Russia, China, Croatia, Canada and Portugal all moved to two wins from two on another high-scoring day in Malta, with the race for progression beginning to take shape.
After two rounds, Russia sit top of the rankings on 82.2 points, narrowly ahead of China (81.6) and Croatia (80.4), while Canada and Portugal complete the top five.
Results
- China 21-5 Argentina
- Canada 12-10 Brazil
- Great Britain 21-6 Singapore
- Croatia 23-11 South Africa
- Portugal 10-8 Kazakhstan
- Russia 26-4 Germany
- Malta 13-11 (pens) Slovakia
Russia send statement
Russia continued to look like the team to beat, crushing Germany 26-4 in another ruthless display. Every Russian field player found the scoresheet as their counter-attacking game overwhelmed Germany from the opening quarter.
Olga Lupinogina, Margarita Pystina, Viktoriia Guskova and Anastasiia Adikova all scored three goals each as Russia made it back-to-back dominant victories.
China maintain momentum
China also stayed unbeaten with a commanding 21-5 win over Argentina. After conceding first, the Asian side responded emphatically to take control early and never looked back.
Xie Liyi starred with six goals, while goalkeeper Shen Yineng anchored another strong defensive performance.
Croatia too strong again
Croatia produced another convincing display, beating South Africa 23-11 after racing into a 7-2 first-quarter lead.
Iva Rozic led the scoring with seven goals, while Ria Glas added four.
Canada edge Brazil test
Canada were pushed harder than the other unbeaten sides but came through an entertaining contest with Brazil, winning 12-10.
Kyra Christmas scored five goals and captain Emma Wright added three, while goalkeeper Jessica Gaudreault made 13 saves.
Portugal make it two from two
Portugal joined the unbeaten group after defeating Kazakhstan 10-8. Maria Machado scored three times as Portugal turned an early deficit into a commanding lead before surviving a late comeback.
Great Britain bounce back
Great Britain responded superbly to their opening-day shootout loss by beating Singapore 21-6.
Toula Falvey dominated at centre-forward with a perfect seven goals from seven attempts.
Malta thrill home crowd
Hosts Malta delivered one of the moments of the day, defeating Slovakia in a dramatic penalty shootout after a 10-10 draw in regulation time.
With Day 3 approaching, the standout clash sees unbeaten Canada meet Portugal, while Croatia face Malta and China take on Germany.
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