MALTA 14
FRANCE 15
(2-1, 4-2, 2-3, 2-4, 4-5)
With their mission completed a day ahead of schedule, the goal for Malta’s waterpolo team was to assess the progress made in recent years. While significant strides have been taken, a historic breakthrough slipped agonisingly through their fingers yesterday at the National Pool.
In each of the last five editions, Malta qualified as runner-up in the group stages. But this time, Milan Cirovic’s side had a golden opportunity to top their qualifying round for the first time. They came heartbreakingly close, only to be denied by a penalty shootout – a cruel ending after never trailing during regular time.
Nonetheless, the progress was clear.
France, a perennial powerhouse, only edged Malta via penalties – a stark contrast to their previous meeting, where the French side cruised to a 17-7 win.
That same French squad included six Marseille players who had recently competed in the Final Four of the LEN Champions League held in Malta.
These are promising times for Maltese waterpolo, and recent performances suggest a brighter future lies ahead. That was the message conveyed by Aquatic Sports Association of Malta president Karl Izzo during a press conference at Tal-Qroqq.
“We are determined to improve on our last performance in Belgrade next year and move beyond 15th place. But we must climb one step at a time,” a cautiously optimistic Izzo said.
Malta took an early lead in the first quarter, with Nikolai Zammit opening the scoring and Steve Camilleri quickly doubling the advantage. France missed two chances to capitalise on numerical superiority, but Thomas Vernoux pulled one back just before the buzzer.
Malta’s defence stood strong, with the zone coverage in front of goalkeeper Jake Tanti proving highly effective.
The French struggled to find gaps, and their play appeared disjointed.
Steven Vitrant levelled for France early in the second session, but Malta responded in style with three unanswered goals from Jeremy Abela, Zammit, and Jayden Cutajar.
France’s Alexandre Bouet reduced the deficit, but Matthew Zammit restored the three-goal cushion again before half-time.
Early in the third quarter, Camilleri fired in from eight metres to make it 7-3. France regrouped with a timeout called by coach Florian Bruzzo, but Tanti made a stunning save from Bouet’s five-metre shot.
Bouet did find the net shortly after, and Ugo Crousillat added another to bring France within two goals. However, Jerome Zerafa Gregory’s vital goal helped maintain Malta’s momentum.
Despite France’s pressure, key players like Vernoux were kept unusually quiet – a credit to Cirovic’s tactical set-up. Romain Marion-Vernoux threw his side a lifeline with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, cutting Malta’s lead to 8-6.
Camilleri again gave Malta a three-goal advantage early in the final session, but France surged back with three consecutive goals to level at 9-9.
Malta regained the lead with 34 seconds to go through Sam Gialanze, but Enzo Nardon equalised almost immediately.
With 12 seconds remaining, Jake Muscat’s shot struck the post – and the game went straight to penalties.
Though Malta fell just short, their performance showed they are no longer content with merely qualifying – they’re ready to compete with Europe’s best.
The future looks bright.
MALTA: J. Tanti, J. Muscat, B. Cachia, S. Gialanze 1, M. Zammit 1, S. Camilleri 3, J. Cutajar 1, J. Abela 1, N. Zammit 2, D. Zammit, J. Bonavia, B. Busuttil, J. Zerafa Gregory 1.
FRANCE: J. Offner, U. Crousillat 1, A. Bouet 3, D. Do Carmo, T. Vernoux 2, S. Vitrant 1, E. Nardon 1, R. Marino-Vernoux 1, L. Canovas, Vanpeperstraete 1, J. Carpentras, A. Hovhannisyan, M. Mas, F. Braise.
Referees: T. Kavcic (Slovenia), R. Evers (Netherlands).
Penalty Sequence: Camilleri (M) scored 1-0; Nardon (F) scored 1-1; Galea (M) saved 1-1; Bouet (F) scored 2-1; N. Zammit (M) scored 2-2; T. Vernoux (F) scored 2-3; J. Muscat (M) scored 3-3; Marion- Vernoux (F) scored 3-4; J. Cutajar (M) scored 4-4; Crousillat (F) scored 4-5.
