European Championship

Spain makes back-to-back finals, Hungary goes to Tokyo – Day 13 at the European Water Polo Championships

Spain and Hungary will stage a final showdown in Budapest after two
magnificent semi-finals, which offered nothing less than the very best of
water polo.

Spain forced the Croats to play a chasing game and their rival
couldn’t remain calm till the end, thus the Spaniards can play for the gold
once more after Barcelona 2018 (just like their women’s team – and just like
a year ago at the World Championships both Spanish team made the finals).

Read alsoSpain and Russia make their way to the final on Day 12 of the European Water Polo Championshisps

Hungary joined them after a thrilling match in front of a sold-out crowd of
5,000 in the Duna Arena. Since Spain had already qualified for the Games
last year, Hungary also booked its place in Tokyo with this win over
Montenegro.

It was a first-ever for them against the Montenegrins at the Europeans after four straight losses since 2008.

Men’s semi-finals:

Spain v Croatia 9-8,

Montenegro v Hungary 8-10.

For places 5-8th:

Italy v Russia 14-12,

Serbia v Greece 12-9.

For places 9-10th:
Georgia v Germany 8-9.

For places 11-12th:
Turkey v Romania 3-20

Fixtures for Sunday
Final (19.00): Hungary v Spain. Bronze (17.30): Montenegro v Croatia. For
places 5-6th (16.00): Italy v Serbia. For places 7-8th (14.30): Russia v Greece

January 25, 2020

Spain and Russia make their way to the final on Day 12 of the European Water Polo Championshisps

Russia and Spain will play for the gold medal on Saturday after thrilling semi-final wins over the Netherlands and Hungary respectively. Thanks to its shootout win, Russia returns to the final after ten years, while Spain can repeat its win from 2014, achieved here in Budapest. Regardless of the outcome, the Russians also booked their ticket to Tokyo since Spain had already secured its place last summer. Hungary seems to be cursed against Spain in the semis as this was their 6^th loss in as many clashes, while the Netherlands miss the final after three consecutive appearances.

Women’s semi-finals: Russia v Netherlands 7-7, penalties: 4-3. Hungary v Spain 10-11.

For places 5-8^th: France v Greece 3-13, Italy v Slovakia 16-4.

Read alsoSpain and Russia make their way to the final on Day 12 of the European Water Polo Championshisps

As expected, the semis offered thrilling matches – and great twists and turns right in the first duel between Russia and the Netherlands. The Dutch had a bit better start and jumped to a 1-2 lead but the Russians geared up for the second period and netted three connecting goals for 4-2. It was Holland’s turn then and by halftime they came back to 4-4 and it only remained tied because Maud Megens blasted a penalty wide – it was their second miss from the 5m line in the first half.

The Netherlands rolled on in the third and added two more, then had a man-up to go three goals up but they couldn’t take a shot and Olga Gorbunova netted a dying 6 on 5 to halve the gap at 6-5. And she was on target right from the first possession to equalise and from that point a great chess-game began. It was a huge tactical battle, the defences did an outstanding job, then after five minutes of breath-taking swimming and shooting, Brigitte Seeking sent the ball home from a 6m free through with 2:05 to go. But the Russian reply came immediately, Maria Borisova buried a 6 on 5 after a time-out and 1:35 minutes were left for the decision. It didn’t come in the regular time so the penalties decided the outcome.

And just as in the match, the Dutch missed two while the Russians buried all four to book their spot in the final after 10 years – and this win was also their ticket to Tokyo as the Spanish downed the Hungarians next. It also means that Russia maintains its status in European water polo as the only female team which has taken part in each edition since the beginning in Sydney 2000. (Note, that penalties earned the Rio spot for Russia in 2016 when they beat Greece in a shootout in the qualification tournament and they also clinched the bronze in Rio after a successful shootout against Hungary.)

The second semi between Spain and the Hungarians was just as exciting: the crowd saw a great opening period with three goals apiece – including a VAR-approved Spanish goal which otherwise would have been overlooked –, then Anna Illes netted a man-up for 4-3 but that didn’t end Hungary’s struggle in 6 on 5s, only proved to be an exception. At halftime the Magyars stood with 1/8 but they had a much better spell in the third when they scored three extras. However, their rivals were also on fire and at one point Spain led 5-7 but Vanda Valyi’s double brought the game back to even before the last break.

