Funchal 2026: European Water Polo Championships Day 4 match previews

Match previews, Day 4 – Thursday 29 January
(Local times shown)

Group C

9:00 Italy v Türkiye

• This will be the first clash between the two teams at any European Championships. Their only recent notable clash came in 2018 during the Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, Spain, which finished in an emphatic 30-3 win for the Italians (with Kubra Kus scoring all three of Türkiye’s goals).

• Including Funchal, Türkiye have so far lost all of their group games at European Championships. They lost all five in their first appearance in Belgrade in 2016 (plus the 11^th/12^th final against Croatia), and all five in Barcelona in 2018 (and again the 11^th/12^th final against Croatia), then all three in Eindhoven in 2024. However, the Türks did win their last two games in 2024, each of them classification games – against Slovakia 13-10, then Romania 7-3, to secure 13^th place. In Madeira, they lost to Serbia 9-8 on Day 1, and Croatia 16-9 on Day 2.

• Italy won both of their opening games in Funchal, against Croatia (24-12) on Day 1, and Serbia (17-6) on Day 2, and have already secured top spot in Group C regardless of Thursday’s result against Türkiye. The Turks, after their two defeats, are resigned to finishing in bottom place.

• Türkiye star Kubra Kus captained club team Izmir Buyuksehir SK to back-to-back Challenger Cup titles during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons. Kus scored four goals in the 2023 final against ZVK Crvena Zvezda (10-9) and once in the 2025 final against domestic rivals Galatasaray Zena (9-8). In Funchal, so far, she also has one goal, scored against Serbia on Day 1.

• The Italian squad is the eldest – on average – across all of the teams in Madeira, at 24.7 years of age. Switzerland’s is the second eldest (24.5).

Group D

10:30 Netherlands v Israel

• Netherlands and Israel have met five times in the last decade, with the Dutch winning on each occasion. Their most recent clash came in the 2025 World Cup Division One tournament in Alexandroupolis, Greece, which Israel lost 21-6.

• At stake is the top spot in Group D, as both teams currently have six points, but regardless of the result, each side will advance to the top eight Group Stage II.

• This will be the third time these two teams have met in the Group Stage of a European Championships. They first met in 2018 in Barcelona, where the Dutch won 20-2, and in 2020 in Budapest, where the Dutch were victorious again, 22-3.

• Netherlands sisters Lieke and Bente Rogge won gold with their country at the 2024 European Championships in Eindhoven (with Bente scoring the winning goal from a six-on-five attack against Spain in the final, six seconds before the last buzzer), and they also tasted victory at club level in 2025 with their club ZV De Zaan in the Euro Cup in April, where they beat Pallanuoto Trieste over two legs, winning 9-10 in Italy and 14-7 at home.

• Netherlands and Israel have both already qualified for the next stage, after the Dutch beat Great Britain on Day 1 (14-4) and Switzerland (28-2) on Day 2, and Israel beat Switzerland on Day 1 (24-9) and Great Britain (11-6) on Day 2.

• Netherlands’ Kitty-Lynn Joustra is currently the tournament’s top scorer with 11 goals from 13 shots (second place is Croatia’s Iva Rozic with nine goals).

• Against Switzerland, the Netherlands set two scoring records in Funchal. The most goals in a game to date (28) – which was later matched by Hungary against Romania (28-3) – and the most goals scored in a quarter (10, in the first period).

Group B

12:15 Romania v Spain

• This will be the first time that Romania and Spain have faced each other at a European Championships. A win for Spain would see them progress alongside Hungary, unless Portugal produce a huge miracle against the Magyars.

• On their debut appearance at the European Championships in Split in 2022, Romania lost all five of their group games, including two games where they failed to score against medal favourites Hungary (22-0) and Netherlands (28-0). They did manage to score three against Greece, though, in a 24-3 defeat. Romania went on to finish 11^th after beating Slovakia 9-5 in the 11^th/12^th final.

• In the 2024 European Championships in Eindhoven, Romania played in Division 2, so they avoided any of the medal favourites. They managed to win one group game, against Türkiye (9-7), then won the 13^th/16^th classification semi-final against Bulgaria (18-6), before Türkiye got their revenge in the 13^th/14^th final by beating them (7-3).    

• Spain’s warm-up preparations for Funchal included two home games against the touring Australians at the start of January. The ‘Christmas Cup’ clashes were a repeat of the 2024 Paris Olympics final (which Spain won 11-9) and the Spanish came out on top in both encounters, 16-10 in the CN Sant Andreu pool and 16-15 in the home of CN Sabadell two days later.

• In Funchal, Romania are winless after losing to the hosts Portugal on Day 1 (12-7) and Hungary on Day 2 (28-3), while Spain lost to Hungary on Day 1 (9-7) and beat Portugal on Day 2 (22-7).

Group A

13:45 Greece v Germany

• Since 2009, Greece and Germany have met 10 times, with the Greeks winning on every occasion, and in the last six games, they’ve won by at least 10 goals or more.  

• The last time these two teams met at a European Championships was in the group stage in Split 2022, which Greece won 13-3.

• A win for Greece will see them finish top of Group A on maximum points.

• Prior to Funchal, the German squad enjoyed a training camp in California, and their coach Karsten Seehafer is hoping it was a taste of what’s to come, as the team’s sights are set on qualifying for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

• Greece are currently the top scorers in Funchal with 47 goals from two games, five ahead of the Netherlands in second.

• In Funchal, Greece beat Slovakia on Day 1 (24-7) and France (23-5) on Day 2, while Germany lost to France on Day 1 (13-11) and beat Slovakia (22-11) on Day 2.

