The Spanish men’s team will not be able to revalidate the world title in Fukuoka or win a direct ticket to the Paris 2024 Games. A cruel ending, an unexpected outcome, with a goal by Manhercz at the last second, slipping under the body of Unai Aguirre, making it 12 -11 for the Magyars and deprived David Martín of their third consecutive world final.
Spain, in its sweetest moment of play, in full competitive maturity, will have to seek consolation with the bronze against the Serbian team, defeated by Greece in the first semifinal (13-7).
Both teams, Spanish and Hungarian, arrived with full victories in the championship, both are well known, and both had enough pending accounts. Like the 2022 European semifinal in Split, where Hungary barred Spain from passing the final. Although the closest precedent was the 10-8 for the Spanish in the semifinals of the recent World Cup that they won in July.
Spain started strong. A save by Unai Aguirre, a steal by Álvaro Granados, with a very fast counter, and assistance to Marc Larumbe who opened the scoring. However, in the next superiority -for the exclusion of Granados-, the Magyar figure, Gergo Zalanki, put the tie (1-1).
The Spanish defense began to perform with its characteristic intensity, which caused Hungary to eat up time. Martín’s men came out with dizzying speed and Bernat Sanahuja, without thinking twice, launched a tight lash to the right post to score the 1-2. From a possible 1-3 (in three unsuccessful shots in a row) he went to 2-2 by Manhercz in a quick surprise shot.
Seeing that Hungary took the number of speed, Spain squeezed mobility in superiority. The ball circulated through the goal, Perrone marked the play, “3-2”, the shot threatened on one side and the other, and in one of the hanging Alex Bustos patted from the buoy for 2-3. But the advantage was short-lived, in the next attack, Vigvari crossed a hard shot that made it 3-3 shortly before closing the first quarter.
Spain returned with its seasoned, intense, closed defense, but Hungary brought out its quality with a backhand goal from Denes Varga from 7 meters. A superb back goal that put the Magyars ahead for the first time (4-3).
Martín’s men tied with a penalty that Vogel guessed at Felipe Perrone. The Spaniards did not collapse, as they equalized with a powerful missile from Alberto Munárriz (4-4). All that remained was to secure the back, and Unai Aguirre joined the comeback operation with his third save in this quarter, which gave him the option of taking the initiative. That was how Felipe Perrone, from the same place as Munárriz, pierced the Hungarian goal to make it 4-5 with 1m36s to go and recover the advantage.
The set grew to an impressive 0-3 with Perrone’s second goal, splendid, with a second remaining in possession. Spain went from 2 (4-6) to put the duel back on track before the break, thanks to a shot by Unai Aguirre that prevented it from being 5-6 on the horn: it was the fifth stop for the Barcelona goalkeeper, who was growing by the minute.
The Spanish team could not restart the game better after the break. In his first attack, Bernat Sanahuja crossed a missile to make it 4-7, the maximum income of the duel. But Jansik replied on the buoy with ease, with a very soft defense from Munárriz to bring Hungary closer to 5-7. And then two sticks saved Spain from goals by Manherzc and Nagy. Fortune was allied with those of Martin.
Hungary insisted so much that it ended up coming at 6-7, by Daniel Angyal in a manual clap. Unai Aguirre avoided the tie with a save. Spain spent minutes of burden. I needed to regain control, a knockout. It was then that Alberto Munárriz recovered his powerful arm with a shot in position four that recovered the 2 (6-8) with less than two minutes remaining in the last quarter. Each defense was a step towards the final.
But with 12 seconds to go, Tahull, too soft, could not stop Toni Nemet who, in a buoy position, turned around to make it 7-8. Blai Mallarach had one last lead to return the 2 but was saved by Vogel. He would have to suffer in the last 8 minutes.
In the last sleeve, Spain began recovering the 2nd with good circulation, assistance from Larumbe and a goal from Miguel de Toro from a tap-off. But Manhercz frustrated the distance again in the next Hungarian play (8-9). He had to defend hard and recover the ball again. More circulation and Sergi Cabanas, from CN Sabadell, hit a cross shot to the squad to make it 8-10 with 4m30s to go.
In inferiority, Spain defended like a cat belly up, Unai Aguirre put out another arm, his seventh stop, but Gergo Zalanki plugged in the 9-10 with 3m40s to go. The selection could not fail in his reply, and Blai Mallarach joined the festival with another long-distance shot with 3m12s to go (9-11). However, a defensive oversight left Jansik alone as a dovecote to cut again (10-11 with 2m45s to go).
The finalist would be decided in favor of the one who failed the least. Marton Vamos achieved the tie at 11 with 1m55s to go with an impossible shot. Spain was playing in the next attack. He looked for the pass to the buoy, but the ball fell short. Hungary would attack with 1m12s left on the clock, but they fouled. Attack for Spain with 45 seconds. He looked for Miguel de Toro at the buoy and got an expulsion and superiority. Dead time for David Martín and 19 seconds of attack.
Bernat Sanahuja had the shot to make it 11-12, but his shot was blocked. Hungary time and attack with 16 seconds. Ball to the left corner, Krisztian Manhercz shot from a very short angle at the last second, Unai Aguirre blocked, but the ball slipped under his body. Cruel ending: 12-11. Spain was running out. Without the possibility of revalidating the title and without a direct ticket to Paris 2024.