Netherlands, Hungary Move Closer to Spot in FINA Women’s Water Polo World League
LAUSANNE – Netherlands and Hungary were the big winners in round 4 of the European preliminaries in the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League 2015, held on Tuesday February 24 in various cities. The unbeaten Dutch squad moved one step closer to securing a Super Final spot, which is scheduled for June 9-14 in China (place to be confirmed).
In Group A, host Hungary, 2013 World bronze medallists, edged closest challenger Russia by just one goal 13-12 (4-3, 3-5, 5-2, 1-2) in Kecskemet, claiming their second win in the tournament. In Lille, Italy’s victory over France 3-14 (0-3, 1-5, 2-4, 1-2) gave the visitors three more points to sit atop the standings. With two rounds remaining, Italy leads with 9 points and is closely followed by Russia and Hungary, 8 and 7 points, respectively.
In Group B, 2008 Olympic champions Netherlands claimed their fourth win in a row, beating visiting Greece 13-5 (4-0, 4-1, 2-1, 3-2) in Gouda and totalling 12 points. Current World champions Spain fired in Chemnitz, defeating host Germany 3-22 (0-5, 2-7, 0-6, 1-4) to take second spot in the group.
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, 9 pts (3 wins, 1 loss); RUS, 8 pts (3W, 1L); HUN, 7 pt (2W, 2L); FRA, 0 pt (4L)
GROUP B: NED, 12 pts (4W); ESP, 6 pts (2W, 2L); GRE, 6 pts (2W, 2L); GER, 0 pt (4L)
Next round (March 24, 2015):
ITA-HUN (Imperia) & RUS-FRA (Astrakhan City)
ESP-NED (Madrid) & GRE-GER (city to be confirmed)
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
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