Paris 2024: Men’s Water Polo Team Triumphs over Serbia

The Hungarian men’s water polo team, already secure in the quarter-finals, scored a confident 17-13 victory over defending champions Serbia in the final round of the Olympic group stage in Paris on Monday.

Hungary trailed by two goals in the first quarter, but from then on outplayed their arch-rivals in all aspects of the game, scoring seven goals in the second quarter and six in the third. The Hungarian team were already through to the next round before the match, with third place in the group at stake.

With their victory, they finished third in Group B and will face the Italian, Croatian, Greek or the U.S. team in Wednesday’s quarter-finals.

The goalkeepers played the main role in the first minutes on both sides. After Fekete found himself one on one with the Serbian goalkeeper, he did not miss the chance. Then, despite the Hungarian goalkeeper’s brilliant effort, Ćuk scored a powerful goal into the top left corner. Ćuk regained his confidence and a minute later he shot into the net again, but the Hungarian side also scored from a man advantage.

A great move by Fekete started the second half with a Hungarian action goal and the team went from a two-goal deficit to a two-goal lead in less than five minutes. Finally Mandić broke the Serbs’ bad run and Rašović equalized.

Olympic champion Dénes Varga scored a superb action goal in reply, but at the other end Mandić showed why he was voted the most valuable player of this year’s final four of the Champions League.

The third quarter also started with a goal from Fekete, this time from the center and for the first time the Hungarian team took a three-goal lead.

Even after a time-out, the Serbs could not come back.

In the final eight minutes, the Serbs scored first, but Zalánki replied immediately. Then Dedović scored, and Olympic rookie Márk Bányai was pacing in front of the Hungarian net, with Mandić also “introducing” himself to the young goalkeeper. In the final stretch, Molnár scored a fine goal, then the rivals added to their tally, but the score remained unchanged in the last two minutes.

Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Kovács Tamás