Funchal 2026: European Water Polo Championships Day 7 match previews

Match previews, Day 7 – Sunday 1 February
(Local times shown)

Group Stage II
(9th-16th place)

Group G

9:00 Slovakia v Türkiye

• The Slovaks are chasing their first points here, and a win would lift them in the group to play for the 13th place. At the same time, the Turks, after beating Germany in a shootout, may even hope for a classification game for the 11th place, provided they win and Germany don’t get more than one point against Serbia.

• Slovakia and Türkiye have met once at the European Championships before, two years ago when Türkiye won 13-10. Previously, they had back-to-back duels in the qualifications, played on a home-and-away basis, the Turks edged out the Slovaks in 2018 (11-11, 10-9), then Slovakia hit back in 2019 (19-9, 16-9).

Group Stage II
(9th-16th place)

Group H

10:30 Romania v Switzerland

• Both sides arrive at this match with the same goal: to win their first game here. Whoever succeeds will play for the 13th place, the losers have to settle for the classification match for the 15th place.

• Romania were 11th in 2022 and 14th two years ago – while the Swiss finished 12th at their last appearance in 1995, but back then, that was the last position.

• At any European Championships, this will be their first clash. Beforehand, they met three times only in the qualifications, with Romania leading 2-1 in the head-to-head record: 2017: 5-4, 2019: 6-8, 2023: 7-5.

Group Stage II
(9th-16th place)

Group G

12:15 Germany v Serbia

• The Germans lost a thriller to Türkiye in a shootout on Friday, but they still have the chance to finish top in this group and play for the 9th place, which would be a step forward after they finished 11th two years ago.

• With six points in hand, all the Serbs need is to avoid a regular time defeat to keep the top spot and play for the 9th place once more, just like in the previous two editions.

• Excitement is guaranteed – based on the last five editions where these two have met, as they have regularly produced tremendous battles. Germany lead 3-2, but the last two went to the Serbs. 2016: 14-13, 2018: 9-8, 2020: 11-11, pen: 4-2, 2022: 9-12, 2024: 11-12.

Group Stage II
(9th-16th place)

Group H

13:45 Portugal v Great Britain

• Both sides are on maximum points in this stage so far – the winners will play for the 9th place, the loser for the 11th place.

• After bowing out from the top 8, the Brits, who had been 7th two years ago, will play to restore some pride and keep their single digit finishes at the championships. Hosts Portugal came 10th a decade ago, when they took part for the last time – though it was a 12-team field in Belgrade. Playing for the 9th place would be a huge feat for them, especially at home.

• They have met once before, in the qualifications in 2023, with GB winning 14-12.

Group Stage II
(1st-8th place)

Group E

15:30 Italy v France

• Italy need a win to advance to the semi-finals.

• Mathematically, France also have a chance to make the top four by forcing a three-way tie by beating Italy by nine goals or more (in that case, three teams would finish with 3 points apiece, Italy, France and Croatia, provided the Croats lose to Greece).

• While Italy were in full dominance in this long-standing rivalry, and thus considered the favourites here too, one should note the first ever French win came in their very last encounter when they stunned the Italians 9-8 at the Paris Olympics, early in the group stage. The previous 20 encounters all went to Italy and usually by big margins.

• They have met at each edition of the European Championships since 2014, with Italy 6-0 up in these matches: 2014: 14-4, 2016: 10-3, 2018: 11-3, 2020: 18-6, 2022: 19-6, 2024: 12-6.

Group Stage II
(1st-8th place)

Group F

17:00 Hungary v Israel

• A win would send Hungary to the semi-finals as they cannot be dropped out from the top two in case of a three-way tie with the Netherlands and Spain (if Spain win, see below – a Dutch win would mean they better Spain with the win in their opening game in Group Stage I).

• In the company of the three giants, Israel can only look for narrowing the gaps and getting ready for the crossovers for the 5-8th places.

• Their head-to-head mirrors the difference between the sides – Hungary won all five matches with big margins. They scored 18 goals apiece in their last three matches, including their only clash before at the Championships, in 2022, when Hungary smashed their rivals 18-7. One year ago, in the World Cup Division I tournament, the Magyars won 18-9 (this was their last game to date). Earlier, a preparation match ended in an 18-8 rout in 2022, just like their match at the 2021 Olympic qualifications (27-2), and their first-ever clash, played in the Europa Cup event in 2018 (22-3).

Group Stage II
(1st-8th place)

Group E

18:45 Greece v Croatia

• Only an huge unexpected outcome would prevent the Greeks from finishing first, after beating Italy 15-10 on Saturday.

• Mathematically, the Croats have a chance for the semis too, though they would need a nine-goal win against the world champions (or, if Italy loses to France, they can advance with a single-goal win too – though that doesn’t seem likely either, see the head-to-head below).

• Greece have won all seven matches they contested against France at major tournaments, including their four contests at the last four European Championships. 2018: 21-2, 2020: 18-3, 2022: 24-4, 2024: 25-8. Earlier, they met in the qualifications in 2015, Greece won both of those matches too, 13-5 and 24-3.

• Their last encounter at the World Championships last summer also ended in a rout, 31-7.

Group Stage II
(1st-8th place)

Group F

20:15 Netherlands v Spain

• This is going to be big – as only one of them can advance to the semi-finals, provided Hungary beat Israel, which is the most likely outcome in that match. Two years ago, Spain and the Netherlands clashed for the gold medal.

• The Netherlands will finish top of the group by gaining any points, even if it’s from a shootout loss, as they beat Hungary 5-4, while the Spaniards lost to the Magyars 7-9. A single-goal loss would still send the Dutch through, though only in the second place via a three-way tie involving them, Hungary and Spain.

• To reach the semis, Spain must win in regular time and by at least two goals. That would put them in second place, just like a three-goal victory would as well, while a 4+ margin would rocket them to the first place.

• By regulation, in a three-way tie, only the results obtained against each other would be considered and in case of equal points (3 apiece), the goal-difference based on these results would rank the teams. Explaining the possible scenarios:

Spain win by 1 goal: HUN +1, NED 0, ESP –1

Spain win by 2 goals: HUN +1, ESP 0, NED –1

Spain win by 3 goals: HUN + 1, ESP +1, NED –2

Spain win by 4 goals: ESP +2, HUN +1, NED –3

• Their head-to-head mirrors the rise of the Spanish side. At the beginning, the Dutch were dominating, they won the first six matches. Spain gained ground in 2006, since then it’s a balanced affair with 4 wins apiece and a draw. Four of their last five encounters were high-stake matches, two semis and two finals, with one win apiece in both.

Here is the break-down, with the Dutch scores first:

1993: 18-2, 1995: 17-6, 1997: 11-3, 10-5 (bronze), 2001: 7-6, 2003: 10-6, 2006: 11-12, 2008: 10-10, 2010: 8-7, 2012: 10-11 (5th place), 2014: 5-10 (final), 2016: 15-14 (semi-final), 2020: 10-6, 2022: 7-10 (semi-final), 2024: 8-7 (final)

• Last year they met in three matches. In the World Cup Division I, Spain won 16-8. In the World Cup finals, the Dutch beat Spain 10-8 for the bronze medal. And Spain edged the Dutch out in the World Championships quarter-final in a shootout, 11-11, pens: 4-2.

• Besides this last one, they had several other big showdowns in recent years. Spain also beat their arch-rivals by penalties in their legendary Olympic semi-final in Paris (14-14, pens: 5-4), while the Dutch took the world title in 2023, again in a shootout (12-12, pens: 5-4).

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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

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