Hungarian women made a shutout on Day 8 of European Water Polo Championships

The Netherlands won Group B thank to a surprisingly easy cruising against Spain in the decisive match on the last day in the women’s prelims. Russia bested Greece with a devastating performance in the second half (they won that part 7-1) to finish second in Group A. After the men’s team, the Hungarian women also made a shutout, beating Serbia 27-0, so the hosts and the Dutch will enjoy an easier QF, while the clashes of Spain v Greece and Russia v Italy promise some exciting water polo for Tuesday.

In the other matches Slovakia and Israel added historical chapters to their respective storylines at the Europeans. The Slovaks returned to the big stage after 37 years and now managed to reach the quarter-finals as they beat Croatia in a highly exciting match. Israel had two draws from their first-ever appearance in 2018 but no wins – today they claimed a historical first victory as they blew away the Germans.

Women’s preliminaries, Round 5

Group A: Greece v Russia 7-12, Serbia v Hungary 0-27, Slovakia v Croatia 9-7

Rankings: 1. Hungary 15, 2. Russia 12, 3. Greece 9, 4. Slovakia 6, 5. Croatia 3, 6. Serbia 0

Group B: Spain v Netherlands 6-10, France v Italy 6-18, Germany v Israel 3-10

Rankings: 1. Netherlands 15, 2. Spain 12, 3. Italy 9, 4. France 6, 5. Israel 3, 6. Germany 0

Fixtures for Tuesday

Quarter-finals: Hungary v France, Russia v Italy, Greece v Spain, Slovakia v Netherlands. For places 9-10th: Croatia v Israel. For places 11-12th: Serbia v Germany

The schedule of the games will be confirmed tomorrow (QFs of SVK v NED and HUN v FRA to be switched, the latter one starting at 19.00). Get more information HERE.

Spain v Netherlands 6-10

The game between Spain and the Netherlands was of the most awaited clashes of the prelims – but this time the two sides weren’t on the same level. The Dutch took a flying start, led 0-2 in less than three minutes while the Spaniards struggled in front of the goal. In the second, Holland doubled its lead, Spain’s first goal was a lucky one and they needed 13:07 minutes to get on the scoreboard. At halftime the title-holders led 1-6 and soon they went 2-8 up with 5:03 remaining in the third (the second Spanish goal came from a third shot in the same 6 on 5).

It all looked way too one-sided, then the Spaniards’ caught a better spell and managed to score four unanswered goals for 6-8, what’s more they had a man-up to come even closer but Debby Willemsz could put a hand on the ball (she was 14/20, 70.0%). Soon Catharina van der Sloot broke the Dutch silence after 10:52 minutes and that cooled back the game. The match produced some unusual stats, the difference in the number of shots was quite unusual at this level, 33-18 to Spain, still, the Netherlands managed to win by four goals. Spain’s LEN Award winner goalie Laura Ester had a miserable afternoon, she didn’t have a single save in the game (0/10), while her teammates were 1 for 15 in man-ups in front.

Spain will have another showdown with Greece, this time in the quarters after the two sides met in the semis two years ago.