game, Australia bounced back earning a 29-7 win over South Africa. The team got out to a quick start with a 3-0 lead less than three minutes into the first quarter. Blake Edwards led the way for Australia shooting 6/6 on the day.
A one-goal advantage each quarter led Spain over Croatia 10-6. Spain, the defending bronze medalists, were led by Alvaro Granados Ortego who had three goals.
Group B
| Won | Lost | Tied | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
| FRA | 2 | 0 | – | 32 | 20 | 12 | 6 |
| GRE | 2 | 0 | – | 47 | 10 | 37 | 6 |
| BRA | 0 | 2 | – | 15 | 39 | -24 | 0 |
| CHN | 0 | 2 | – | 15 | 40 | -25 | 0 |
Greece continued their momentum after a win over China on Monday and defeated Brazil 23-4 today. Greece’s goalkeeper Emmanouil Zerdevas kept Brazil scoreless in the third quarter while Greece scored six times in the same time frame.
France and China were tied up at 3 apiece at the end of the first quarter. Heading into the final quarter with a 9-6 lead, France sealed the game scoring seven goals in the fourth as they won 16-9.
Group C
| Won | Lost | Tied | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
| SRB | 2 | 0 | – | 31 | 16 | 15 | 6 |
| USA | 1 | 1 | – | 29 | 16 | 13 | 4 |
| MNE | 1 | 1 | – | 17 | 25 | -8 | 2 |
| JPN | 0 | 1 | – | 15 | 35 | -20 | 0 |
After losing in penalty shoot-outs against Montenegro, the US men bounced back and defeated Japan 18-5. The US scored four goals in each of the first three quarters before scoring six in the fourth. Ben Hallock led the way with five goals.
Serbia defeated Montenegro 14-6 as Dusan Mandic shot 4/5 on the day. Serbia’s goalkeeper Radoslav Flipovic made 12 saves.
Group D
| Won | Lost | Tied | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
| HUN | 2 | 0 | – | 24 | 17 | 7 | 5 |
| ITA | 1 | 1 | – | 42 | 12 | 30 | 4 |
| ROU | 1 | 1 | – | 33 | 18 | 15 | 3 |
| KAZ | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | 58 | -52 | 0 |
The defending world champions of Hungary and Italy battled it out the whole game. Both teams scored the same amount of goals in each quarter, 2 in the first, 2 in the second, 3 in the third, and 2 in the fourth to force the game into penalty shoot-outs. Italy had a last-second shot by Edoardo di Somma with one second to go in the game, but Hungary’s goalkeeper Soma Vogel made the save. Hungary earned the win 15-14.
Romania defeated Kazakhstan handily winning 25-3 as Andrei Prioteasa led the way shooting 5/5/
I know that TEAM USA already has a guaranteed slot for Paris 2024, but has got to be exciting to see the competition that surely they’ll be facing later this year in France!