It’s like a cliché — United States of America is the team to beat when it comes to major championships. Fukuoka 2023 will be no different. You have to weigh up the probabilities, more than the possibilities. USA has dominated world women’s water polo since it claimed its fourth consecutive World Championship crown in Budapest, Hungary in 2022 — and seventh overall.
Besides the World Championships, USA started its World Cup run in 2010 in Christchurch, New Zealand, creating a rumble that had the venue levelled later in the week due to a massive earthquake. The fourth consecutive title came in Long Beach a fortnight ago (team pictured below).
The World League, now defunct, was a happy hunting ground for USA with seven consecutive titles from 2014 until 2021, finishing third last year behind Spain and Hungary.
Did I forget to mention the Olympic Games? Three consecutive crowns with an unprecedented fourth on offer in Paris, France next year.
Head Coach Adam Krikorian’s mantra for all his team is to perform at their best and perfect the basics with success a by-product of these values.
USA replenishes its ranks constantly and still seems to weave newcomers into the intricate patterns that make the team such an amazing triumph. Youngsters like Emily Ausmus seamlessly blend into the structure alongside such greats as captain Maggie Steffens and Maddie Musselman.
USA’s progress in Fukuoka will be keenly watched as it tries to avoid what happened in the city 22 years ago, losing the bronze-medal final to Canada.
These championships are the first time that 15 players can be used for each team with only 13 on the roster each day.
Pretenders To The Crown
While USA has a huge target on its chest, there are pretenders to the crown — teams who have taken a pot shot and scored a bullseye. Australia, Hungary, Spain and Netherlands have lowered USA’s colours in the past few years with Australia the first to halt USA’s 100-plus consecutive victories. There’s that word again — consecutive. It’s a word that many nations would like to eradicate from USA’s vocabulary.
The topsy-turvy nature of this year’s competitions so far means all the top teams have either beaten each other or gone very close.
The Fukuoka Groups
Group A:
This is where the main focus will be with USA fronting three teams who did not make this year’s World Cup finals series — Australia, China and France.
Australia has struggled post-pandemic and has to go back to the inaugural world championship for women, which it won in 1986. It has also won two silvers and two bronzes with the losing finals in 2007 and 2013. The latter against the previous non-USA winner, Spain, a team it went agonisingly close to beating this year, going down 9-8 in Athens. It also has a 12-7 victory over China this year.
France is starting to make a statement ahead of its home Olympic Games, but the lack of big-time competition this year could prove detrimental.
China has been in hibernation these past few years, but did throw up a one-goal loss to Italy and a two-goal defeat by Greece in the World Cup qualifiers earlier this year.
Group B:
Netherlands has the scalp of USA this year with a 9-8 victory in Athens. It won its group in Athens ahead of USA, Hungary and Italy and went to Long Beach where USA turned the tables with a 12-11 nailibiter in the gold-medal final. Netherlands probably has the best credentials for a gold medal in Fukuoka behind USA.
Spain won the World League crown over Hungary late last year and further cemented its Fukuoka claims with a repeat performance in the bronze-medal clash in Long Beach with an 18-15 margin.
Israel has made a huge impact this year, qualifying for the World Cup and the World Championships, both for the first time, and completed the World Cup with a first victory — 12-11 over New Zealand for seventh ranking.
Kazakhstan was 11th in Budapest and 10th in Gwangju and will be hard-pressed to match it with the other three, considering their recent performances.
Group C:
Italy and Greece headline the group and they are hard to separate. In fact, in Long Beach it was not until the last two seconds that Italy broke the deadlock for a 10-9 victory to clinch fifth position. Italy was fourth in Budapest last year and Greece seventh, positions they will be hoping to improve upon in Fukuoka. Both teams had seven-goal defeats to Spain and Hungary respectively in the World Cup quarterfinals.
Argentina was 12th on debut in Hungary and will be looking at the second week for victories, unless it can get past the more experienced South Africa in group play.
South Africa has been a perennial attendee since 2009 and 13th position in Budapest is its best effort. It lost out to New Zealand for one of the two World Cup finals positions on offer in Berlin.
Group D:
Hungary has two championships — 1994 and 2005 — two silvers and a bronze at this level and in Budapest last year it lost to USA 9-7 after USA was 8-4 ahead early in the fourth quarter. That 18-15 loss to Spain in the World Cup bronze-medal match will rankle and give Attila Biros’ team extra impetus for Fukuoka.
New Zealand may have dipped out to Israel in the World Cup, but it is better than that and its 10th placing in Budapest last year is more of an indication of where the Kiwi programme is at.
Japan missed last year’s championships and was 13th in Gwangju. We have to look back to ninth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo for some indication of what it is capable of.
Canada was ninth last time out and did not contest the World Cup this year, although its record of two silvers and two bronzes speaks volumes with one of the bronzes attained in Fukuoka in 2001.
Match Of The Day
Lock in 11am as Netherlands and Spain go head to head in what will probably be the group decider. In the Long Beach semifinals, Netherlands beat Spain 11-8.
Day 1 Schedule
Match 1, 09:00, United States of America v China
Match 2, 10:30, France v Australia
Match 3, 11:00, Netherlands v Spain
Match 4, 12:30, Israel v Kazakhstan
Match 5, 16:00, Italy v Argentina
Match 6, 17:30, Greece v South Africa
Match 7, 19:00, New Zealand v Japan