As twelfth placed at the World Championships in Budapest (HUN), South Africa was the best-placed team at last year’s World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup in Berlin and thus, at least on paper, one of the favorites for one of the two tickets for the Super Final in Los Angeles (USA) at the end of June. However, the hopes of the South Africans suffered a severe setback in the first game: the Cape team lost 6:16 (2:4, 0:5, 0:4, 4:3) to Asian champions China on Friday.
South Africa started well and initially led 2-0. But Asian champions China, supervised by Germany’s former national coach Petar Porobic, increasingly took control and scored seven goals in a row. The chinese team showed impressive combinations and effective counterattacking, while South Africa were without a goal for almost 23 minutes after their first two goals. Zhang Chufeng was particularly successful for China, scoring four goals in the first half already. South Africa, on the other hand, struggled against a strong Chinese defense and were unlucky at long-distance-shots. In the second half, China’s dominance continued and their lead increased. Only in the last quarter did South Africa score some goals to make the result even more friendly. Top scorers were Zhang Chufeng and Liu Yu with four goals each. “It was a team success,” said Liu Yu, who also won the Player of the Match award.
Secure tickets for the other games of the Water Polo World Cup at https://waterpolo-worldcup.berlin/tickets/ and follow the games live at https://www.youtube.com/@WorldAquatics.
