Greece claim historical World Cup title
For the first time in their history, the Greek women’s national team won the World Cup. They downed Italy in the quarters, staged a big comeback against the Netherlands in the semis and dominated the final against Hungary which had posted a couple of upsets on the first two days, including a stunning win over Olympic champions Spain. European sides were dominant, taking all four semi-final spots – and in the end, the Netherlands pipped Spain for the bronze medal.
China is definitely a territory that brings luck for the Greek women’s national team. The last time they won a gold medal at a major event, dates back to 2011 when they became world champions – in Shanghai.
Fourteen years later they returned to China for the World Cup held in Chengdu and came away with the title. Just like in 2011, this was also a historical triumph. Indeed, the Greeks, though they are among the favourites at any big meets, have had rare appearances at victory ceremonies where they stood in the middle. Beside that outstanding run at the Shanghai Worlds, their only other gold came in the 2005 World League. Now it’s gold No. 3, and it was a deserved one.
The team is a fine blend of seasoned veterans and new aces under a new coach Haris Pavlidis – who is not a beginner in international water polo, though, as he led Olympiacos to Champions League glory in 2021.
The team already enjoyed a fine run at the World Cup Division One tournament at home in January, but then they had to settle for the third place behind Olympic title-holders Spain and Paris bronze medallists Netherlands.
Now they did a clean job in the quarters against Italy, before they faced off with the Dutch once more. For two and a half periods, the game took the same path as in January as the Netherlands were in control. Leading 11-7 midway through the third, the record 8-time winners looked well set to reach the final and play for the World Cup crown once more after 2023.
However, the Dutch defence already showed some worrying signs on the previous day when they beat Japan 24-16, and once the Greeks halved the distance, they got in a downwards spiral. The Greeks, with their brilliant leftie Eleni Xenaki leading the charge, smelled blood and managed to tie the match before the last break with a 0-4 rush at 11-11.
With the psychological advantage on their side, and looking fresher in this faster game, they took over the lead in the fourth and landed an outstanding 15-13 win to reach their first final in this event, where they had never made the top four since their 1997 debut.
Hungary came to meet them from the other end of the bracket, to the surprise of many. As the Magyars, who had finished fifth in the Division One event, met Olympic silver medallists Australia in the quarters and were set to meet their long-time nemesis Spain in the semis.
Still, within 24 hours, they knocked out the Paris finalists. They had two great surges in the quarters, the first propelled them to a 4-2 lead after being 1-2 down after eight minutes. The second, a 4-0 rush early in the third was the killer blow, as the Hungarians flew to a 9-4 lead and never looked back.
Next up was Spain, the team which they managed to beat once in 13 years in the knockout matches at major events (in a World League QF in 2021), while Spain bettered them in 12 crucial encounters since 2012.
Not this time, though, as the Hungarians did something which had been a rare scenario in the past decade in any of Spain’s matches – they never let the Olympic champions lead in the entire match.
Their defence was rock solid, one of the stats perhaps tells the whole story – Spain was 0 for 10 in extras. Though they did well in the centre, forced three penalties and Paula Camus – who seems to be a fitting successor of the great Maica Garcia – scored two sensational goals in a minute late in the third which brought Spain back to even at 8-8 just before the last quarter.
As it turned out, these two goals were the lonely ones the Spaniards could score in the entire second half. The Magyars shut them out in the last eight minutes while netting two more to bring down one of their fiercest rivals.
They could play for the title for the first time since 2002 – another telling fact that eight of their 15-strong squad hadn’t even been born when Hungary lifted the trophy 23 years ago.
But their run ended the same way as it had begun back in January. In the Division One tourney they played their opener against Greece and their opponent, that time playing at home, was dominant throughout the match. The Magyars then went on winning five matches (came short in a three-way tie in the group) and added two more here before their seven-match winning streak was ended by the Greeks again.
This time they kind of played on a home soil, or at least in a friendly environment as the Chinese bought the plans of the Duna Arena and constructed the same complex where the Hungarians prepared for this event in Budapest.
Still, the Greeks were dominant again. The first period was somewhat balanced as Xenaki&Co. took a 5-4 lead, then the second quarter saw a single goal, by Xenaki, whose impossible lob ended up in the goal. And the Greeks rolled on the third, despite a penalty miss, they soon expanded the gap to three, four, then five goals as their fierce perimeter shots did the damage.
They hit six in the third and led 12-7 with eight minutes to go, leaving little doubt who would come out on top. Their win was never in danger in the final period and they could start celebrating a historical victory soon as they won 13-9.
The Netherlands took the bronze, just like in Paris. Though the final score, 10-8, might suggest otherwise but the Dutch were the better side throughout the match. The Spaniards were chasing them but could never really challenge them.
Spain are definitely in a transition phase after the departure of their legendary coach Miki Oca – who is to take over the Chinese team after a 14-year-long tenure in Spain – and this time they seemed to be less composed as usual, however, they have the quality and depth for a quick rebuild for sure.
Italy had to settle for the 6th place, just like in the Division One tournament as they lost the classification match to Australia. It was a thriller which could have gone either way, at the end the Aussies won the shootout, denying the European sides a complete sweep of the top places. Still, it was an all-European affair in the semis, a great achievement at Easter time, heading towards another busy summer.
Women’s World Cup, Chengdu
Final rankings
1. Greece, 2. Hungary, 3. Netherlands, 4. Spain, 5. Australia, 6. Italy, 7. Japan, 8. China
The draw for the World Championships, to be held in Singapore, will take place on 7 May in Budapest, in the new AQUA office.
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