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The Settebello's World Championship run came to a bitter end in Singapore, as Italy were convincingly beaten by Greece in the quarter-finals. The final score 17–11 reflects a match that saw the Azzurri struggle from the start, with the Greeks dominating early and never looking back.
A turning point came in the first quarter, when Matteo Iocchi Gratta was sent off for a VAR-reviewed underwater kneeing incident -an episode that left Italy one man down and mentally shaken. "We played the wrong game", admitted head coach Alessandro Campagna. "The commitment was there, but it wasn’t enough. Greece played a perfect match and deserved to win. We made a mess of it, going 9–1 down. I believed we could turn it around, because we’re capable of big runs but their goalkeeper had a great performance too. This group is at the beginning of a journey. We must keep working".
A remorseful Iocchi Gratta apologised after the match: "I’m sorry to the team and to Italian water polo. I didn’t intend to hit the opponent. I was making a cycling motion underwater and couldn’t stop it. It hurts to have left the team a man short".
With a 9–2 deficit at halftime, only a miracle could have brought Italy back into the match. Campagna rotated both personnel and tactics in a last-ditch effort, but Greece maintained control throughout, as seen in the quarter scores: 1–6, 1–3, 4–4, 5–4.
