Women's U15 European Water Polo
Championships, Summary
Spain won the second edition of the
women’s U15 European Water Polo Championships in Zagreb, crowning a spectacular
run with six victories in as many games, including a 10-4 downing of Greece in
the final. Hungary clinched the bronze after beating Italy.
Final: Greece v Spain 4-10. Bronze
medal: Hungary v Italy 14-8
Final rankings: 1. Spain, 2. Greece,
3. Hungary, 4. Italy, 5. Netherlands, 6. Croatia, 7. Germany, 8. Serbia, 9.
Israel, 10. Turkiye, 11. Czechia, 12. Romania, 13. Ireland, 14. Slovakia, 15.
Ukraine
Results in full:
https://len-ws.microplustimingservices.com/lenu15wpc2023w/index_web.php?cal=1
The young Spanish ladies left no
chance for their respective rivals at the U15 Europeans in Zagreb – they played
six matches, earned six convincing wins. Their most balanced game was an
encounter with Greece in the group-stage which they won 8-5 – but to underline
their superiority, they doubled that margin against the Greeks when they met
again in the final. They breathed through the field, blasted their opponents in
the quarters (18-5 against Serbia) and in the semis (14-8 against Italy). Then
in the final the blew the Greeks away as well, staging a 6-0 rush after 2-2,
building a massive 8-2 lead before the final period.
The Greeks were perhaps a bit of
tired of their semi-final heroics against Hungary. The Magyars, winners of the
first edition, were in devastating mood in each of their earlier matches,
including a 16-6 thrashing of Italy in the group and 23-5 against Germany in
the quarters. They also dominated the first half in the semis as they led by
two, but the Greeks had a fine spell from the middle of the third period and
their 1-5 run proved to be decisive. The Magyars had some desperate tries in
the last minute, but they couldn’t save the match to a shootout – so they had
to face Italy once again for the bronze. They claimed it, though, thanks to an
8-2 blast in the middle two periods.
The Netherlands claimed the fifth
place in a brilliant 28-goal game against Croatia (15-13), despite 7 goals from
the hosts’ best player Neli Jankovic, while Germany upended Serbia for the 7th
place. These latter four teams were challenged by the best sides of the second
division in the crossover matches after the successful debut of the new
two-division format at LEN events. They managed to retain their spots, but the
new system worked well as the matches were more even both in the group and in
the knockout phase, apart from a handful of exceptions.
LEN age-group water polo action will
return in a week when the U15 boys begin their quest in Podgorica (MNE).
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