Spain retained the U21 men's trophy while France's U21 women won their first world title in 14 years at the 2024 International Canoe Federation Canoe Polo World Championships.
World number one Spain controlled the final as they beat Denmark 3-1 to lift the cup for the second consecutive time.
Despite the defeat, it was a significant step up for the Danes, who finished 10th in the previous edition in Saint-Omer.
“This is the best feeling. We are world champions two times in a row. It is historic. Now it is time to part,” Spanish captain Antonio Romero Mesa said.
France won 4-2 against Spain in the women's U21 final, with captain Anais Bonamy scoring a brace.
"It feels great. We finished behind them in the final group stages. But we won when it mattered the most. I am very happy for the team,” Bonamy said.
Earlier in the day, Spain defeated France 4-3 in the U21 men’s semi-final, with Jose Luis Aguilar and Javier Jesus Saborido Ruiz scoring two goals each.
On the other pitch, Denmark took on world number three Italy, where Viggo Willumsen scored with almost six minutes remaining to complete the comeback and win 3-2.
France and New Zealand finished third in the men’s and women’s U21 categories respectively.
Germany will play Great Britain and France will be up against Denmark for a place in the final in the senior men’s category.
The reigning champions were unstoppable in the final group games of the tournament, registering big wins. They beat Chinese Taipei 7-1 before a 3-1 victory over Poland.
Great Britain lost their first game of the day against world number two Spain, despite a hat-trick from skipper Suryan McCutcheon. However, they made up for it with a 7-1 win against Belgium.
Second-ranked Spain, on the other hand, could only draw with world number three Italy. The 4-4 result meant that both teams would not have a chance to play for the trophy.
German women recovered well from Friday to beat Sweden 9-1 before a huge confidence-boosting 5-1 win against France.
World number two France were having an off day as the Danes managed to edge them 3-2 thanks to an Emilie Ahrnkiel Jorgensen winner with five minutes remaining.
Iran squandered a three-goal cushion against Switzerland but captain Elahe Pourabdian Limoudehi proved her class with another clutch goal to shock the world number five team 4-3.
Related links
