Do the Barracudas also surprise in the semifinals?

It’s going into the final phase at the 2022 World Water Polo Championships in Hungary. Four teams are still in the race for the title. All four teams certainly have the qualities to become world champions in the end. Nevertheless, there are some teams that are more likely to win the World Cup gold than others. The Spaniards, for example, are slightly favoured in their semi-final against Croatia.

La Furia Roja may have emerged as the best team so far at the title matches in Hungary. But that does not mean that the World Cup title will now go to the Spaniards again after 1998 and 2001. However, the bookmakers tested are offering the lowest quotes on a Spanish triumph. On Friday in the semi-finals, however, they will once again have to rise above themselves to keep the Croatian Barracudas at bay.

Even if Hrvatska is not completely convincing in every match, Ivica Tucak’s team is always there when things get tight. The Croats are also two-time world champions and it cannot be ruled out that a third title will be added this year. In general, however, the prediction in this semi-final between Spain and Croatia goes slightly in the direction of the Iberians.

That was also the case for the Croats in the quarter-final against the Serbs in the Balkan clash and the Barracudas are still in the running. The team from Montenegro has recently shown how to cause difficulties for the Spaniards. It is therefore quite legitimate to think about betting on a Croatian victory in the match between Spain and Croatia.

Spain – Statistics & current form

The Spanish have assembled a team that definitely has what it takes to be crowned world champions in Budapest. The Iberians were completely convincing at the World Cup. Especially in the offensive they were fabulous. La Furia Roja has the strongest attack at these championships. That could be the key to winning against the Croats on Friday.

Spanish winning streak

Generally, the Spaniards’ form is extremely good. There have been five wins in a row recently. David Martin Lozano’s team has won seven of the last eight games, including against World Cup favourites Hungary, twice against Montenegro and against world champions Italy. Therefore, we are definitely looking at the odds for a Spanish success in the semi-final between Spain and Croatia.

The Iberians have already attracted attention in the group phase with two resounding victories over Canada and South Africa. However, the Spaniards finally became the World Cup favourites in the preliminary round with their victory over Italy. Of course it was close, but no one claimed that they would beat the world champions in passing. In the end, the 14:12 victory showed how strong Spain currently is.

Nevertheless, even this team is not immune to getting into trouble. That was the case in the quarter-final against Montenegro. The game was tight for all four quarters. In the end, the Spaniards secured a narrow 7:6 victory with fewer goals than expected. But this also shows that Spain is not only a power offensively, but can also play extremely well defensively.

Predicted line-up of Spain:
Aguirre, Lorrio – Munarriz Egana, Granados Ortega, Sanahuja, de Toro Dominguez, Larumbe Gonfaus, Famera, Cabanas Pegado, Tahull Compte, Perrone Rocha, Mallarach, Guell, Bustos Sanchez – Coach: Martin Lozano

Croatia – Statistics & current form

Although it sounds strange. The World Cup in Hungary should actually only be a transit station for the Croats. Similar to handball, where the Europeans also dominate, in water polo a European Championship is just as high-class as a World Championship. Croatia’s home European Championship starts in Split at the end of August, and the goal there was the title.

Barracudas stronger than expected

Therefore, the Barracudas entered the World Cup with an almost completely new squad, but coach Ivica Tucak has obviously managed to get his team into title form faster than he might have expected himself. For this reason, we give at least a prediction of a close match before the semifinal between Spain and Croatia.

The Barracudas are still unbeaten at the World Cup. In the meantime, we have to say that Hrvatska have been completely convincing. A draw against the semi-finalists from Greece was followed by victories over Germany, Japan and in the round of 16 against Georgia. The preliminary showdown, however, was to come in the quarter-finals, because a match between Croatia and Serbia is not only explosive in water polo.

Even though the Croats were underdogs, they were ahead for practically the entire match. But it was still a close game. Hrvatska led 5:4 at the break. The score was higher after half-time, but the game itself did not change. The Croatians held on to their narrow lead and in the end, somewhat surprisingly, entered the semi-finals after beating the Olympic champions 14:12.

Predicted line-up of Croatia:
Bijac, Popadic – Buric, Fatovic, Krapic, Lazic, Bukic, Vukicevic, Zuvela, Marinic Kragic, Vrlic, Basic, Kharkov – Coach: Tucak

Spain – Croatia Direct comparison / H2H-Balance

Since their meeting in the World League in 2009, there have been a total of 17 duels between the national teams from Spain and Croatia. The direct comparison in this period is in favour of the Croats with 10:6 victories. However, La Furia Roja have managed to improve this statistic somewhat in their favour in recent encounters.

The Spaniards have won all of their last three games against the Barracudas. Three years ago at the World Championships in Gwangju, it came to just every semifinal, in which the Spaniards prevailed 6:5. Then there were the Spanish victories in the semi-finals of the European Championships 2020 and in the group stage of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Spain – Croatia Tip

The Croatians failed to reach the semi-finals of both the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 European Championship against Spain. In addition, the Iberians won in the group stage of the Olympic Games. The Barracudas will therefore be looking for revenge on Friday, but these last three Spanish victories also make it clear that the balance of power in water polo has shifted somewhat away from the Balkans towards south-western Europe.

Spain are arguably the best team in the current World Cup so far, but have not yet achieved anything by reaching the semi-finals. They want to win the title and after five wins in a row they want to take a step towards the final.

Despite a newly formed team, the Barracudas are apparently capable of anything and are currently unbeaten in Hungary. If you eliminate the Olympic champions in the quarter-finals, you certainly don’t have to be afraid of the runners-up. Nevertheless, we expect Hrvatska to compete in the third-place match and have decided to play the betting odds on a win for La Furia Roja between Spain and Croatia.