Group B

15:30 Hungary v Portugal

• Hungary and Portugal have met just once before at the European Championships, in the group stage in Belgrade 2016. This year’s hosts will be hoping to do much better this time, as 10 years ago they lost 25-0.

• A win for Hungary will see them finish on top of Group B and maintain their 100% record in Funchal.  

• Hungary’s 28 goals against Romania on Day 2 (28-3) was a joint record for the most scored in a single game in Funchal to date, matching the 28 the Netherlands put past Switzerland (28-2).

• Hungary’s Kamilla Farago is her country’s top scorer so far in Funchal with six goals (joint ninth overall), while Portugal’s Maria Machado has seven (joint fifth overall). 

• In Funchal, Hungary beat Spain (9-7) on Day 1, and Romania (28-3) on Day 2, while Portugal beat Romania (12-7) and lost to Spain (22-7) on Day 2.

Group C

17:00 Serbia v Croatia

• This will be the fourth time Serbia and Croatia have met at a European Championships, and the record so far stands at 2-1 to the Croats. Their last clash on this stage was in Eindhoven 2024 in the play-offs for a spot in the quarterfinals, with Croatia winning 11-8 (Jelena Butic scored four). In Budapest 2020, Croatia also won (9-8) in the group stage, while Serbia’s victory came on home soil in Belgrade 2016, where they won in the group stage (8-4).    

• At stake in this game is a place in the top eight, as the winners will secure the runners-up spot in Group C and advance alongside Italy. Croatia have finished in the top eight on three occasions (2010, 2022 and 2024 – 8th each time), while Serbia have made the top eight just once (Belgrade 2006, where they finished 8th in their debut appearance). 

• In Funchal, Croatia boast two players in the top three of the overall scoring charts – Iva Rozic, who sits second with nine goals from 15 shots (behind the Netherlands’ Kitty-Lynn Joustra on 11), and Neli Jankovic, joint third with eight goals from 16 shots, alongside Israel’s Alma Yaacobi.

• In Funchal, Croatia lost to Italy (24-12) on Day 1, and beat Türkiye (16-9) on Day 2, while Serbia beat Türkiye (9-8) on Day 1, and lost to Italy (17-6) on Day 2.

Group A

18:45 France v Slovakia

• France and Slovakia have met three times in the past six years at major competitions, with France winning on each occasion. The last time they clashed was at the European Championships in the group stage of Split 2022 (28-5). Before that, they met in the qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics (17-9) and at the European Championships 7^th/8^th final in Budapest 2020 (17-8).

• A win for France will see them finish in the runners-up spot in Group A, as long as Germany don’t cause a huge surprise against Greece. It’ll also guarantee them a seventh successive top-eight finish, after placing seventh in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022, and sixth in 2024.

• Ema Vernoux is France’s top scorer so far in Funchal with six goals (joint ninth with 10 other players), and Miroslava Stankovianska is leading the way for Slovakia with five goals (joint 20^th with 12 other players).

• France have been awarded the most penalties in Funchal so far (eight, joint first with Greece), scoring six of them (the Greeks have been successful seven times). Slovakia, meanwhile, have earned two, scoring both.

• The French squad is the youngest – on average – across all of the teams in Madeira, at 19.4 years of age. Croatia’s is the second youngest (19.8).

• In Funchal, France beat Germany (13-11) on Day 1, and lost to Greece (23-5) on Day 2, while Slovakia have lost both their games – to Greece (24-7) on Day 1, and Germany (22-11) on Day 2.

Group D

20:15 Switzerland v Great Britain

• This will be the first time Switzerland and Great Britain have met at a European Championships. Both teams can’t reach the top two places in Group D, so will head to the 9th-16th Group Stage II regardless of the result.

• Great Britain captain Kathy Rogers recently returned to her home country (after a spell at CN Catalunya in Spain) to play for Sheffield in the British Water Polo League, alongside her sister, Sarah. This season is the first they’ve ever played together as adults.

• Rogers has also appeared for London Otter this season in the Challenger Cup (under the guidance of previous Great Britain coach Nick Buller) scoring 11 goals in Qualification Round I in Belgrade, as Otter successfully progressed to the next phase (which starts in March).

• After a 30-year absence, Switzerland’s return to the European Championships has been a huge success in the stands at least, with their fans lighting up the tribune with a sea of red for each of their games so far.

• Great Britain’s Lily Turner is their nation’s top scorer in Funchal so far with four goals, while leading the way for Switzerland is Paola De Feo and Lotti Verhagen with three each.

• In Funchal, Great Britain and Switzerland have been the least successful with 6m shots so far. Switzerland are second bottom in the rankings, scoring just once from distance (eight shots), while Great Britain have scored none (from six shots).

• The Switzerland squad is the second eldest – on average – across all of the teams in Madeira, at 24.5 years of age (behind Italy, 24.7), while Great Britain’s is the third eldest (24.4).

• In Funchal, Switzerland lost to Israel (24-9) on Day 1, and to Netherlands (28-2) on Day 2, while Great Britain have also suffered back-to-back defeats, to Netherlands (14-4) on Day 1, and to Israel (11-6) on Day 2.

Buy tickets to the 2026 women’s European Water Polo Championships by clicking here

Stay tuned to the European Aquatics Water Polo social media accounts for more news and live updates on Facebook and Instagram

Watch all the action live from Funchal for free on Eurovision Sport

For the full schedule, results and tables from the women’s European Water Polo Championships in Funchal, click here

Andy Rollé for European Aquatics 

The post Funchal 2026: European Water Polo Championships Day 4 match previews first appeared on European Aquatics®.