Water Polo World Championships: Settebello and Setterosa chasing the Olympic pass

Rome – More than 8 goals per half, all scored within the first 23' Kazakhstan buried 33 to 3. The Settebello of Sandro Campagna it is toned, vibrant, dynamic. First round of these World Cup in Doha passed by a wide, very wide margin. The Asians turned out to be frankly not much. They took to the water with 11 very young players on a roster of 14 players. There were five in 2006 and even one in 2007: they ranked fourteenth at the last 3 world championships and frankly played poorly structured water polo with revisable defences.

Bottoms And Cinnamon they scored 7 goals each, riddling the Kazakh goal with extreme ease. Sandro Campagna, the Italian coach, followed the match with great attention but never intervening with a time out. Everything went like clockwork. Match never in question right from the first period with the 6-1 which denounced the infinite gap between the two teams. Now head to the second round where Italy will challenge the Hungarian masters of Hungary, who have already qualified for the Paris Olympics. There are 4 places that the World Cup will assign for the Games with an extra spot for an Oceanic team. If Italy were to overcome Hungary then qualification as first in the group would be certain: a crucial step because it will certify direct passage to the quarter-finals. And being among the top 8 would mean having a 50% chance of being in France. An exclusion of the Settebello from the Olympic Games would be a disaster similar to Italy's football out of the World Cup as happened in two editions. The match against Romania will close the qualifying round on Friday.

Italy for women is doing well
Good start also for Setterosa who beat Great Britain 22-10 in the first match of the World Cup and scored the first three points in group D: «We broke the ice without suffering», he explained Roberta Bianconi, awarded as MVP of the match. For her four goals like Avegno (triplets by Giustini and Cocchiere). The British team placed seventh at the European Championships in Eindhoven last month. Only 2 places available for the Olympics. The match against South Africa for the team on Tuesday 6 February Silipo.