Croatia beats France to reach final of World Championship
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
(Photo credit: HVS/Giorgio Scala/DBM)
The Croatian water polo team has reached the final of the World Championship after beating France on penalties in the the semifinal on Thursday.
Croatia has now made back-to-back finals after reaching the final of the European Championship last month.
France, who upset Hungary in the quarterfinals, were the underdogs and they would hold their own in the opening stages as Croatia only enjoyed a 3-2 lead after the opening quarter.
Croatia keeper Marko Bijač made a number of crucial saves in the second quarter to help his team take a 6-5 lead at halftime.
Croatia stamped their authority on the match in the third quarter as they ran out to a 9-6 lead. France would fight back in the final quarter and would level 11-11 with just 16 seconds remaining. Croatia would prevail on penalties and reach its second consecutive final this year.
(Photo credit: HVS/Giorgio Scala/DBM)
For Croatia, Loren Fatović was top scorer with 3 goals.
Croatia will meet Italy in the final on Saturday after the Italians beat Spain 8-6 earlier today.
Croatia lost the 2024 European Water Polo Championship final to Spain 11-10 last month in Zagreb.
