Croatia beat the hosts with a score of 17:12 and advanced to the second round of the World Championship
As the hosts, the Japanese arrived in Fukuoka with a great desire to advance to the championship quarterfinals. That would be their most incredible reach. The Japanese will need much luck in the match against Serbia.
In the first half, Japan held on and had a connection, causing problems for Croatia’s defense. But the Barracudas made a mini-run in the third quarter, breaking the game. With a score of 17:12, Croatia won, confirmed second place in the group, and will play against Montenegro in the round of 16. The match between Croatia and Montenegro will be played on Sunday at 10 am.
It started with the Japanese chasing, pressing in defense, and counterattacking in attack. That’s how the entire first quarter looked, and it ended 4:3 for Croatia. Croatia had a two-goal advantage in the second quarter on several occasions, but the fast Japanese always came back. The score after the second quarter was 7:6 for Croatia. Of course, the game broke in the third quarter when Croatia went 15:9. Due to the mistakes made by the goalkeeper of Japan, Croatia brought the match to a peaceful end. She won, took second place, and the Montenegrins are coming to them on Sunday.
It will be one of the waterpolo classics on Sunday so that we will look forward to the match.