The fourth period then offered some exceptional scenes. The Spanish enjoyed a tremendous run as they netted four goals in a row. Their defence was superb and in offense their pinpoint shots bounced in from the woodwork in succession to give them a decisive lead of 7-11 with 3:17 remaining. Well, it looked decisive, but then, all of sudden, the Magyars started shooting with ‘all-in’ mood and all went in: in a span of 1:48 minutes they scored three for 10-11. Incoming goalie Edina Gangl made a save 33 seconds from time and soon joined her team-mates to set up a 7 on 6 attack, the ball found Rita Keszthelyi in front-of the goal, she could send it towards the net under pressure but LEN Award-winning Spanish goalie Laura Ester managed to catch it and sent Spain to the final once more here in Budapest, after 2014.

It also meant the Hungary’s curse in the semis against Spain continues: this was their 6^th match in this phase of a major tournament and Spain won all six (2008 Europeans, 2012 Olympics, 2013 Worlds, 2014 Europeans, 2019 Worlds and here) – and also, the Magyars lost SFs in succession recently, in Rio 2016, Barcelona 2018, Gwangju 2019 and here. They just hope to get a medal what they have always achieved in the January editions (2012, 2016) and in the Europeans held in Budapest (2001, 2014). However, against the Netherlands this task will be anything but easy. (len.eu)

January 24, 2020

Champions fell in the quarters on Day 11 of the European Water Polo Championships

The Olympic champion and title-holder Serbian team’s quest for a record-tying fifth straight gold was halted by 2018 runner-up Spain as they avenged their defeat two years ago by beating the Serbs in a penalty shootout. Earlier Montenegro staged a great performance to oust world champion Italy and keep its Olympic qualification campaign alive. They will face host Hungary in the semis, which overcame minor struggles and with a fine second half downed the Russians. Croatia came up with a brilliant first two quarters against Greece and they just cruised in the second half to set-up a re-match with Spain after their memorable battle in the semis at the Worlds last summer.

Men’s quarter-finals: Italy v Montenegro 8-10, Serbia v Spain 6-6 (penalties: 3-4), Hungary v Russia 14-10, Croatia v Greece 14-11

For places 9-12^th: Turkey v Georgia 6-12, Germany v Romania 15-10. For places 13-14^th: Slovakia v France 6-9. For places 15-16^th: Malta v Netherlands 9-19

Fixtures for Friday:

Semi-finals: Montenegro v Hungary, Spain v Croatia. For places 5-8^th: Italy v Russia, Serbia v Greece. For places 9-10^th: Georgia v Germany. For places 11-12^th: Turkey v Romania.

Read alsoWomen’s tournament: Hungary, Spain, Netherlands, Russia reach semis on Day 10

The quarters kicked off in the most stunning way possible as Montenegro ousted the world champion Italian team. In the first period the Montenegrins took the lead thrice but Italy could equalise every time and then went ahead three times in the second but the Montenegrins also had the answers. It was a thrilling first half, capped with a great blast from Dragan Draskovic who gave back the lead to his team for halftime (6-7).

Things started changing in the third, though the Italians managed go even but they began to miss their man-ups in succession while their rivals netted two 6 on 5s to build a 7-9 lead before the last break. The trends didn’t change in the fourth, the world champions were unable to put away any of their 6 on 5 (they closed the match with 1 for 15) – while Aleksandar Ivovic buried a penalty for 7-10. Though Nicolo Figari pulled one back from action with 3:36 to go, they couldn’t add any more (after 6-5 there was a 15-minute long period when Montenegro had a 1-5 rush). This means Italy will miss the quarters for the second time in the last six editions – the previous loss also occurred in a January edition, in 2016, guess to whom: Montenegro (7-10).

The series of shocks didn’t end here, in the next game the title-holder and Olympic champion Serbs were also gone. In recent years Spain found the tools to match them, in the final of the previous Europeans they played a draw and lost only in the shootout. Last summer they beat them in the World Championships quarters, though that was a young Serb side – but this time they managed to oust the ‘mighty boys’.

The game followed almost the same pattern as the final in Barcelona: though the Serbs took a 3-1 lead, Spain went ahead with four connecting goals to 3-5 (three came in a span of 101 seconds). The champions came back here too as in 2018: after the Spaniards missed a crucial man-up to go 7-4 up, they netted one for 6-5 before the third. Then Dusan Mandic buried a 6 on 5, his third in the game, to break even with 5:51 remaining. And the defences worked well, especially Dani Lopez, who had 11 saves, so the decision was left to the shootout once more.

Serbia entered the same five players who converted all five penalties in 2018, Spain changed one, Francisco Fernandez, who had missed the crucial shot which cost them the title. This time the outcome was different since two of the ‘safest hands’ made a miss on the Serbian side, Prlainovic and Mandic. Even though Munarriz was also denied, Alvaro Granados netted the fifth attempt (with brave heart after he had been 1/7 in the game). This also ended the Serbians’ dreams to tie Hungary’s ancient record (1926-1938) of winning five back-to-back titles – their run was halted at four here – and it’s also going to be the first time since 1999 that they don’t reach the semis.

