Courtesy: LEN
The qualification weekend didn’t offer any huge upset – teams which had been part of the show in the last edition in Split all retained their respective spots for Netanya. In the women’s tournament, thanks to the expansion to 16 teams, there are returning nations, Great Britain, Czechia and Turkiye and newcomer, Bulgaria.
In the men’s groups the top two ranked sides had no headaches to grab wins over the other two rivals in the respective groups. Serbia, the Olympic title-holder which had ended up in this tournaments after their shocking losses in Split 2022, breathed through the three rounds with easy wins, racking up 59 goals – though the Netherlands hit the most in Group A, 72 across their three encounters.
Even the games deciding the second positions were one-sided. The most thrilling ‘battle’ occurred in the race among the four second seeded teams. Since only the best three qualified, goal difference was crucial in determining the ranks. Slovenia, coming back from three goals down with a last-grasp penalty goal to earn a tie against Romania on the last day, was in safe as they gained a point against the eventual group-winner.
Malta enjoyed big wins and had +20 goal-difference to better the other two runners-up – so it was a Slovakia v Portugal duel at the end. The schedule favoured the Slovaks who, playing an hour later, knew they had to beat Great Britain by ten goals which they managed to achieve with a goal scored 1:11min before the buzzer (17-7). They finished with +8, one better than the Portuguese who need to wait two more years to have another shot to make the cut for the very first time.
And the consolation didn’t come for Portugal in the women’s competition either. Their team played at home where the Brits stunned the Germans right on the opening day with a 13-5 blast and went on edging out the hosts on Day 2 with a thrilling 14-12 victory to secure their spot at the Europeans after a wait of 10 years. The final showdown between Portugal and Germany decided the qualification and late in the fourth, at 9-9 it could have gone either way but at the end the Germans prevailed (12-10). Thanks to this win, the nation which took part at each edition with the exception of 2014, will be on board for 2024 too.
As for the others, the Swiss team put up a couple of good fights against the favourites but came up short against Turkiye and Romania (lost to both by two), so their debut is still at least two years away. The Turks, on contrary, will return to the big stage after their back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2018.
The Czechs were waiting for the next opportunity much longer. Their last Euro-campaign dates back to 1997 – now they made it again as they downed Ukraine in the crucial game with ease (13-7).
And last but not least, there will be a newcomer as Bulgaria’s female team delivered a fine win over Malta to clinch a championship berth for the first time.
The date of the draw for the 2024 European Water Polo Championships shall be announced soon.
2024 European Water Polo Championships, Qualification Tournaments
Men
Group A (Amersfoort, NED)
1. Netherlands 9, 2. Portugal 6, 3. Poland 3, 4. Lithuania 0
Group B (Gzira, MLT)
1. Germany 9, 2. Malta 6, 3. Ukraine 3, 4. Bulgaria 0
Group C (Istanbul, TUR)
1. Serbia 9, 2. Slovakia 6, 3. Turkiye 3, 4. Great Britain 0
Group D (Kranj, SLO)
1. Romania 7 (48-25), 2. Slovenia 7 (46-23), 3. Switzerland 3, 4. Finland 0
Comparison of the second placed teams:
1. Slovenia 7, 2. Malta 6 (+20), 3. Slovakia 6 (+8), 4. Portugal 6 (+7)
The best three qualified, besides the four group-winners.
Participants of the men’s championship
Division I
Croatia, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Montenegro, Georgia
Division II
Israel, Netherlands, Germany, Serbia, Romania, Slovenia, Malta, Slovakia
Women
Group A (Burgas, BUL)
1. Slovakia 6, 2. Bulgaria 3, 3. Malta 0
Group B (Otopeni, ROU)
1. Romania 9, 2. Turkiye 6, 3. Switzerland 3, 4. Sweden 0
Group C (Novi Sad, SRB)
1. Serbia 6, 3. Czechia 3, 3. Ukraine 0
Group D (Rio Maior, POR)
1. Great Britain 9, 2. Germany 6, 3. Portugal 3, 4. Finland 0
The top two ranked sides from each group qualified.
Participants of the women’s championship
Division I
Spain, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Hungary, Israel, France, Croatia
Division II
Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Turkiye, Czechia, Germany
