Spain books place in gold medal match with win over Hungary

Elena Ruiz of Team Spain in action during the Women's Semifinal match between Spain and Hungary on day thirteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre on August 05, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Getty Images)

Spain and the United States have been the two best teams all tournament long.

Following Spain's 8-6 semifinal win over Hungary, they'll be the ones fighting for women's water polo gold.

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Spain punched its ticket to the gold medal match on Saturday thanks to a dominant first half and a strong performance from goalie Laura Ester Ramos.

The Group A winners came out of the gates hot, scoring twice in the first quarter and jumping out to a 5-1 lead before halftime. Anna Espar Llaquet was the focal point - all three of her goals came in the first half, and she led Spain to a 5-2 halftime lead.

For a moment early in the second half, it looked like Hungary may have been mounting a comeback after sawing the lead to 6-4, but goals from Elena Ruiz and Maica Garcia Godoy of Spain put the Hungarian comeback charge to bed.

Ramos was fantastic in goal for Spain. She saved nine of the fifteen shots she faced and limited Hungary to its lowest scoring output of the entire Games.

As mentioned, Spain will advance to play the United States in the gold medal match on Saturday.

Hungary will face the Russian Olympic Committee in the fight for bronze.