Funchal 2026: European Water Polo Championships Day 6 match previews

Match previews, Day 6 – Saturday 31 January
(Local times shown)

Group Stage II
(1st-8th place)

Group E

13:00 Greece v Italy

• The first big match of the day will offer another chapter in one of the longest-running rivalries, between the two Mediterranean powerhouses. It’s going to be their 20th encounter alone at the European Championships, not to mention the series of big-time clashes at the other majors.

• Greece can look back to an amazing 2025 with two gold medals (World Cup and World Championships), while the Italians are still chasing their old glory, since they were unable to make the podium in the last two years which had five majors (they could reach the semis at the last Europeans in Eindhoven, their only time in the top four, but finished 4th).

• They are to battle for the top rank in the group – as their semi-final appearance might not be in danger as Greece will face Croatia and Italy take on France the following day.

• Their head-to-head record at the Europeans can be divided into two phases – Italy won the first 10 matches between 1989 and 2008. Then the Greeks ended their bad run and now they lead 6-3 in the nine games they played between 2010 and 2024; they won three of their last four encounters.

Here is the breakdown:

1989: 5-9, 1991: 4-11, 1993: 4-6, 1995: 4-8 (semi-final), 1999: 5-7, 2001: 3-5, 1-7 (semi-final), 2003: 5-7, 2006: 7-8, 2008: 9-10, 2010: 7-5, 10-5 (semi-final), 2012: 10-9, 2014: 7-7, p: 2-4 (quarter-final), 2016: 4-10 (quarter-final), 2018: 7-6, 2020: 5-7 (5th place), 2022: 12-9 (semi-final), 2024: 7-6 (bronze)

• Besides their legendary Olympic final in Athens 2004, when Italy broke the hosts’ hearts with a fantastic extra-time win (10-9), in recent years they also had a couple of high-stakes clashes. Greece won their World Championship quarter-final 14-12 in Doha 2024 and they also downed the Italians 10-4 for the bronze at the 2021 Olympics. Italy’s last big win in a knockout match dates back to 2015 when they defeated the Greeks 9-6 in the World Championships’ quarter-finals.

• Their last two clashes at major events were split, Italy won their Olympic group-stage match 12-8 in Paris 2024, and Greece crashed their arch-rivals 19-14 in the World Cup quarters last April in Chengdu.

• They met three weeks ago in Ostia for a preparation game where Greece won 11-10.

Group Stage II
(1st-8th place)

Group F

15:00 Netherlands v Hungary

• A high-stakes match – after cruising through the group stage, the Dutch now face Hungary and Spain on back-to-back days, where the semi-final berths are at stake. Since Hungary beat Spain 9-7, even a single-goal defeat would send them to the semis (provided they beat Israel on Sunday). If the Netherlands win by two or more, Hungary’s fate would depend on the outcome of the Netherlands’ last match against Spain.

• The Netherlands are the title-holders who made the top four in the last six editions. After the Hungarians missed the semis in back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2024, something that had never happened to them before, they are targeting the top four once more.

• At the 2025 majors, the Netherlands finished third in the World Cup but ended up 5th at the Worlds, while Hungary reached the final at both events to land silver both in Chengdu and in Singapore.

• These two teams’ rivalry was born with the European Championships – as they finished 1-2 in the first four editions (1985, 1987, 1989, 1991) and they are topping the all-time charts when the total number of medals considered. The Dutch have 13 (6-4-3), the Hungarians claimed 14 (3-5-6).

• Heading into this crucial game, their head-to-head is tied at 9-9 with one draw. While the Dutch had the edge at the beginning – that 19-4 match at the very first edition is still Hungary’s biggest ever defeat – the Magyars enjoyed an unbeaten run of seven matches between 1995 and 2012, but the Dutch won three of their last four matches at the Europeans.

Here is the breakdown:

1985: 19-4, 1987: 11-8, 1989: 14-11 (final), 1991: 8-11 (final), 1993: 9-8 (semi-final), 1995: 5-6 (semi-final), 2001: 12-12, 2003: 9-10, 2006: 6-11, 2008: 7-9 (quarter-final), 2010: 8-9, 2012: 8-9, 2014: 12-11, 2016: 14-10, 7-9 (final), 2018: 8-7 (semi-final), 2020: 8-10 (bronze), 2022: 13-4, 2024: 14-11

• At the other majors, the Dutch beat the Magyars 10-8 in Paris 2024 in a crucial group-stage match. Earlier, Hungary managed to edge out the Netherlands at the Worlds in the quarters in 2024 (8-8, pen: 5-4) and in the semis in 2022 (13-12), and they also beat them 14-11 at the Olympic quarters in 2021.

• Their last game was at a prep tournament last summer where the Netherlands won 15-12 in Godollo (Hungary).

Group Stage II
(1st-8th place)

Group E

17:15 France v Croatia

• With a top-eight finish secured, both sides may look to equal, if not better their results from 2024. The French, after a series of 8th place finishes (four in a row), and then ending up 7th in five straight editions (2014-2022), managed to grab the 6th place two years ago, their best finish since 1995. Croatia could break into the top eight for the first time in 2022 and 2024, finishing 8th. This match is about to decide which team could play for the 5th place and who should settle for the 7th place classification match (they are the underdogs in the next round when France will face Italy and Croatia meet Greece).

• At the European Championships, Croatia are yet to beat the French, who hold a 4-0 lead in the head-to-head: 14-3 (2016), 17-6 (2018), 13-4 (2022), 12-10 (2024), and had a 15-5 win in the qualifications in 2018. However, the last two matches in the World Cup Division II event went to the Croats, 12-11 and 14-13 in December 2024. And they routed the French weeks before this event at a Zagreb prep tournament, 17-9 and 18-9.

Group Stage II
(1st-8th place)

Group F

19:15 Spain v Israel

• It’s a must-win game for Spain before their decisive clash against the Netherlands on Sunday. They were in the semis across the last six editions and reached the final in the last three championships – the last time they failed to make the top four dates back to 2012.

• For Israel, this stage offers little chance for any positive results as they meet Hungary the next day. This means they may not have a shot to equal their best effort from 2022, a 6th-place finish, but they could still play for the 7th place which would be their second best effort, as they finished outside the top eight in their other three appearances (2018, 2020 and 2024).

• Spain are in full dominance in the head-to-head, leading 7-0 and not a single match was a close one – two of their earliest matches in the World League qualifiers produced single-digit gaps (11-5, 13-6), all the others ended in routs.

• At the Europeans they met in the last three editions: 18-2 (2020), 20-3 (2022), 22-7 (2024) and they had one prep match in 2022 (20-6).

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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics 

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