FINA World Women’s Junior Water Polo Championships
- Sept. 9-15, 2019
- Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal
- Venue: Funchal Olympic Pools Complex
- Competitors: 16 teams
- Live Scoring
The 2019 World Women’s Junior Water Polo title will come down to a Sunday meeting between the defending champions from Russia and the 2017 bronze medalists from the Netherlands.
The Russians will be looking to claim their third title, following gold medals in 2009 and 2017, while the Dutch will be seeking their first crown since winning the inaugural event in 1995.
Russia earned its spot in the championship match with a 16-9 victory over Greece, while the Netherlands made the final with an 11-8 win over Italy.
In other action, the United States and Spain won seeding matches to decide which teams would meet to play for fifth place on Sunday, while Australia claimed ninth place and Brazil grabbed 11th.
Sunday Schedule
| 7th Place | China vs. Hungary | 4 p.m. / 11 a.m. ET |
| 5th Place | USA vs. Spain | 5:20 p.m. / 12:20 p.m. ET |
| Bronze Medal | Italy vs. Greece | 6:40 p.m. /1:40 p.m ET |
| Gold Medal | Netherlands vs. Russia | 8 p.m. / 3p.m. ET |
Saturday Results
| Sept. 14 | |
| 11th Place | Brazil def. South Africa 13-12 (shootout) |
| 9th Place | Australia def. Canada 14-5 |
| 5th through 8th Seeding | USA def. China 16-10 |
| Spain def. Hungary 13-8 | |
| Semifinals | Netherlands def. Italy 11-8 |
| Russia def. Greece 16-9 |
Saturday’s Top Scorers
| Goals | Player, Team | Opponent |
| 6 | Bayley Weber, USA | China |
| 6 | Polina Kempf, Russia | Greece |
| 5 | Ryann Neushul, USA | China |
| 4 | Chen Xiao, China | USA |
| 3 | Ana Dias, Brazil | South Africa |
| 3 | Leticia Belorio, Brazil | South Africa |
| 3 | Sophie Milliken, Australia | Canada |
| 3 | Verica Bakoc, Canada | Australia |
| 3 | Xu Rui, China | USA |
| 3 | Lieke Rogge, Netherlands | Italy |
| 3 | Rozanne Voorvelt, Netherlands | Italy |
| 3 | Margarita Pystina, Russia | Greece |
Semifinals
The Netherlands outscored Italy 7-4 in the second half to snap a 4-all tie and claim a spot in the finals with an 11-8 win. Lieke Rogge and Rozanne Voorvelt paced the Dutch with three goals apiece, while Nicole Zanetta, Anna Repetto and Lucrezia Cergol each scored two goals for Italy.
Polina Kempf netted six goals and Margarita Pystina added three as Russia cruised past Greece 16-9. The Russians boasted a 9-4 lead at halftime and added two more goals of cushion by outscoring the Greeks 7-5 in the second half. Douli Vasiliki and Eleni Kanetidou turned in two goals apiece to lead the Greek attack.
5th through 8th Place Seeding
The United States jumped out to a 10-4 halftime lead, including seven goals in the opening period, before matching China goal for goal in the second half en route to the 16-10 victory. Bayley Weber put in six goals for the Americans, while Ryann Neushul added five scores. Chen Xiao scored four goals for China, while Xu Rui chipped in three.
Spain seized the early advantage over Hungary with three unanswered goals in the first quarter, then closed out the 13-8 victory with a five-goal fourth period. Paula Arrones managed a hat trick to pace Spain, while Silvia Espinagosa, Elia Velayos and Helena Zurita put in two goals apiece. Natasa Rybanska, Janka Utassy and Kamilla Farago each notched two goals for Hungary.
9th Place
Australia grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, cruising to a 14-5 win over Canada with four-goal outputs in each of the final three stanzas. Sophie Milliken notched a game-high three goals for Australia, while Verica Bakoc turned in a hat trick for Canada.
11th Place
South Africa led 5-4 at the half, while Brazil countered by outscoring its foes 5-4 in the final two stanzas to force a penalty shootout. In the end, Brazil made four of its penalty shots, while allowing just three to claim 11th place with a 13-12 victory. Ana Dias and Leticia Belorio each scored three goals to pace Brazil, including one apiece in the shootout. Four South African players turned in two-goal efforts: Paige Tancrel, Jennifer Everett, Boati Motau and Chloe Meecham.