Greece overturns 7-goal deficit to defeat Serbia

A highlight of the second day of the World Cup Division 1 in Alexandroupolis was the match between Greece and Serbia.

Greece won 16:15 despite trailing 4:11 late in the second quarter. In the last minute and a half, Serbia had only five field players due to a violent foul, which the Greeks capitalized on. They first equalized at 15:15 and then scored the winning goal to secure a 16:15 victory.

The other match in Group A, featuring Hungary and the Netherlands, was also very exciting. The Dutch were close to claiming all three points, but Hungary equalized in the final moments to finish at 11:11. Hungary then won two points in a shootout, ending with a score of 16:15.

Currently, Hungary leads the group with five points, while Greece and Serbia have three points each, and the Netherlands has earned one point. All teams are still in contention for the top two spots in the group. Tomorrow, Greece will face the Netherlands, while Hungary will meet Serbia.

The games in Group B were not as thrilling as those in Group A. Spain defeated Croatia 14:10, and Italy emerged victorious against the USA 15:8.

Italy now has six points, while Spain and Croatia each have three points. None of the teams in this group has qualified for the top four placements yet, and the only team that cannot reach the upper group is the USA. Tomorrow, Italy will face Croatia in a derby, and Spain will clash with the USA.

2026 World Men’s Cup, Division 1, Day 2

GROUP A

(3:4, 4:7, 6:3, 3:1)

Greece: Argyropoulos 6, Kalogeropoulos 2, Garikas 2, Alafragkis 1, Kakaris 1, Nikolaidis 1, Spachits 1, Kastrinakis 1.

Serbia: Martinovic 4, N.Jaksic 3, Gladovic 2,  Stanojevic 1, Lukic 1, Trtovic 1, Kstic 1, P.Jaksic 1.

Greece, the favorite because of home-field advantage and a more experienced team, scored the first goal and regained a slim lead in the 5th minute (3:2). Then the Serbs began to dominate. They demolished Greece’s defense with a 7:0 run.

By the end of the first period, Serbia gained a 4:3 lead. The hosts had a good opportunity to level 14 seconds before the first break from a penalty shot, but Papanastasiou hit the post. Captain Nikola Jaksic opened the second period with a penalty shot goal, making it 5:3. The Serbs (with only six European champions on the roster) continued rolling and built a 9:3 lead in the 13th minute. Greece showed signs of life after the Serbs’ 9th goal. Kastrinakis ended the hosts’ 8-minute silence by converting a man-up for 4:9. Martinovic answered with an action goal, and Petar Jaksic added one from a man-up, stretching the margin to 11:4 with two and a half minutes left in the first half. Serbia scored a goal in every single one of its first seven possessions in the second period, but then slowed down. Greece produced a 3:0 rush in the last 100 seconds of the quarter and trailed 7:11 at halftime.

Kastrinakis started the second half with a goal on a counterattack (8:11). After the hosts’ 4:0 run, the teams quickly traded goals, and Serbia led 13:9 after less than two minutes of play in the second half. But Greece gained momentum, with an extra player from the stands. Goalkeeper Zerdevas posted one save after another. Argyopoulos leveled at 13:13 in the 24th minute, but in the last second of this quarter, Vasilije Martinovic put Serbia in front, 14:13.

Stanojevic gave Serbia a 15:13 advantage with 6 minutes and 20 seconds remaining on the clock. Spachits cut the deficit from a counterattack shortly after. Following that, there were no goals for a long time – until the 31st minute. Referees excluded Petar Jaksic for a violent foul on Argyropoulos with 1:34 minutes to go, confirming the decision after a VAR review. Serbia’s head coach, Uros Stevanovic, called a challenge for a similar situation that occurred before the exclusion. However, the referees didn’t change their decision. Argyropoulos leveled at 15:15 from a penalty awarded following a 4-minute exclusion, and Stevanovic was excluded for protesting. In the rest of the match, Zerdevas added two saves to his tally (he finished the game with 10 saves) and Argyropoulos scored his 6th goal with 45 seconds to go to give Greece a 16:15 win.

(quarters 4:2, 0:3, 3:2, 4:3, PSO 4:5)

Netherlands: Gbadamassi 2, Van der Werve 2, M.van der Weijden 2, Ten Broek 2, Jukic 1, Te Riele 1, Snel 1.

Hungary: Ad.Nagy 3, Fekete 3, Ven. Vigvari 2, Vin Vigvari 1, Szalai 1, Vismeg 1.

The Netherlands displayed its significant potential in several earlier games this winter, but it still has to wait to surprise a favorite. The Dutch had a 2-goal lead in the middle of the fourth quarter (10:8). Hungary managed to catch up (10:10). Just 29 seconds before the end, the Dutch earned an 11:10 lead. Three seconds before the final buzzer, the Hungarians leveled once again and eventually took two points in a penalty shootout.

