The Dutch water polo players made it to the quarter-finals at the World Cup in Hungary on Sunday. The team of national coach Evangelos Doudesis settled with Canada in the so-called intermediate round: 10-7.
Both teams kept each other in balance for a long time, but Canada had no answer to a strong third quarter of the Netherlands. During that period, the Netherlands ran very fast to an 8-3 lead, where it was still 3-3 halfway through. Seventeen-year-old Lola Moolhuijzen asserted herself in this phase with a beautiful bow ball.
The team from North America came back to 9-7, but the 2008 Olympic champion did not see the victory in danger, also because Canada hit the post and crossbar and keeper Laura Aarts intervened excellently a few times.
Shortly before the World Cup, Canada was still an opponent of the Orange during the so-called goodbye match. Then they won 14-12 in Utrecht. The two countries met at the Tokyo Games last year. Then too, the Netherlands won, which was 2-1 behind in Budapest after the first quarter. Bente Rogge had scored between two Canadian goals. Sabrina van der Sloot and Vivian Sevenich scored in the second quarter, in which Canada passed Aarts once.
Canada increases pressure in final phase
Then it went fast with five Dutch goals in a row: van Moolhuijzen (2), Kitty Joustra, Rogge and Simone van de Kraats. Between two Canadian hits, Maxine Schaap was also accurate once. Canada stepped up the pressure in the last quarter. Aarts often had to intervene, but it remained with two goals against, after which Van der Sloot hit again in the final phase.
Due to the second place in group B, the Netherlands was sentenced to play an intermediate round.
On Tuesday, Greece is the opponent in the battle for a place in the best four. National coach Doudesis will meet his compatriots in Budapest. The Greek succeeded Arno Havenga after the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, after he had been his assistant for several years.
Results of the Netherlands at the World Cup water polo
- Netherlands-Argentina 29-6
- United States-Netherlands 11-7
- Netherlands-South Africa 22-1
- Netherlands-Canada 10-7