Team Canada won Pool B on Wednesday at the Olympic men's water polo qualifier from Santiago, Chile. At the 2023 Pan American Games, Canada defeated Argentina 14-7, and will next face Mexico in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Nicolas Constantin-Bicari of Montreal, Quebec scored five goals for Canada. He has now scored 11 goals for Canada in the last two games. Matthew Halajian of Toronto, Ontario and Jeremie Cote of Montreal also recorded hat tricks as they each scored three goals. Canadian players with one-goal games were Bogdan Djerkovic of Ottawa, Ontario, Aleksa Gardijan of Gatineau, Quebec, and Reuel D'Souza of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.
In Pool B play, Canada also beat Chile 28-4 and Cuba 29-7. In three games, they outscored their opponents 71-18. The ratio of +53 points pro and con, is the second highest in this tournament. The United States is +64. The Americans won all three games in Group A as they beat Mexico 30-2, Puerto Rico 28-9, and Brazil 24-7.
There are three other quarterfinal matches to be played in men's water polo on Thursday. Brazil faces Cuba, the United States faces Chile, and Puerto Rico faces Argentina. The semifinals will take place on Friday and the final on Saturday. The winner of the Olympic men's water polo qualifying tournament will participate in 2024 Olympics in Paris.
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