Greece defeated Croatia in a penalty shootout 12-10 in the FINA World Men’s Junior Water Polo Championships 2017 gold-medal game at the Sports Centre Milan Gale Muskatirovic in Belgrade (SRB) on Sunday August 13.
Greece did not take the lead until the last minute of the match and Croatia levelled with a few nano seconds remaining to force the shootout. Greece landed all five and Croatia missed its second attempt.
Serbia held off Hungary 12-11 in the bronze-medal final. Serbia led 8-4 at halftime and Kristian Manhercz led the Hungarian revival with four goals to lift himself to top of the goal-scoring in Belgrade with 26 goals and in the process named Most Valuable Player.
Montenegro turned the tables on Spain for fifth place from day four when it lost by five goals in group play.
Italy took seventh place with a 14-8 score over USA, which included a 6-1 third period.
Final placings
1. Greece, 2. Croatia, 3. Serbia, 4. Hungary, 5. Montenegro, 6. Spain, 7. Italy, 8. USA, 9. Russia,10. Canada, 11. Australia, 12. China, 13. Japan, 14. Netherlands, 15. Egypt, 16. Iran, 17. Argentina, 18. New Zealand, 19.Puerto Rico, 20. South Africa
Details game reports will be available on FINA website here.
The FINA World Women’s Junior Water Polo Championships will be hosted by Volos, Greece, from September 3-9.
Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA)
The Fédération Internationale de Natation, founded in 1908, is the governing body for aquatics worldwide. FINA’s five discipline Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Diving, Water Polo and Synchronised Swimming – are all included in the Olympic programme. High Diving made its first appearance in FINA events at the 2013 FINA World Championships. FINA counts 208 affiliated National Federations on the five continents and has its headquarters in Lausanne (SUI).
Press Release courtesy of FINA.