Funchal 2026: European Water Polo Championships Day 9 match previews
Match previews, Day 9 – Tuesday 3 February
(Local times shown)
1st-4th
Semi-finals
17:15 Greece v Hungary
• This is a re-match of last year’s World Cup and World Championships finals. Greece won both in convincing style, it was 13-9 in Chengdu and 12-9 in Singapore.
• The Greeks have remained the only unbeaten team in this Championships – just like their men’s side when they had reached the semi-finals in Belgrade, only to lose to Hungary. Now the Greek women face the Magyars in Funchal.
• The two sides had a joint preparation camp just before travelling to Funchal, and the official match saw a scoring festival as Hungary won 18-14 in Budapest.
• Only last year they met in five matches, the Greeks won the two big finals and a World Cup Division One opener 14-10, while the Hungarians could beat them in a prep tournament in Budapest 20-11 and in the group at the Worlds, 10-9, but the Greeks avenged that defeat in the final.
• Greece are yet to win a gold medal at the Europeans, they have had five silvers and a bronze medal. In contrast, Hungary have amassed the largest collection of medals, 14 in total (3-5-6).
• The Greeks have reached the European semis seven times in the past, winning four (2010, 2012, 2018, 2022) and losing three (1995, 2001, 2024).
• Hungary have made the semis 14 times (the knockout phase has been held since 1989), they have had six wins (1989, 1991, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2016), and eight losses (1993, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020). While they were 5-2 in their first seven semis, they are 1-6 in the following seven semi-final matches.
• Hungary and Greece have met once in the semis, back in 2012 when Greece won 14-12.
• At the European Championships, Greece hold a 4-3 edge in the head-to-head record. After their early encounters, Hungary had a three-win streak, but the last two went to the Greeks once more, in Split and in Eindhoven.
Here is the breakdown:
1995: 9-7, 2008: 7-7, 2012: 14-12 (semi-final), 2014: 7-12, 2016: 6-9, 2020: 10-13, 2022: 9-8, 2024: 14-12
• At other high-stakes matches in the previous years, the Hungarians edged the Greeks in a shootout in the semis at the 2024 Worlds in Doha (8-8, pen: 4-2) and downed them 20-13 in the 2023 World Cup quarter-finals. They also upended them at the Olympics 12-9 and at the 2023 Worlds 10-9, though both times they met there just two days after their respective QF losses, in the 5th-8th crossovers.
1st-4th
Semi-finals
19:15 Netherlands v Italy
• These two nations sit on top of the all-time medal charts as they have claimed the most titles – the Netherlands have six, Italy have five. The Dutch have landed 13 medals (6-4-3), while Italy have clinched nine (5-2-2).
• However, the success stories are not similar – Italy somewhat took over the Netherlands’ reign from 1995 and reached six straight finals and won four of them – while the Dutch were the rulers in the early editions and also had a great run in recent years, making the semis at the last six tournaments, reaching the finals four times and now they are the title-holders. In contrast, after those glorious years, Italy won their fifth title in 2012 and that was their last trip to the gold medal game. Indeed, they had three podium finishes in their last nine appearances.
• Still, Italy have barely missed the semis – since 1989 they dropped from the top flight only twice (in 2018 and 2020, out of 18 participations). Their semi-final win-loss stands 7-9. They won in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2012 and lost in 1989, 1991, 1993, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2022 and 2024. After three losses in a row, they won the next six, but they are 1-6 in their last seven semis.
• The Dutch have had 14 semi-finals since 1989, winning eight and losing six. They won in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2024, and they lost in 1995, 1997, 2003, 2010, 2020 and 2022. In the last six editions they are 4-2.
• The two sides have clashed in European semis four times, including the last edition in Eindhoven. The Dutch won three (1991, 2014, 2024), while Italy beat them once (2003). One of their most memorable clashes was in Budapest 2014 where Italy seemed to have won it, but an illegal re-entry (a player with 3 fouls) ended in a last-gasp penalty for the Netherlands. They buried it to save the match to a shootout which they won and advanced to the final, while the Italians, devastated, ended up in the fourth place.
• At the Europeans, they have met 15 times, with the Netherlands leading 8-4 in the head-to-head, besides 3 ties.
1989: 15-3, 1991: 12-8 (semi-final), 1993: 13-7, 1995: 9-9, 1997: 10-8, 1999: 6-6, 9-10 (final), 2003: 5-7 (semi-final), 2010: 14-12 (bronze), 2012: 15-17 (quarter-final), 2014: 8-8, pen: 4-3 (semi-final), 2018: 6-6, 2020: 10-4, 2022: 13-16 (bronze), 2024: 7-6 (semi-final)
• Since the Italians upset the Dutch in the bronze medal match at the 2022 Europeans in Split (to avenge the Netherlands’ 7-5 win two months earlier in the bronze game at the Worlds in Budapest), Holland have had a devastating run of eight straight wins across all competitions. This includes a series of painful defeats for the Italians in big-time encounters, like the 2023 World Championships semis (9-8) and Olympic quarter-finals in Paris 2024 (11-8), plus the European semis in Eindhoven 2024 (see above).
• Their last match came after the two sides’ bitter defeats in the quarter-finals at the Worlds in Singapore, the Dutch won 16-13 in the 5th-8th crossovers. A year ago, they also met in the World Cup Division One tournament where the Netherlands bettered the Setterosa 11-8.
5th-8th
Semi-finals
13:00 Croatia v Israel
• Croatia are seeking their best-ever finish after coming 8th in the last two editions. A win would guarantee that and another World Championships appearance after last year.
• Israel can target to tie or better their best effort from 2022 when they finished 6th after a miraculous campaign in Split.
• Four years ago, these two teams met at the same stage and Israel upended the Croats in their home 15-8. In 2020, they met in the 9-12th crossovers and Israel won 11-7. Their first-ever clash at a European Championships happened in 2018 when they played a 7-7 draw in the group. Croatia’s only win, 12-7, is from 2015 when they clashed in the qualifications.
5th-8th
Semi-finals
15:00 Spain v France
• After 14 years, Spain missed the semi-finals for the first time. They were ousted in Eindhoven 2012 in the quarter-finals (by Hungary) to finish 5th at the end. Since then, they reached the top four in six straight editions, claiming three titles, so being dropped from the medal rounds will be painful for the Olympic title-holders. (During these years, Spain only missed the semis at the majors only once, at the 2022 Worlds, and besides that, they had only one tournament, the 2016 Europeans where they didn’t clinch a medal and finished 4th.
• Facing Spain, the French dreams to repeat at least their 6th place finish from two years ago look set to end with this game. Unless a miracle occurs, they can look to claim at least the 7th place – a rank they held firmly in five straight editions between 2014 and 2022.
• In recent majors, Spain have always thrashed France – their last game ended in a 23-6 rout at the World Championships in Singapore, and their Olympic encounter in Paris 2024 looked just a bit better from the French angle at home, where Spain won 15-6.
• At the Europeans, they have met at each of the last six editions and all ended in lop-sided contests: 2024: 17-8, 2022: 16-4, 2020: 15-6, 2018: 14-5, 2016: 21-2, 2014: 18-4.
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
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