Spain and Netherlands are putting their hands up for the World Cup title with the former looking for a debut title to go alongside its Olympic crown and Netherlands chasing a record-extending nine titles and the first in 26 years. Competition starts on Friday, 18 April and ends on Sunday 20 April.
Overview
The best pointer has to be this year’s Division One matches in Alexandroupolis, Greece in January where six teams qualified for the final series, joining the first two teams — China and Japan — from the Division Two series staged in Istanbul, Turkiye just before the festive season.
In Alexandroupolis, teams had to win early to gain a spot in the top four, thus ensuring qualification for the finals while the bottom four battled it out for the last two berths.
Spain, Netherlands, Greece and Australia made the cut while Hungary, Italy, four-time reigning champion United States of America and Israel fought it out for the last two berths in Chengdu.
Hungary beat Israel by nine and Italy by a single goal and then thumped USA 10-6 for the penultimate berth while Italy defeated USA 13-12, lost to Hungary and downed Israel 17-12 for the last spot in China.
By ousting USA, a five-times winner and 11-time medallist, the other nations showed little respect for reputation with Spain winning on day one 16-11; Hungary winning on day two 12-7; and Greece pummelling USA 20-7 on day three. The die was cast and Italy joined the club with a 13-12 win before Israel failed by a single goal and Hungary finished with a four-goal margin for a second win over USA.
It was not USA’s finest hour, but the new-look team has plenty of time to go in this Olympiad to gain the form necessary to reach the top step of the dais at Los Angeles 2028.
At the sharp end of the competition, Spain beat Australia 14-11; Netherlands 16-8 and Greece 15-9 for a clean sheet and bragging rights for the finals.
Setting The Scene
With the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore this July, the World Cup finals will be seen as an important launching platform for most teams.
Of the team lists, most have a steady line-up while Australia has the biggest shake-up with many first-team members sidelined.
Chengdu was the scene of World Aquatics’ U18 women’s world championships last year and has staged other international matches.
History
This is the 19th edition of the World Cup, which is now an annual event. It started in 1979 as an annual event, missed 1982, became quadrennial in 1988 and bounced along at various intervals before becoming quadrennial again in in 2002. Covid meant a five-year gap until 2023 when USA won at Long Beach, California and last year was a furlough because of the tight international schedule.
The World Cup regains more importance, taking over from the now defunct World League.
In Long Beach two years ago, USA defeated Netherlands for gold and Spain downed Hungary for bronze.
This year brings together Netherlands (8 Gold, 4 Silver, 1 Bronze), Spain (2B), Hungary (1G, 1S, 3B), Greece (No medals), Australia (3G, 3S, 5B), Italy (1S, 2B), China (1B) and Japan (No medals).
Of the non-medallists, Japan competed in 1991 (6th) and 1993 (7th) and Greece 2023 (5th), 2010 (7th), 2006 (7th), 2002 (7th), 1999 (8th) and 1997 (6th).
Of the returning champions, Netherlands’ titles were between 1980-1999; Australia’s came in 1984, 1995 and 2006. Hungary’s sole title was in 2002.
The Competition
With just three days of competition, the first day is quarterfinals, the second day semifinals and the third day classification matches. There is no time to waste and teams who start badly could find themselves on the scrapheap very quickly.
The first day starts with Netherlands against Japan, Greece taking on Italy, Spain facing China and Australia fronting Hungary.
Players To Watch
Australia: Abby Andrews, Charlize Andrews, Alice Williams.
China: Nong Sanfeng, Wang Huan, Yan Siya.
Greece: Vasiliki Plevritou, Eirini Ninou, Maria Myriokefalitaki.
Hungary: Dora Leimeter, Kamilla Farago, Luca Torma.
Italy: Dafne Bettini, Chiara Ranalli, Morena Leone.
Japan: Maho Kobayashi, Yumi Arima, Fuka Nishiyama.
Netherlands: Marit van de Weijden, Sabrina van der Sloot, Lola Moolhuijzen.
Spain: Elena Ruiz, Bea Ortiz, Paula Leiton.
First-Day Schedule
13:30 Netherlands v Japan
15:15 Greece v Italy
18:30 Spain v China
20:15 Australia v Hungary