SYDNEY, July 24 (Xinhua) -- China will play Hungary in the seventh-place playoff at the 2026 women's water polo World Cup after going down to Italy in Sydney on Friday.
China came back from trailing 8-4 at half-time to level the score at 10-10 early in the final quarter before Italy again took the lead with five minutes left and held on for an 11-10 victory.
In the closing stages, China regained possession and launched one final attack, but the shot was blocked by Italy, denying China the equalizer.
Speaking after the game, Italian player Dafne Bettini credited China for a "very good" match, while Italian coach Maurizio Mirarchi said that China improved after half-time and caused his team "many problems".
The result means that China will play against Hungary on Saturday in the seventh-place playoff, while Italy will face the Netherlands for fifth place.
Hungary came back from three goals down in the fourth quarter to force a penalty shootout against the Netherlands at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center, but it was the Netherlands team that prevailed.
In the main bracket, the U.S. defeated host Australia 10-6 in the semifinals to advance to Sunday's gold medal match against world No. 1 Spain, who beat Russia in a penalty shootout. ■
