Chaos, drama and individual extras on the cube, we reached the semi-finals with five!

The with the quarterfinals, the madness arrived at the men's water polo tournament. The Spaniards, who won our group, immediately lost blood against the Croatians, who finished fourth in A, and then the Greeks, who finished in A, also lost to the Serbians with a last-second goal. At the beginning of the evening's program, the Americans surpassed the Australians in a five-a-side duel, so we were able to complete the successful day of the lower seeded team. we met in the group stage, then in one of the best matches of the tournament we won with five after 9-9. In the summer, we faced them twice as part of the preparation, the first was easily won, the second was won after five meters by Alessandro Campagna's team.

Krisztián Manhercz, who scored seven goals in the quarter-final against the Croatians in Tokyo, kicked the ball. the motor on the rally with a very distant bomb, and in the next attack, Dénes Varga won a penalty from Ádám Nagy's pass, and Manhercz sent this one to his place as well. They also got a five-pointer, but Andrea Fondelli hit the post with the help of Vogel Soma, and not long after, one of their attempts died in our block. For the first time, they were able to initiate Vogel from the front, which was confirmed by the video referee, to which Manhercz answered with the man advantage! The counter-attack also started (they scored three goals one after the other), of which we drew the shorter one, and we also allowed Alessandro Velotto to shoot from a free throw, and he also scored his second goal. Then they warned him not to act so much, that was the end of the first quarter.

The second period started with good defenses, something with a buzzing Gergő Zalánki goalpost, Márton Vámos's cross and then his free throw and was neutralized by Marco Del Lungo. We continued to block effectively, but if necessary, Vogel made a save when Francesco Di Fulvio escaped. He also presented one in a man disadvantage, but unfortunately the rebound went to them, and Francesco Condemi made no mistake. Then another videotaping started, after which Condem was sent off for four minutes for hitting Szilárd Jansik - let's add that the verdict was at least opinionated. They took away their goal, we scored a penalty, Manhercz scored that too, we led 4-2 instead of equal and we could play evenly until the end of the half. But we didn't know what to do with the situation either, there was a bit of confusion in the front, and in the back - as you could prepare for - we were constantly getting exhibitions. At the end, of course, we had to have a small video group session, which ended without a verdict.

Di Fulvio started the second half with a huge rocket from a man deficit, then our man advantage expired, and Gonzalo Echenique immediately equalized. We haven't been effective from the field since the first quarter, while Echenique scored again, Zsolt Varga had to ask for time. Vogel kept the one-goal difference with two saves, but unfortunately Di Fulvio's hand failed again, the Italians scored four goals in a row. Zalánki put an end to the terrible series due to superior numbers, but Di Fulvio really got into it, and Zalánki also scored another one at the end of the half. 

it was equal! It was a good four minutes back when they got a penalty, but Vogel once again outsmarted Fondelli! On the other side, we got an advantage, which has already expired, but Manhercz stayed calm and cut it in from the wing, we took the lead! We were within two minutes when Nicholas Presciutti equalized, and 68 seconds before the end we were in trouble, Zsolt Varga asked for time. Del Lungo picked off Manhercz's attempt, they also asked for time, it was 39 seconds until the whistle. They were shot away, Varga and Jansik could go two-on-one, but Del Lungo caught the latter's jump, the end was 9-9 again, fives came again.

Dénes Varga started, it seemed that the his shot went off the crossbar behind the line, but the video referee canceled it. Then Vogel again performed a miracle, only this time against Di Fulvio, so Vámos became the first good five meterer. Then Vogel caught Fondellie as well (for the third time now), it's crazy what the Hungarian goalkeeper did! Zalánki didn't make a mistake, neither did Presciutti, but Black was saved by Gianmarco Nicosia. But Vogel could not be stopped, he also flirted with his clubmate Edoardo Di Somma, the decision was in Manhercz's hands. And he decided, with a good five-meter shot, which ended this terribly chaotic, exciting and dramatic rally!

We have reached the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics, where we will face Croatia in the final on Friday.

Final result, Olympics, men
Quarterfinal
Italy-Hungary 10–12 ( 2–3, 0–1, 5–2, 2–3, 1–3) - with five meters
Hungarian goals: Manhercz 5, Zalánki 3, Fekete