Hungary, Greece, Serbia, Russia, Croatia and Italy were the winning teams of the inaugural European round of the FINA Men’s Water Polo World League 2015, held on November 18, 2014.
In Athens, the Greeks (Group A) wrapped up a comfortable win over the Romanian team, winning 15-8 while reigning World champions Hungary defeated Slovakia 13-6 in Debrecen.
In Group B, World League defending champions Serbia crushed visiting Spain 9-1 in Nis. The Russian squad proved too strong for team Germany, who had to settle for a 12-9 loss in Volgograd.
In Group C, 2012 Olympic silver medallists Italy beat France 15-9 in Aix-en-Provence; visiting Turkey lost to reigning Olympic champions Croatia 13-3 in Zagreb.
The composition of the European Groups of the 2015 Men’s World League is as follows:
GROUP A – Greece, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia
GROUP B – Germany, Russia, Serbia, Spain
GROUP C – Croatia, France, Italy, Montenegro, Turkey
Provisional rankings:
GROUP A: HUN, 3 pts (1 win); GRE, 3 (1W); ROU, 0 (1 loss); SVK, 0 (1L)
GROUP B: SRB, 3 pts (1W); RUS, 3 (1W); ESP, 0 (1L); GER, 0 (1L)
GROUP C: CRO, 3 pts (1W); ITA, 3 (1W); FRA, 0 (1L); TUR, 0 (1L); MNE (did not play in round 1)
Next round (December 9, 2014):
Group A: SVK-GRE (Novaky) & HUN-ROU (Dec 10, Miskolc tbc)
Group B: GER-SRB (Hamburg) & ESP-RUS (Terrassa)
Group C: MNE-ITA (Budva) & FRA-CRO (Montpellier)
Water Polo News courtesy of FINA.
