After the world champion, we also defeated the Olympic champion

Women’s Water Polo World Cup, Qualifier, Group A, Round 3:
Hungary-Spain 18-17 (3-3, 4-3, 3-4, 4-4, 4-3) – with five meters
scorers of the Hungarian team: Hajdú 5, Faragó, Baksa, Tiba 2-2, Sümegi, Dobi, Varró 1-1

The strongest team of the tournament awaited the Hungarians, as the Spaniards, jumping into the water with eight new Olympic champions, knocked out the Americans in the opening round and the Greeks in the second round. In the first quarter, the Hungarian team was fully up to the task, made good use of the opportunities, and held their own defensively (3-3).

At the beginning of the second half, the Spaniards took the lead for the first time in the match, but Kata Hajdú responded quickly. After Sándor Cseh called time for another Spanish goal, the Hungarian goal came from the front. The game remained even, and six seconds before the break, Hajdú gave the Hungarian team the lead. Although the Spaniards noticeably moved up a notch to continue, the Hungarians mobilized considerable energy to keep up (10-10).

We could have won it in normal time

With Hajdú’s five-pointer and Baksa Vanda’s great drop, the Hungarian national team pulled away at the beginning of the final eight minutes. The Spanish world-class centre, Paula Leiton, took advantage of her huge physical superiority to score, and then the rival’s other star, Beatriz Ortiz, flashed. The movement of the Olympic champion was “challenged” by Sándor Cseh, but the tie remained (13-13).

In the last two minutes, the teams fought hard for the winning goal, and in the end, with the best goal of the match, Hajdú’s fifth goal, the Hungarians came within arm’s reach of victory. However, the Spaniards equalized with Elena Ruiz’s sixth goal at the moment of the whistle, so they decided by five meters.

During the penalty shootout, Lilla Maczkó was able to save once, and once the goal post helped the Hungarians, who finally triumphed with a shot by Dobi Dorina. It will be revealed in the Greek-American match in the evening whether the impressive victory is worth the first place in the group.

Later:
Greece-United States 18.00