Water Polo World Championships: Settebello in Paris, Olympic pass won. Beat America 13-12

It is Doha that opens the doors to the Settebello for the Paris Olympics. The Azzurri managed to narrowly beat Udovicic's Americans, who has been at the helm of Team USA for 10 years, 13-12 in the round of 16 of the World Cup. By reaching the quarter-finals – the match against Greece on Tuesday (3.30 pm) – and on the basis of the pass to Paris already acquired by Spain, Greece and Hungary, it manages to obtain 1 of the 4 Olympic passes available in the world championship tournament. Captain Francesco Di Fulvio, a 30-year-old from Pescara of Pro Recco, is the MVP of this round of 16 with 3 goals. And the Americans also didn't have the very strong center forward Ben Hallock who was disqualified after punching the Serbian Jaksik in the face. No problem this time on penalties after the debacle (only 2 goals out of 7) against Romania. Three goals from 3 penalties, 2 of which from Fondelli who, however, wasn't there against the Bucharest selection. Italy manages to pull away at the end of the second period at +2 (6-4) and is able to manage this advantage until the end with the Americans always chasing and closing in. Renzuto was sent off around 15'. Then Fondelli was also no longer available from the third period due to the 3 fouls he achieved. The Americans also lost 3 players during the match: Hirving, Wooded and Chase Dodd. The great work done by Ryder Dodd, a 17-year-old from California, is appreciable, an authentic prospect – he scored a double – for the future of the American national team. Daube was also very good, scoring 4 goals and being the most dangerous man in Udovicic's team. If there is a gap to be identified today for the Italians it is certainly the lack of incisiveness in numerical superiority: only 3 goals out of 11 chances. However, the number of blocks was good with 8 shots blocked. «I never feared that we would fail to qualify for the Olympics – explains Sandro Campagna, the coach -. These balanced matches are good for our strength. At the Olympics many will be like this.” The other quarter-final in the part of the grid where Italy is located will also be played on Tuesday (2pm) between Montenegro and Spain. On the other side the two matches will be between Croatia and Serbia and Hungary against France. «Now we can only focus on the World Cup – stated Di Fulvio -, our slogan is that Italy must always finish among the top 4 in every competition we go to play».