Courtesy: LEN
In the coming days, 17 men teams and 14 women teams hit the road leading to Split, site of the 2022 European Water Polo Championships. Eight spots are up for grabs in the men’s qualifications and six in the women’s tournaments.
In the last two editions – Barcelona 2018, Budapest 2020 – the fields were almost the same, only one participant changed, Slovakia managed to oust Turkey in the women’s event, otherwise the old guard retained its respective spots at the championships.
Something similar can be expected this time, male teams ranked 9th -16th in Budapest have the biggest chance to return to the big stage again, just like the women’s sides ranked 7-12th in January 2020.
Among the men challengers with some past experience at Europeans, Slovenia faces the toughest test as it was drawn against the two strongest sides, Germany and France and that does not promise much for them despite playing at home. Georgia, Slovakia in Group B and Romania and Malta in Group C seem to be safe bets – in Group D, however, we might see some close encounters. The Netherlands is the favourite there but host side Israel and Ukraine will put Turkey under pressure for sure.
The women’s groups promise some tough battles but Slovakia and Germany in Group A and Greece and Serbia in Group B should not have any headaches. In the only tournament to be played in March, besides the favourite French team, Israel and Portugal may have another showdown – the Israelis managed to achieve their historical qualification in 2018 on the expense of the Portuguese.
The top two ranked teams from each group shall qualify for the European Water Polo Championships, to be held in Split on 27 August-10 September.
Courtesy of the hosts, most of the matches can be followed via live streaming here
European Water Polo Championships, Qualification tournaments (17-20 February)
Men
- Group A (Kranj) Germany, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, Belgium
- Group B (Tbilisi) Georgia, Slovakia, Belorussia, Poland
- Group C (Gzira) Romania, Malta, Lithuania, Ireland
- Group D (Netanya) Turkey, Netherlands, Ukraine, Israel
Women
- Group A (Bucharest) Slovakia, Germany, Ukraine, Romania, Ireland
- Group B (Zrenjanin) Greece, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Belgium
- Group C (Gzira – 4-6 March) France, Israel, Portugal, Malta
