Spain and Hungary continued their impressive starts to the World Aquatics Women’s U16 Water Polo Championships as both recorded commanding victories on the second day of competition in Zagreb.
Defending champions Spain followed their opening win over Serbia with a convincing 13-5 victory against the Netherlands.
The Dutch scored first, but Spain responded with seven unanswered goals to take complete control before half-time. Ivet Sulla scored four times, taking her tournament total to 10, while Paula Pineda recorded her second consecutive hat-trick.
Hungary were even more dominant, defeating Israel 20-1 to maintain their perfect start.
Israel briefly levelled the match at 1-1, but Hungary then scored 19 goals without reply. Mandula Mihok produced another outstanding attacking performance, converting all seven of her shots after scoring six against Romania on the opening day.
Greece also secured a second successive victory, easing past hosts Croatia 19-4. Sofia Lampropoulou scored five goals, while captain Afroditi Bitsakou added three as Greece pulled away with a nine-goal run during the second half.
The United States defeated Canada 13-7 after gradually building a three-goal advantage by half-time. A 5-1 third quarter then put the contest beyond Canada, with Abigail Billish leading the scoring with five goals.
Russia maintained their unbeaten record with a comfortable 17-2 victory over South Africa. Polina Dildina scored three times, while five Russian players finished with two goals each.
Australia survived a late Chinese comeback to claim an important 8-7 win. The Australians led 6-3 at half-time before China reduced the deficit to one through captain Zhu Yinqi, who scored five goals. China earned two late extra-player opportunities but could not find an equaliser.
Italy also endured a difficult finish against New Zealand. The Italians appeared comfortable after moving 6-1 ahead, but New Zealand scored four times in the final quarter and cut the gap to one with 28 seconds remaining. Italy held on for a 7-6 victory.
Germany were pushed by Zimbabwe before scoring twice late in the fourth quarter to win 8-6. Lola Accorsi scored five of Zimbabwe’s six goals in an impressive individual performance.
Elsewhere, Ukraine defeated Mexico 13-5 after racing into a 9-0 lead, while Turkiye scored four unanswered goals in the final quarter to beat Brazil 9-4.
Czechia overcame Peru 14-9, with Lucie Koubova and Lucie Bakalova scoring five goals each. Serbia completed the day with a competitive 10-8 victory against Romania.
Results
Canada 7-13 United States
Spain 13-5 Netherlands
Italy 7-6 New Zealand
Israel 1-20 Hungary
China 7-8 Australia
South Africa 2-17 Russia
Zimbabwe 6-8 Germany
Ukraine 13-5 Mexico
Croatia 4-19 Greece
Turkiye 9-4 Brazil
Peru 9-14 Czechia
Serbia 10-8 Romania
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