Team captain, Rita Kesthelly, jumped into the pool in her eighth World Cup final, becoming the only Hungarian record holder ahead of Mercedes Stieber and Ursulia Takács. The 31-year-old international player – who was substituted in the last quarter – helped the team by scoring four goals.
Attila Peru's side will meet hosts Japan on Tuesday and the New Zealanders on Thursday, and if they win their level check, they will advance directly to the quarter-finals in the group stage.
a result:
Women's Water Polo Championship, Group D, First Round:
Hungary-Canada 11-10 (5-3, 2-2, 1-2, 3-3)
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Scorers: Keszthelyi 4, Gurisatti 2, Vályi, Máté, Garda, Leimeter, Szilágyi 1-1, and Cravier, Lemay-Lavoie, Browne, La Roche 2-2, Paul, McKelvey 1-1.
Hungary:
Magyari – Szilaje, Vale, Maheu, Mattei, Kesthely, Garda – Substitutions: Parkes, Lemaître, Rybanska, Farago, Gorisatti.
The Hungarian and Canadian teams met during the preparation for the World Cup, a month ago in Montreal, and the Hungarians won easily with a score of 13-7, even without Rita Kisthely, who was absent due to her government exam. Since 1986, the Hungarian national team has met the Canadians only three times in the World Cup, winning seven out of 12 matches and losing five times, perhaps the most painful of which was the quarterfinals of the 2017 World Cup, when the national team lost abroad. The team won on Margaret Island.
It seemed that the first goal of the match was scored by the Canadians, but the referees looked at the video of the previous Hungarian situation, and it turned out that Vanda Vale's shot crossed the imaginary goal line. As is rare, technology had to be used to score the second goal as well, but this also indicated a Hungarian goal, as Zuzanna Matej's close-range shot went wide. The Canadians got better with a nice goal up the middle, but the response came immediately from the other end: Rita Kiszthely “I'm here!” By shouting, he demanded the ball from the field with lightning speed and shot it into the net. The Canadians tied the game with a goal from a two-man advantage, but with another “timely” goal by Keszthelyi, the Hungarians in green jerseys and white hats gained the advantage again, and Gréta Gurisatti restored the two-goal lead on a penalty kick.
