Water polo: Greece makes World Championship final and Paris 2024

The men’s national polo team advanced to the World Championship final in Fukuoka by beating Serbia 13-7 in the first semi-final on Thursday, also booking a ticket to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The emphatic performance throughout the semi-final against the Serbs, the best by Theodoris Vlachos’ players in the tournament, the Greeksqualified for the final by dominating the match from start to finish, unlike the two previous victories over of the US and Montenegro.

The Greek team was suffocating in defense and very effective in attack, taking advantage of the relative inexperience of the young Serbian team.

After leading 3-2 in the first period, when the dominance of the Greeks was also seen thanks to the two goals from the striker position with Kostas Kakkaris, the Greek defense did not allow the Serbians to score for more than eight minutes, with the first half ending 6-2.

In the second half, too, Greece was impressive in defense and attack alike, even when the semi-final had already been decided.

Therefore, the Greek national team got revenge for the defeat by the Serbs in the final of the Olympic Games, also in Japan, two years ago.

In Saturday’s final the Greek national team will face the winner of the second semi-final between Hungary and Spain which will be held later on Thursday.