The team of Spain got the third and last European place for the Super Final of the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League 2015, by winning the concluding match of the Old Continent preliminaries against Greece by 12-9. After a 6-6 tie at half-time, the difference was made in the third quarter, with a 2-0 advantage for the hosts, who managed to retain their lead until the end of the game.
In Barcelona, on April 28, the Iberian squad (2013 world champion) needed a victory to finish as the best second classified of the two groups and ensure its presence in the decisive stage of the competition, to be held in Shanghai (CHN) from June 9-14.
After the conclusion of the European preliminaries, Spain joins Netherlands (leader of Group B) and Italy (the best in Group A) in the eight-team Super Final of the competition. The five remaining teams will be decided at the Intercontinental Tournament, taking place in Auckland (NZL) from April 28-May 3.
The final ranking of the qualification phase in Europe (24 games in several cities, from November 25, 2014 to April 28, 2015) is as follows:
GROUP A:
1. Italy, 15 points (5 wins, 1 loss); 2. Russia, 11 pts (4W, 2L); 3. Hungary, 10 pts (3W, 3L); 4. France, 0 pts (6L)
GROUP B
1. Netherlands, 15 pts (5W, 1L); 2. Spain, 12 pts (4W, 2L); 3. Greece, 9 pts (3W, 3L); 4. Germany, 0 pts (6L)
Teams qualified for the Super Final: Italy, Netherlands and Spain.
Water Polo News is courtesy of FINA.
