Italy condemned Greece to the crossovers after two late goals from Margherita Minuto earned them a dramatic 14-13 victory on the third day of the Women’s U20 European Water Polo Championships in Oeiras. The conclusion of the preliminary stage also saw Spain continue their imperious form with a comfortable win over Israel, while Hungary produced another dominant display to demolish France. In the race for the quarterfinals, Great Britain and Serbia topped their respective groups to join Neutral Athletes B and hosts Portugal in the crossovers.
2026 Women’s U20 European Water Polo Championships
Oeiras, Portugal
Day 3 – Results
Monday 3 August
Group A
Spain 26-10 Israel (4-2, 9-3, 4-4, 9-1)
Greece 13-14 Italy (4-5, 4-3, 2-3, 3-3)
Standings: 1. Spain 9pts, 2. Italy 6pts, 3. Greece 3pts, 4. Israel 0pts
Group B
Hungary 26-6 France (3-1, 10-0, 8-5, 5-0)
Croatia 9-19 Netherlands (1-4, 5-3, 2-6, 1-6)
Standings: 1. Hungary 9pts, 2. Netherlands 6pts, 3. Croatia 3pts, 4. France 0pts
Group C
Germany 16-5 Malta (4-2, 4-2, 3-1, 5-0)
Standings: 1. Neutral Athletes B 6pts, 2. Germany 3pts, 3. Malta 0pts
Group D
Ukraine 11-9 Romania (3-4, 3-0, 2-2, 3-3)
Standings: 1. Portugal 5pts, 2. Ukraine 3pts, 3. Romania 1pt
Group E
Great Britain 21-12 Czechia (5-1, 7-3, 5-2, 4-6)
Standings: 1. Great Britain 6pts, 2. Czechia 3pts, 3. Ireland 0pts
Group F
Türkiye 10-11 Serbia (0-4, 4-4, 5-2, 1-1)
Standings: 1. Serbia 6pts, 2. Türkiye 3pts, 3. Switzerland 0pts
Following the final game of the day, the draw for Tuesday’s crossovers took place and the result was as follows:
Croatia v Serbia
Greece v Portugal
France v Great Britain
Israel v Neutral Athletes B
Spain and Hungary had already secured top spot in their respective groups, but neither eased off on the final day of the group stage.
The Magyars finished first and, after a relatively sluggish opening quarter against France, produced a spell that was simply out of this world.
The 10-0 second-period burst told the whole story, as they cruised to another rout and completed the opening phase with an impressive 62 goals.
The Netherlands left Croatia with no chance in the battle for second place and the other direct quarterfinal berth.
Just as they had against Hungary a day earlier, the Croats enjoyed a brighter second period, but they were blown away after the break by almost the same margin.
Having fallen 12-2 on Day 2, they were swept aside 12-3 by the Dutch in another dominant second-half display.
Spain completed a perfect group stage with a third straight victory, sinking Israel in style. A 6-0 burst after edging 5-3 ahead put the game firmly beyond the Israelis, who trailed 13-5 at half-time.
Spain eased off slightly in the third period but, with the score at 15-9, unleashed another ferocious barrage, hammering in 10 unanswered goals as Israel were powerless to stem the tide in a comprehensive 26-10 defeat.
Carlota Penalver continued her fine form for Spain with a game-high six goals, while Martina Claveria also shone once again, firing in five.
Monday’s final game produced a tremendous battle between Greece and Italy, with a place in the quarterfinals at stake.
Italy edged a tightly contested first quarter 5-4 and never trailed again.
Greece battled back to level on four occasions (6-6, 7-7, 8-8 and 12-12), but couldn’t find a way to reclaim the lead they had briefly held twice in the opening period.
It was a huge performance from the Greeks, who never panicked, especially after Italy drew level for what proved to be the final time with 3:55 remaining.
Margherita Minuto then slammed the door shut with two late goals and, although Aspasia Fouraki pulled one back to cut the deficit to one, it came too late for the Greeks, who slipped to a narrow 14-13 defeat.
Earlier in Division Two, first place – and the crossover berth – was on the line in two groups.
The clash between Türkiye and Serbia had everything, serving up incredible twists and turns.
Deep into the second period, Serbia looked completely in control as they stormed into a 7-0 lead.
There seemed no way back for the Turks, but they struck three unanswered goals in the space of 73 seconds.
Serbia replied with another from action, but Mina Bozkurt’s 6m effort cut the deficit to 8-4 by half-time. Turkiye then halved the gap early in the third.
Jovana Radonjic buried a penalty for 9-6 midway through the quarter, but the Turks had found their rhythm.
They added two more before, following a time-out, Hanzade Dabbag converted another extra to level the scores at 9-9 with 34 seconds remaining.
Nada Milenkovic’s action goal four seconds before the buzzer restored Serbia’s lead and lifted their spirits, but after the Serbs missed an early extra in the fourth, Gulen Yuksel netted brilliantly from the centre to make it 10-10.
Turkiye then had a six-on-five chance to move ahead, but couldn’t convert, and Nika Ratkovic fired Serbia back in front with 4:32 remaining.
As the drama reached its peak, Türkiye’s Greek head coach Dimitrios Mavrotas was shown a red card.
Perhaps his absence was felt in the closing stages, as his side earned three more woman-ups but failed to convert any of them, allowing the Serbs to book their place in the next round – but only after surviving an additional four seconds that were played later in the evening after a jury table mistake had been proven.
The other decider lacked the same level of drama as Great Britain produced a superb display to beat Czechia.
The Brits made their intentions clear from the outset, racing into a 5-1 lead before opening up a commanding 12-4 advantage by half-time.
With the outcome already beyond doubt, they comfortably saw out the second half and cruised to a 21-12 win.
Elsewhere, Germany claimed second place in Group C with a commanding 16-5 victory over Malta, while Ukraine won 11-9 against Romania, whose spirits still appeared to be dented following their shootout defeat to Portugal.
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
