Day 14 Schedule
Classification 7-8
Match 45. 16:00.
Classification 3-4
Match 47. 17:35.
Classification 5-6
Match 46. 20:00.
Classification 1-2
Match 48. 21:35.
Overview
In the classification 9-10 match, Romania came from 8-1 down at quarter time to force a penalty shootout at 16-16 but it could not survive with Japan finishing 20-19 in sudden death.
In the classification match for 11th position, Canada turned the tables on Brazil, winning 16-11 after losing the round encounter on penalty shootout.
Match Reports
Classification 9-10
Match 40, JAPAN 20 ROMANIA 19 in sudden-death penalty shootout. FT: 16-16. Pens: 4-3 (8-1, 4-3, 2-8, 2-4)
What an incredible match this was! For Japan to go 8-1 in the first quarter and then to allow Romania to win the rest of the match 15-8 and force a penalty shootout was truly remarkable by the Romanians. And then for the shootout to go to sudden death after the first rotation yielded two saves each was equally fantastic. A delight to watch.
The first quarter was like a tsunami with eight goals to one. That’s averaging every attack and the 4-1 score came before the four-minute mark. Yusuke Inaba plugged the first two for Japan; Daichi Ogihara had a pair, as well and Kiyomu Date scored three of the last four. Romania took a timeout at 4:20 but the Japanese responded with four goals. Centre forward Alexandru Gheorghe gained the first Romanian goal. In the second quarter, Romania came back into the fray and denied many Japanese chances. Francesco Iudean scored his 13th and 14th goals of the tournament for 8-3 with Inaba picking up his third before Gheorghe repeated his first-quarter effort for 9-4. Three more Japanese goals came within a minute inside the last 1:40 before halftime, Inaba netting his fourth from a snappy six-metre shot and Date going on counter for his fourth.
Who would have thought that Romania would bring its A game in the third quarter, shooting five unanswered goals with more to come? That it did with Andrei Neamtu grabbing two. Japan called a timeout, gained an exclusion and Kenta Araki converted from the left post for 13-9. Levente Vancsik buried his shot and minutes later Inaba cherished a four-goal margin on counter. Neamtu and Vlad-Luca Georgescu, both on extra, narrowed the margin to two with two last-minute goals with the 12th with four seconds on the clock.
The last quarter was a heart-stopper with traded goals from Andrei Tepelus in the first minute to Adachi at 16-14. Sebastian Oltean drilled from the top and Georgescu scored his most important goal to equalise on extra from the top right at 0:34. Japan had two shots covered and the shootout had been booked.
Japan started and missed its first two and Romania missed its second shot. The next three went in and Romania had its fourth shot saved meaning the match was tied at 18-18. The next two shots were successful, ending the rotation and sending the match into sudden death. Watanabe did what he couldn’t at the start, by scoring Japan’s 20th goal and Georgescu had his shot blocked by goalkeeper Ren Sasano for the Japanese victory.
Match Heroes
Japan’s Inaba with five goals to finish with 23 in Singapore. Date collected four (12) while Watanabe’s one pushed him to 17. Captain Marius-Florin Tic stopped 14 shots for 60 in Singapore.
Turning Point
Japan’s 8-1 and then Romania’s relentless surge back to 16-16.
Stats Don’t Lie
Japan converted seven from 11 on extra and Romania a fantastic six from eight. There were two penalty goals for Japan and one for Romania. The teams stole the ball seven times each and Japan shot 38 to 34.
Bottom Line
Japan was 13th last year and Romania 10th in its first return since 2013 when it was 13th. This year it will settle for 10th. Japan was ninth in 2022 as well, a year after finishing 10th at the home Olympic Games. It was eighth at this year’s World Cup, so is up there with the best. This was its third win here.
What He Said
Yusuke INABA (JPN) — Captain and Five Goals
On the close match:
“I have no idea how it became like that. We (conceded) a lot of goals in the third quarter and it was really a tough game, see-saw game. I don’t know, for us, it was a terrible game. We were leading by seven, eight goals, then they came back to tie and first we missed two penalties… it was wow, just wow.”
On what changed in the third quarter:
“In the third quarter, they changed tactics. They put two centres every time and we got many exclusions than goals, so they were really smarter than us. In the last 11 seconds, we really wanted to score because we knew that if we went to penalties, we would have a lower possibility of winning. Their goalkeeper Marius-Florin (TIC) is really good, so in the last 11 seconds, everyone really wanted to score, but we couldn’t. But after these 11 seconds, I said to everyone ‘Just think about victory’, and then we won, so it’s OK.”
On Japan’s campaign:
“We were really good here compared to the Paris Olympics. In Paris, when we played against Hungary, against Spain, we lost by 15, 14 goals, which is a lot. But this time, by five or six, so now, for sure, we are getting better. Step by step but it’s OK; we will continue to grow.”
