Hungary surprised everyone with their gold medal win at the Men’s World League Europa Cup. The exciting final match between Hungary and Croatia was held in Zagreb, with 2,000 spectators stunned at the final result. The Croatian water polo team – who were the world-title holders – were the favourites to win. However, the Hungarians continued to fight it out for victory.
The Hungarian team have been going through a rough patch the past few years, with painful losses from Montenegro at last year’s World League Final, a defeat by Italy in the 2018 Europa Cup, and a loss at the 2017 FINA World Championships in the gold medal match with Croatia.
However, their return this year has widely been considered as their ‘payback’. They eliminated Montenegro in the quarters, took down Italy in the semis, and took revenge against the Croats in the final.
The Hungarian goalkeeper Viktor Nagy, played greatly, delivering a series of outstanding saves that managed to keep the Croatians 1 for 15 in man-ups while making most of their chances in offence to win 10-8.
The bronze medal match between Spain and Italy was another outstanding battle to watch. The Spaniards outplayed Italy to clinch the bronze medal, and secure their place in the Super Final.
Here are the final rankings:
1. Hungary
2. Croatia
3. Spain
4. Italy
5. Montenegro
6. Serbia
7. Greece
8. Russia
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