FINA Men’s Water Polo World League: Serbia and Italy Remain Unbeaten

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, January 27. ITALY and Serbia are the only teams that remain unbeaten after the third round of the European groups of the 2010 FINA Men's Water Polo World League. After the six games contested on January 26, Croatia and Montenegro had their first loss, while Germany won its first match. France, FYR Macedonia and Turkey remain the teams only with defeats.

In Group A, the two former leaders – Italy and Montenegro – met in Brescia and the locals won by a tangential 8-7, enough to secure the first place of the group. Germany and France, who had accumulated two losses in the initial rounds, played in Magdeburg and it was once more the home team to take victory also in a tight 7-6.

In Group B, the clash between Greece and Croatia in Athens was surely the most thrilling game of the round, with the two teams tied at 13-13 after the regular time. In the penalty shootout, the Hellenic squad was luckier and managed to win by 4-3, for an accumulated score of 17-16 (in a game decided by penalties, the winner gets two points and the loser one point). If in Athens, the scorers were particularly efficient, in Skopje, the match between FYR Macedonia and Russia finished with a tiny 4-3 advantage for the visitors.

Finally, in Group C, Serbia continues its winning saga, but had in Nis the most difficult victory so far (7-6) against an inspired team of Spain. The Iberians are now in a challenging position in the group (third), after their defeat in the first round again Romania. In Istanbul, Turkey could not make much precisely against the Romanians, losing by a severe 16-8.

Provisional rankings
GROUP A: 1. ITA, 9 pts (3 wins); 2. MNE, 6 (2W, 1 loss); 3. GER, 3 (1W, 2L); 4. FRA, 0 (3L)
GROUP B: 1. CRO, 7 pts (2W, 1L); 2. RUS, 6 (2W, 1L); 3. GRE, 5 (2W, 1L); 4. MKD, 0 (3L)
GROUP C: 1. SRB, 9 pts (3W); 2. ROU, 6 (2W, 1L); 3. ESP, 3 (1W, 2L); 4. TUR, 0 (3L)

Next round (February 23, 2010):
Group A: MNE-FRA & GER-ITA
Group B: CRO-MKD & GRE-RUS
Group C: ROU-ESP & TUR-SRB

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