Arabic version: ستينغرز تستعد لمواجهة الولايات المتحدة في نصف النهائي وشاركس تهزم إسبانيا
According to ABC News, Australia’s Stingers will meet the United States in a Water Polo World Cup semifinal at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, revisiting the venue of their Sydney 2000 Olympic gold-medal match. The women’s semifinal is scheduled for 6:30pm AEST on Friday.
Australia beat the USA 4-3 in the final of the first Olympic women’s water polo competition, sealed by Yvette Higgins’s last-second goal. The Stingers also defeated the Americans in the Paris Olympic semifinal, winning 14-13 after a penalty shootout before losing the final to Spain.
Stingers captain Bronte Halligan said the significance of returning to the same pool was not lost on the team. Halligan made her 200th international appearance during Australia’s 15-14 quarterfinal win over Italy. The USA reached the semifinal with a 14-8 win against China, with Emily Ausmus scoring four goals.
Australia’s men, the Sharks, also advanced after a 23-21 penalty shootout victory over reigning world champions Spain on Thursday night. The Australians had trailed 6-3 after the first quarter, 16-13 at three-quarter time and 18-16 with 40 seconds remaining before levelling the match at 18-18.
Matthew Burns scored with 1.1 seconds left to force penalties after an earlier late equaliser by Marcus Berehulak was disallowed. Substitute goalkeeper Laurence Barker saved Fran Valera’s attempt, while Australia converted all five penalties. Jacob Mercep scored six goals, Berehulak added four and Matthew Byrnes scored three, including the final penalty. The Sharks will play Hungary on Saturday at 6:30pm AEST.
