Water polo: World Cup, the Settebello in Sydney as second

John

By John

Settebello beat Hungary 12-9 on the last day of the Division I World Cup, staged in Alessandropoli, and finished the preliminary tournament in second place. A grouping that defined the positions from first to fourth in the starting grid of the final phase, scheduled in Sydney from 22nd to 26th July: the Azzurri had qualified for Division I after finishing in first place in the previous group A. Against the Hungarians, parity and balance after two halves with the score at 5-5. Just before the second siren, Ferrero was sent off for incorrect play and Nagy was sent off for violent play following a challenge won by the Azzurri. In the third half, Settebello enjoyed four minutes of numerical superiority and took the lead to 10-8 with 8 minutes to go, before closing the match ahead 12-9. Shortly before, Greece beat Spain 15-13 on penalties. This is the final ranking: first Spain, second Italy, third Greece, fourth Hungary.