Russia, Spain and Italy are the three European qualifiers for the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League Super Final 2014 to be played in Kunshan (CHN) on June 10-15.
In the last round of the preliminaries for Europe held on Tuesday April 22, the British squad stunned Spain, beating the reigning World champions 9-7 (1-0, 3-1, 3-4, 2-2) in Manchester.
In Szekesfehervar, the Hellenic squad proved too strong for the Magyars, defeating the home side 10-8 (3-2, 3-3, 1-3, 1-2).
With a goal average of 54-48, second-seed Russia secures a spot for the Super Final.
Final rankings:
GROUP A: 1. ESP, 9 pts (3 wins, 1 loss); 2. RUS, 6 (2W, 2L); 3. GBR, 3 (1W, 3L)
GROUP B: 1. ITA, 9 pts (3W, 1L); 2. GRE, 6 (2W, 2L); 3. HUN, 3 (1W, 3L)
In May, Riverside, Southern California (USA) will host the first-ever FINA Intercontinental Tournament. The event will qualify four teams for the women’s Super Final, and brings together some of the world’s top teams, including 2012 Olympic gold medallist USA, 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Australia, 2013 World League winner China and 2016 Olympic Games host Brazil.
Courtesy of FINA.