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Hungary have beaten everyone so far, but Italy also have no defeats

Hungary have marched their way through their much more difficult group. The Italians were often on the brink but their young team has shown character

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The Hungarian hosts have secured the top spot in their group with excellent performances, which earned them a direct spot in the semifinals. Their opponents were not harmless - Croatia, Serbia and Spain are the cream of the crop in water polo today.

But Hungary have shown they have a realistic chance of taking the crown. When someone allows Croatia and Serbia to score only 6 goals, it means they know what they're doing. When someone comes back from 0-3 against Croatia or gets a 10-1 run against Germany, it means they have character.

- We have already played a few prep games against Italy this summer. It was tight ever time but that means very little today. The importance and the readiness of my players is completely different. There's no point comparing those two games - said the home coach Benedek and added:

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- We are primarily focused on ourselves and our own problems. These are definitely too big fluctuations within a single game. We have huge  ups and downs and we have so far managed to get by, but it can't go on forever. We have to be ourselves throughout the entire game today.

The Italians haven't been so dominant but their route towards the semifinals has been flawless. After group stage where they had 2 draws, they got a minimal win against Croatia in the quarterfinals.

- It was a really tough game filled with many strong duels. It was a fast-paced game and it was not easy to keep up. That's why I'm even more satisfied with the fact that we managed to defend our last three situations with a man down - said coach Campagana.

What the Italians deserve praise for is the audacity of their young players. They don't shy away from taking a long-range shot, they're very dangerous when they get a chance.

Creativity can be the problem. They push a lot of their balls on their center Aicardi. Judging by the refereeing criteria, this can even be counterproductive. And good defense can stop their long-range shots.

- I know we aren't the favorites but we weren't the favorites against Croatia. This role suits us as we can play without any pressure. But if Hungary think they'll have an easy task, they're very much mistaken - said the Italian player Giorgetti.