Classification 11-12
Match 39, BRAZIL 11 CANADA 16 (3-1, 2-4, 1-5, 5-6)
Canada won the battle of the Americas, coming from 4-1 behind to win by five and back in the numbers after missing 2024 and finishing 12th in 2023. These two teams met in the rounds and Brazil won 19-18 in penalty shootout on day six. Canada did not make that mistake twice. Head coach Pat Oaten is no stranger to international limelight coaching, leading the Canadian junior women’s team to the world crown at Calgary 2003. He also did a long stint with the senior women’s team and with Brazil women.
Brazil had the better of the first quarter at 3-1 with captain Gustavo Guimaraes with the first two goals — off the left-post position on cross and from deep right. Roko Pozaric replied for Canada on counter and Marcos Pedroso took it to 3-1 from centre forward, but about five metres out. Pedro Real gave Brazil a 4-1 advantage nearly three minutes into the second period and Nikos Gerakoudis replied, both from the same position at the top. Brazilian head coach Thiago Nacimento collected a yellow card. Guimaraes hit the penalty goal for a three-goal margin. Canada jumped back into the match with Jason O’Donnell from the top right. Aleksa Gardijan did not survive a VAR review for a violent action but Brazil could not convert the extra chance. Ali Oussadou converted a penalty foul and Reuel D’Souza brought up his 20th goal from the top on extra for 5-5.
Canada’s dominance continued in the third period with captain Bogdan Djerkovic dragging one down off the right-post position on extra; Pozaric from the top left; D’Souza on penalty and then from the top right for 9-5. Lucas Farias broke the more-than-10-minute drought from deep right at 1:24. After a Brazilian challenge was rejected. D’Souza brought up goal number 23 from the penalty line and 10-6 at the final break.
O’Donnell grabbed his second with a cross-cage shot in the first minute of the final stanza. Goals were traded with D’Souza scoring a pair, including the first helicopter (360-degree) shot of the tournament off a six-metre free throw. Captain Djerkovic scored another from centre for 14-8; Luca Andrade scored twice for Brazil as his team’s leading scorer and Guimaraes finished all scoring with his fifth. On the other side, D’Souza converted a penalty for his seventh of the match in his first World Championships for eight years.
Match Heroes
Canada’s D’Souza, with seven goals, to make him the tournament’s leading scorer by far with 26. Guimaraes scored five goals for 12, one behind Andrade, who scored twice today. Joao Fernandes finished with 10 saves and an incredible 64 in Singapore.
Turning Point
Canada turning from 4-1 down and onwards to victory.
Stats Don’t Lie
Canada converted five from 12 on extra and Brazil four from eight. On penalties, Canada put away four and Brazil two. Canada made nine steals to three and shot a huge 41 to 29.
Bottom Line
Canada is now 11th and Brazil up from 14th in 2023.
What He Said
Reuel D’SOUZA (CAN) — Player of the Match
On the match:
“I’m really proud of my team. This was a big goal of ours today, to come out and beat Brazil by any means. We knew it was going to be a dogfight and I’m just really proud of how we took it one possession at a time; we chipped away and ultimately we did what we wanted to do.”
On what changed after trailing in the first quarter:
“We reminded ourselves what makes us a group. It’s our love for each other, love for the team, love for the country. That was the message, that was the motto. Chip away one possession at a time, play for Canada and play with heart. When push came to shove, we were the ones to bring the energy. A 9am game is not easy for anybody, even the best athletes in the world. We woke up today on a mission and we ultimately went out and did what we wanted to do.”
On scoring seven goals:
“This whole tournament, I’ve been telling myself that I just need to go out there and do what I’m capable of. I know what I can do and I just had to go out there and do it. For me, it’s not about scoring goals. It’s about helping my team win, about putting my team in the best position to win games. And I feel like if I can stay out of exclusion problems, stay in the water, I can contribute in a lot of ways, not just scoring goals. I’m very proud of what I did this week and I’m really proud of my team for our ability to recover from that first game and come back today.”
On Canada’s Singapore 2025 campaign:
“There were a lot of ups and downs. There were some games that we wanted to perform better and today, we did what we wanted to do, so today was the up. I think there were a lot of downs, but this is what we need. We need these games, we want to play these difficult games, we want to get put in tough, uncomfortable experiences and positions. As far as preparation for Los Angeles 2028 goes, we’re going to have to beat Brazil and Argentina to go. That’s plain and simple, so the more times (we get) to play Brazil, the better. Getting to play them twice this week is great for us. We’re really happy to end on a good note before we see each other again in December for hopefully Division 2 of the World Cup.”
