Croatia reaches water polo final at the World Aquatics Championships

The Croatian water polo team reached the final of the World Championship after beating France in a dramatic penalty shoot out in Thursday's semifinal. 

Croatia has now made back-to-back finals at major international tournaments after reaching the final of the European Championship just last month.

France, who upset Hungary in the quarterfinals, were the clear underdogs, however, they held their own in the opening stages as Croatia held on to a slim 3-2 lead after the opening quarter.

Croatia keeper Marko Bijač made a number of crucial saves in the second quarter to help his team take a 6-5 lead at halftime.

Croatia stamped their authority on the match in the third quarter as they ran out to a 9-6 lead. France would then fight back in the final quarter and level the game 11 goals apiece with just 16 seconds remaining. Croatia then prevailed on penalties and reached their second consecutive final this year.

For Croatia, Loren Fatović was top scorer with 3 goals.

Croatia will meet Italy - who beat Spain in the other semifinal on Thursday - in the gold-medal game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Central European Time.

Croatia lost the 2024 European Water Polo Championship final to Spain 11-10 last month in Zagreb.