It was a game with big twists and turns. The Netherlands opened the match quite well, taking a 3:1 and 4:2 lead in the first quarter. The Hungarians tightened their defense late in the first period and kept the Dutch scoreless for 14 minutes, while going on a 5:0 run and building a 7:4 lead early in the third quarter. It seemed they would secure a win without major problems. But, the Dutch were able to come back.

Jukic ended the Netherlands’ goalless phase by converting a man-up in the 20th minute. Shortly after, Max van der Werve made it 6:7. Hungary forced a penalty shot just 10 seconds later; Fekete converted it to double his team’s lead. However, then a scoreless interval for the Hungarians began, and they went seven minutes without a goal. The Netherlands played solid defense and managed to make a comeback, scoring four consecutive goals. With five minutes remaining, Mark Snel scored on a 6-on-5 play, giving the Netherlands a 10:8 lead. Shortly after, Soma Vogel replaced Kristof Csoma in front of Hungary’s goal, although Csoma had performed well up to that point, especially during the middle two quarters, making 12 saves. With only 54 seconds left in the game, Hungary equalized when Vismeg scored with a beautifully executed lob during a man-up situation, bringing the score to 10:10.

As mentioned, 29 seconds before the end, the Dutch regained the lead when Te Riele converted a penalty shot, awarded after a foul by Bilal Gbadamassi, making it 11:10. However, Adam Nagy scored just before time expired, at 3 seconds left, to save Hungary and prolong the match.

In the penalty shootout, the first four rounds saw no misses or saves. Hungarian head coach Zsolt Varga decided to switch goalkeepers before the fifth round, bringing Csoma back into the game. He successfully saved a shot from Van den Burg. At the other end, Gergo Fekete scored, securing two points for Hungary.

Standings: 1. Hungary 5, 2. Greece 3, 3. Serbia 3, 4. Netherlands 1.

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GROUP B

(quarters 4:2, 5:2,2:2, 3:3)

Spain: Granados 4, Munarriz 3, Sanahuja 3, Biel 2, Valls 1, Bustos 1
Croatia: Pavlic 3, Butic 3, Brubnjak 2, Zuvela 1, Kharkov 1.

Two and a half months ago, Spain beat Croatia 17:9 in the 5th-place match at the European Championships. Today, the stakes were higher in the match in Alexandropoulis, but the teams weren’t the same as in Belgrade. Spain arrived in Greece with almost the same squad (only center-forwards Tahull and De Toro are missing), while Croatia started a new chapter with a young team.

The Croats were never ahead, and they kept up with the World Champions for more than a quarter. Zuvela converted a man-up in Croatia’s first possession to equalize at 4:4. However, the Spaniards responded with a quick series of goals, which has become their national team’s and Barceloneta’s strong weapon in breaking the opponents’ resistance. They scored three goals in 02:04 minutes (Munarriz and Granados from 6m free throws and Biel), going to 7:4. In the middle of the quarter, Sanahuja increased the margin to four from a counterattack, and Granados converted a man-up a minute before the end, making it 9:4.

Croatia didn’t recover from a 0:5 run. The Croats improved their defense in the second half, but didn’t endanger Spain’s win. Early in the fourth period, they reduced the gap to three (8:11). Still, Spain controlled the match. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Spaniards reestablished a five-goal lead (13:8) and sealed the victory.

Spain needs a win over the USA to qualify for the upper group and the World Cup Final Eight, regardless of the result of the match Italy – Croatia, because it can’t fall below 2nd place in a possible three-way tie.
Croats need a 3-goal win over Italy to reach the 1st or 2nd place.

(quarters 3:4, 0:3, 4:5, 1:3)

USA: Irving 3, Daube 2, Saveljic 1, Liechty 1, Ohl 1.
Italy: Ferrero 3, Campopiano 3, Cassia 2, Cannella 2, Guerrato 1, Balzarini 1, Dolce 1, Bruni 1

For most of the first quarter, the Italians and the Americans were in an even contest. The Europeans took a one-goal lead three times, and the Americans leveled at 1:1, 2:2, 3:3. However, Team USA had no answer after Ferrero converted a penalty shot for 4:3 in the 8th minute. Italy’s defense was perfect in the 2nd quarter. The “Settebello” defended man-down situations five times during this period and scored three goals,establishing a comfortable 7:3 lead at halftime.
Bruni and Campopiano prolonged the Italians’ series with two early goals in the third period, establishing a 9:3. After the Italians’ 6:0 run, there was no way back for the Americans, who just reduced the gap to four to two occasions.

After two wins, Italy is very close to advancing to the World Cup Final Eight. It just has to avoid a 3-goal defeat to Croatia tomorrow.

Standings: 1. Italy 6, 2. Spain 3, 3. Croatia 3, 4. USA 0.

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