Hungary then reset the ‘paper-form’ button – and regained some pride to defeat Russia, the team which had beaten them in Barcelona on the last day to push the Magyars to the 8^th place, their second worst performance ever. This time it was a different team and a different story, though Russia did a fine job as they managed to stay close in the first half (6-5) and didn’t collapse when the home side rushed to a 10-6 lead in the third. They came back to 10-8 and a penalty save by Vitaly Statsenko kept their hope alive. But Hungary opened the fourth in the same devastating mood as the third, netted three connecting goals in 1:54 minutes and there was no way back for the Russians after 13-8.

Croatia joined the semi-final party with perhaps the most convincing win in the four QFs. They could score from almost all distances and angles in the opening period while Greece missed many fine chances as the Croats took a 6-3 lead. In the second they could add two to go 8-3 up and from that point they just did a brilliant job in maintaining the gap. Greece could never come closer than three as the Croats, led by Maro Jokovic with 4 goals (playing in Greece for Olympiakos in the club season), managed to score whenever it was needed and Marko Bijac also contributed a lot with 13 saves (while Greece’s first goalie had to be substituted after the first half since Emmanouil Zerdevas had only 3 saves on 13 shots).

This sets up exciting semi-finals for Friday when Hungary will face Montenegro (like in Belgrade 2016 semis) and Spain is to meet Croatia (like in Gwangju 2019 semis). Among the four teams only Spain has secured its place at the Olympics so the other three will make a hell of effort to grab the quota available here.

January 23, 2020

Women’s tournament: Hungary, Spain, Netherlands, Russia reach semis on Day 10

The champions in the previous three editions, Spain (in 2014), Hungary (in 2016) and title-holder Netherlands all made the semi-finals, re-joining just like each occasion since 2014. Russia returns for the first time after 2012, they beat Italy with ease, and 2018 silver medallist Greece is also out.

Women’s tournament

Quarter-finals: Hungary v France 16-3, Russia v Italy 13-7, Greece v Spain 9-12, Slovakia v Netherlands 2-22

For places 9-10th: Croatia v Israel 7-11. For places 11-12th: Serbia v Germany 11-11 (penalties: 2-4)

The semi-finals will feature three teams which were constant players in the top flight in the last three editions, in fact they were the respective winners in those championships. The Netherlands (champion in Barcelona 2018) and Hungary (Belgrade 2016) enjoyed an easy ride what is a usual reward for the group-winners: since the top six sides are far above the rest of the field, the 4th placed teams they face are no match for them.

In the first quarter-final the Dutch downed the Slovaks by 20 goals and in the evening the Hungarians blew away the French too. Here the resistance was a bit tougher from the underdogs as they trailed only 8-3 at halftime but they ran out of power for the second half where the Hungarian rallied to an 8-0 rush.

More excitements were expected in the middle two fixtures but both matches had a calm finish as Russia out-played the Italians and Spain also sank Greece with a convincing performance. Italy’s 6-goal defeats from Spain and the Netherlands in the prelims showed that the Setterosa wasn’t in top shape and the game against Russia was another painful proof for that.

The Italians could hold on till half-time but when Russia netted two in 50 seconds to go 8-5 up early in the third, the Italian team started fading away. They were 10-6 down before the last break and there was no way back from there – they lost the second half 7-2. One of the most telling stats (besides taking only 23 shots, compared to Russia’s 32) was their disastrous man-up play, 0 for 10 in this match (Russia was 5 for 11). This also meant that Italy, which had always made the semi-finals between 1991 and 2016 (13 editions in a row), will miss the top four for the second consecutive championships.

The following encounter was something similar: Spain also led 6-5 at halftime before they started rolling. The Greeks couldn’t keep up with their rivals in the second half: they similarly had fallen below their first-half level against the Hungarian and the Russians. Though they equalised for 6-6 but then the Spaniards netted three unanswered goals in a span of 2:13 minutes and added two more in the fourth to go 6-11 up and that decided the outcome.

The early matches produced more thrills, especially the one played for the 11th place by Germany and Serbia. The Germans jumped to a 2-5 lead in the second, the Serbs bounced back any early in the fourth they led 11-7. But the Germans didn’t give in and netted four connecting goals, the last one came 11 seconds from time to save the match to a shootout and they won the first penalty-roulette at this Europeans. Then Israel staged a great 6-2 run in the second quarter against the Croats and maintained that gap till the end to clinch the 9th place, just like in Barcelona 2018.

