The battle for Super Final berths was fierce between European teams in the penultimate round of the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League 2015, held on Tuesday March 24 in various cities. Italy and Netherlands still lead with 12 points each.
In Group A, host Italy beat 2013 World bronze medallists Hungary 12-9 (2-1, 3-1, 4-3, 3-4) in Imperia. Meanwhile in Astrakhan City, Russia defeated France 18-4 (5-2, 5-1, 4-0, 4-1).
In Group B, the Dutch suffered their first loss of the tournament against reigning World champions Spain, whose squad won 11-8 (4-1, 2-2, 4-3, 1-2) in Madrid. Greece crushed Germany 21-5 (6-1, 4-1, 5-3, 6-0) in Athens and is now in second place in the group rankings.
The composition of the European Groups of the FINA Women’s World League 2015 is as follows:
GROUP A – Italy, Russia, Hungary, France
GROUP B – Spain, Greece, Netherlands, Germany
Provisional rankings:
GROUP A: ITA, 12 pts (4 wins, 1 loss); RUS, 11 pts (4W, 1L); HUN, 7 pt (2W, 3L); FRA, 0 pt (5L)
GROUP B: NED, 12 pts (4W, 1L); GRE, 9 pts (3W, 2L); ESP, 9 pts (3W, 2L); GER, 0 pt (5L)
Sixth and last round (April 21 & 28, 2015):
ITA-RUS (Avezzano) & FRA-HUN (Nice)
GER-NED (Hamburg) & ESP-GRE (Barcelona, April 28)
Auckland (NZL) will stage the women’s Intercontinental Tournament from April 28 to May 3, 2015 with the following teams:
GROUP A – China, Brazil, USA, Kazakhstan
GROUP B – New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Canada
The women’s Super Final is scheduled for June 9-14, 2015 in Shanghai (CHN).