July 25, 2021 - It was an easy win for Croatia against Kazakhstan in their Olympic opener on Sunday in Tokyo. 

Croatia water polo opened its Olympic campaign against Kazakhstan on Sunday at 12:50 Croatia time. Ivica Tuck's team was the clear favorite to win the match, which they convincingly showed. 

Croatia lineup:

Marko Bijač, Marko Macan, Loren Fatović, Luka Lončar, Maro Joković, Luka Bukić, Ante Vukičević, Andro Bušlje, Lovre Milos, Josip Vrlić, Paulo Obradović, Javier Garcia Gadea

1st Quarter

Croatia opened with a goal by Maro Joković with 6:48 to go in the 1st quarter and Bijač defended Kazakhstan's attack straight after. Luka Bukić scored Croatia's second goal for 2:0 with 4:23 to go. 

Fatović scored from 5 meters to make it 3:0 with 3:33 to go. Garcia scored Croatia's 4th goal for 4:0 with less than a minute to go. Kazakhstan's scored their first goal for 4:1 with 22 seconds left. Croatia closed out the 1st quarter 4:1.

2nd Quarter

Luka Bukić scored his second goal for 5:1 at 6:49. Kazakhstan made it 5:2 20 seconds later. Obradović sored from the outside for 6:2.

Luka Bukić nailed the goal for a third time with 3:24 to go (7:3), and again for 8:3. Joković scored from 5 meters for +5 (9:4). 

Fatović scored Croatia's 10th goal for 10:4 with 6 seconds to go, which was the final score of the quarter. 

3rd Quarter 

Vrlić scored for 11:4 to open the 3rd quarter and again for 12:4 seconds later! Croatia was in a very comfortable lead. Garcia scored for 13:4 before Maro Joković nailed a rocket (and potential goal of the tournament contender) for 14:4. Joković scored his 4th goal for 15:4 with 2:38 left.

Obradović scored his second goal of the match for an impressive Croatia lead of 16:4. Vrlić made it +12 (17:5) with less than a minute to go. Vukičević made it 18:5 to end the 3rd quarter. 

4th Quarter

Miloš scored to open the final quarter at 19:5. Croatia's received its third penalty of the game with 6:18 to go in the game. Obradović scored with ease for 20:6. 

Fatović scored for 21:6 with 5:25 left. Joković scored his 5th goal of the game as Croatia's best scorer with 3 minutes to go (22:6).  Bijač saved a Kazakhstan penalty with 2 minutes left. 

Macan scored his first goal of the match with a minute left (23:7). Andro Bušlje and goalkeeper Bijač were the only Croatia players left to score. 

Croatia had the final attack of the match and was unable to score. The match ended 23:7 for Croatia! 

Croatia will play Australia next. The match is scheduled for Tuesday at 12:50 pm. 

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The Croatia water polo team convincingly defeated Kazakhstan 20-4 (5-2, 6-0, 3-0, 6-2) in the first round of the FINA World League Super Final in Belgrade. The champion of the tournament secures a spot at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year, reports T.potal on June 18, 2019. 

Ante Vukičević scored four goals to be the most efficient player of the Croatia national team, while Andrija Bašić scored three goals. Hrvoje Benić two, Ivan Buljubašić, Anđelo Šetka, Lovro Miloš, and Loren Fatović each scored two goals, while by Luka Lončar, Maro Joković and Andro Bušlje scored one. Besides the Croatian goalkeepers, only Ivan Krapić did not score for Croatia.

Miras Aubakirov scored twice for Kazakhstan, while Medvedev and Shmider each scored one. 

In the second meeting of Group B, Serbia and Australia will play at 21:00, while in Group A, Hungary - Canada (15:45) and Japan - Spain (19:15) will meet. All the teams will play in the quarterfinals of this tournament.

The Croatia water polo team will play their second match of the tournament on Wednesday (21:00) against the host, Serbia, while Ivica Tucak & Co. will face Australia on Thursday (15:00) in the final round of Group B.

Last year's winner, Montenegro, did not make it to the final tournament this year. Hungary, who won the silver last year, came to Belgrade with their B team as they await the main spectacle this summer - the World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. 

Serbia, the host of the tournament, has a total of 10 medals from this competition, 9 of which are gold. However, last year in Budapest, they were left without a medal. 

Spain won the bronze last year and came with their strongest squad to Belgrade. They also won the silver at the European Championship last year in Barcelona and won the bronze in Zagreb this year at the Europa Cup.

The Croatian ‘Barakudas’ won their last World League medal two years ago in Russia where they secured the bronze.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

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