Fixtures for Thursday:

Semi-finals: Hungary v Spain (17.30), Russia v Netherlands (19.00). For places 5-8th: France v Greece (14.30), Italy v Slovakia (16.00)

January 22, 2020

Day 9 of European Water Polo Championships: favorites are through

Water-polo-European-Championships-Budapest-2020

All four favourite sides qualified for the quarter-finals. Spain and Montenegro went through without any headache, Greece had to overcome some initial struggles but Russia was pressed till the end by the Georgians and the game almost ended in a shootout.

Men’s tournament

Quarter-finals qualification: Montenegro v Turkey 17-6, Germany v Spain 6-12, Russia v Georgia 14-13, Romania v Greece 7-14

For places 13-16th: Slovakia v Malta 8-4, Netherlands v France 8-9

Russia v Georgia 14-13

There were no hiccups on the first day of the knockout phase, though Georgia was close to upset the Russians who barely avoided becoming part of a penalty shootout. The action-packed first period saw 10 goals, the Russians were a bit better (6-4) then by halftime they seemed to have built a comfortable 9-6 lead. When they went 10-6 up, no one envisioned what might come next. It was Serbian-born leftie Boris Vapenski, who netted two in 75 seconds to give hope for the Georgians and it turned into belief as soon they were trailing by only a single goal at 11-10.

Russia responded well, though, and bounced back for a 14-11 lead in the fourth but the Georgians didn’t let it go.

Their foreign legion, Croatian-born Marko Jelaca, Montenegrin Damir Tsrepulia and Italian Fabio Baraldi all contributed to create a miracle as they came back to 14-13 with 1:27 remaining. And they did have a possession to go even but Jelaca’s shot went wide and the Russians killed the remaining time.

Romania v Greece 7-14

In the following game Romania tried to achieve something similar against Greece and in the first half they managed to surprise their rivals by taking a 4-1 lead early in the second period. The first signs of life from the favourites came in a span of 44 seconds, a double by Konstantinos Genidounias, still, the Romanians held on for 5-4 at halftime.

Head coach Theodoros Vlachos made order in the middle break, a different team came back to the pool and they also made order – within 46 seconds they turned the game and by the end of the third they decided it as well with a 6-0 rush in this period.

They won the seconds half 2-10 and will meet European and World bronze medallist Croatia in the quarters.

Montenegro v Turkey 17-6
Germany v Spain 6-12

In the first two QFQ matches Montenegro and Spain made it clear right at the beginning that they were not keen to entangle in any dogfight.

Montenegro led 8-2 at halftime against the Turks and earned the biggest win of the day, while after a balanced first period Spain netted six in the second, won the middle two quarters 3-9 and switched back to energy-saving mood for the last period. They had a cause to do so as they will replay the 2018 final against title-holder Serbia in the quarter-finals.

Slovakia v Malta 8-4
Netherlands v France 8-9

In the games for the lower ranks, Slovakia could win its first match here, against Malta, while the Netherlands had to go through more bitter moments as they fell short against France and will play for the 15th place only, though the team had much more potential (hosting Olympic Qualification Tournament saves them a place in that competition – otherwise they would have lost the chance to take part).

Fixtures for Wednesday

Quarter-finals: Italy v Montenegro, Serbia v Spain, Hungary v Russia, Croatia v Greece. For places 9-12th: Turkey v Georgia, Germany v Romania. For places 13-14th: Slovakia v France. For places 15-16th: Malta v Netherlands

January 21, 2020

Hungarian women made a shutout on Day 8 of European Water Polo Championships

The Netherlands won Group B thank to a surprisingly easy cruising against Spain in the decisive match on the last day in the women’s prelims. Russia bested Greece with a devastating performance in the second half (they won that part 7-1) to finish second in Group A. After the men’s team, the Hungarian women also made a shutout, beating Serbia 27-0, so the hosts and the Dutch will enjoy an easier QF, while the clashes of Spain v Greece and Russia v Italy promise some exciting water polo for Tuesday.

In the other matches Slovakia and Israel added historical chapters to their respective storylines at the Europeans. The Slovaks returned to the big stage after 37 years and now managed to reach the quarter-finals as they beat Croatia in a highly exciting match. Israel had two draws from their first-ever appearance in 2018 but no wins – today they claimed a historical first victory as they blew away the Germans.

