Courtesy: LEN
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
Full results: 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).