Spain Secures Semifinal Spot in Thrilling Singapore World Cup Showdown
Singapore, SG – Spain’s women’s water polo team has once again demonstrated its mettle, clinching a dramatic 15-13 victory over the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to advance to the semifinals of the Singapore World Cup. The win echoes their triumph over the Dutch in last summer’s Paris Games semifinals, setting up a challenging encounter with Hungary next Monday.
The decisive goal came from Ariadna Ruiz, who calmly converted her fourth penalty attempt, securing the win for Jordi Valls‘s squad.Goalkeeper Martina Terré proved instrumental, mirroring her Paris performance by stopping a crucial penalty from Keuning.
The match mirrored the intensity of their previous encounter, with Spain establishing an early lead. A defensive masterclass, coupled with Terré’s stellar performance, saw Spain dominate the first half, holding a commanding 7-2 advantage just before the break.Spain’s defense was formidable from the outset, effectively neutralizing the Netherlands’ double-buoy strategy, which aimed to crowd the area around Terré.
Spain’s aggressive tactics, quick transitions, and the extraordinary play of their goalkeeper yielded early dividends. While the netherlands struggled to generate offense outside of power plays, Spain’s defense remained resolute. An early assist from Nona Pérez to Paula Crespí opened the scoring at 1-0, followed by an Anni Espar penalty conversion and a brilliant strike from bea Ortiz, extending Spain’s lead to 3-0.
Despite a Dutch response from Joustra in an exclusion play, Paula Camus quickly re-established Spain’s three-goal cushion at 4-1 in the second quarter. Terré was in exceptional form, making six saves by halftime and nine by the end of the match. Even though the Netherlands managed to narrow the gap to 4-2, a powerful 3-0 run, featuring two goals from Bea Ortiz and another from Ari Ruiz, propelled Spain to their largest lead of the game at 7-2.
However, the Dutch mounted a important comeback, scoring four unanswered goals between the end of the second and the beginning of the third quarter to make it 7-6. Lieke Rogge emerged as a key player for the Netherlands, scoring crucial goals to keep her team in contention.
Entering the final quarter with an 10-8 scoreline, and having faced ten Dutch power plays compared to Spain’s one, the game remained fiercely contested. Exchange of goals between Joustra and Nona Pérez kept the score tight at 11-9 with just over three minutes remaining. Lieke Rogge, though, netted two more goals, the last with just 45 seconds left, to level the score at eleven and force a penalty shootout.
In the shootout, Lieke Rogge opened the scoring, but Bea Ortiz quickly equalized.Bente rogge struck the post, while Elena Ruiz and Kraats exchanged accomplished penalties. Paula Crespí then put Spain ahead 14-13, before Terré’s crucial save against Keuning. Ari ruiz ultimately sealed the victory for Spain with her left-handed shot, securing their place in the semifinals.