Women’s preliminaries, Round 5

Group A: Greece v Russia 7-12, Serbia v Hungary 0-27, Slovakia v Croatia 9-7

Rankings: 1. Hungary 15, 2. Russia 12, 3. Greece 9, 4. Slovakia 6, 5. Croatia 3, 6. Serbia 0

Group B: Spain v Netherlands 6-10, France v Italy 6-18, Germany v Israel 3-10

Rankings: 1. Netherlands 15, 2. Spain 12, 3. Italy 9, 4. France 6, 5. Israel 3, 6. Germany 0

Fixtures for Tuesday

Quarter-finals: Hungary v France, Russia v Italy, Greece v Spain, Slovakia v Netherlands. For places 9-10th: Croatia v Israel. For places 11-12th: Serbia v Germany

The schedule of the games will be confirmed tomorrow (QFs of SVK v NED and HUN v FRA to be switched, the latter one starting at 19.00). Get more information HERE.

Spain v Netherlands 6-10

The game between Spain and the Netherlands was of the most awaited clashes of the prelims – but this time the two sides weren’t on the same level. The Dutch took a flying start, led 0-2 in less than three minutes while the Spaniards struggled in front of the goal. In the second, Holland doubled its lead, Spain’s first goal was a lucky one and they needed 13:07 minutes to get on the scoreboard. At halftime the title-holders led 1-6 and soon they went 2-8 up with 5:03 remaining in the third (the second Spanish goal came from a third shot in the same 6 on 5).

It all looked way too one-sided, then the Spaniards’ caught a better spell and managed to score four unanswered goals for 6-8, what’s more they had a man-up to come even closer but Debby Willemsz could put a hand on the ball (she was 14/20, 70.0%). Soon Catharina van der Sloot broke the Dutch silence after 10:52 minutes and that cooled back the game. The match produced some unusual stats, the difference in the number of shots was quite unusual at this level, 33-18 to Spain, still, the Netherlands managed to win by four goals. Spain’s LEN Award winner goalie Laura Ester had a miserable afternoon, she didn’t have a single save in the game (0/10), while her teammates were 1 for 15 in man-ups in front.

Spain will have another showdown with Greece, this time in the quarters after the two sides met in the semis two years ago.

The Greeks fell apart for the second half in their game against Russia. Until 4-2 they seemed to control the match, and even if the Russians could hit three in a row, they could take back the lead by halftime (6-5). Next came the Russians, though, netted three in the third while the Greeks ran out of ideas in front and missed all their shots. Russia staged a 0-5 rush, shutting out their rivals for 13:34 minutes – all in all, they won the second half 1-7 and secured the second spot in the group, and a great encounter against Italy.

Slovakia v Croatia 9-7

Two milestones were passed in the earlier games.

First Slovakia reached the quarter-finals for the first time in the women’s tournament.

Their feat is even more remarkable if we take into account that this is their second appearance on the big stage and they needed 37 years to return after a winless edition in 1993. Here they managed to beat Serbia and now they downed Croatia in a thrilling encounter. Though the Croats jumped to a 1-3 lead, the Slovaks came back by halftime (4-4). Croatia netted two in 44 seconds early in the third for 4-6, the Slovaks hit back with a double soon, in a span of 54 seconds. Then Kristina Horvathova delivered some crucial saves, including a penalty catch at 6-6, then one more at 7-6, followed immediately by Beata Kovacikova’s great lob for 8-6. This 4-0 run did the damage, the Serbs could pull one back 1:47 from time but Slovakia put away a 6 on 5 from the next possession to secure their second win and book a spot in the quarters.

Germany v Israel 3-10

Israel came to Budapest as the other winless team in the field: they had two draws in Barcelona but no victories in regular time. Here they lost the first four matches (as expected) but they blew away the Germans on this last day of the group stage. It turned into an embarrassingly one-sided contest after a while, Israel led 1-10 after three periods, the time elapsed between the first (1-1) and second (2-10) German goal was 20:08 minutes. It means that the Germans have to settle for their worst-ever placement in history (11th or 12th) after their lowest rank was 8th so far.

Serbia v Hungary 0-27

The day saw two big wins too, Italy looked to leave all the miseries behind while beating France 18-6, while

the host Hungarians copy-pasted the men’s team feat from Saturday and shut out the Serbs while scoring one more goal (27-0).

This was the 8th occasion in the history of the women’s Europeans when a team couldn’t score in a game – Hungary achieved the shutout once before, in 1991 (against host Greece), while the last time it happened was in Belgrade 2016 when the Netherlands closed down all incoming roads against Turkey.

January 20, 2020

Hungary ties largest-ever win in history on Day 7 of the European Water Polo Championships

Hungary’s 26-0 win is tying Greece’s largest win in history in the men’s Europeans, set in Barcelona 2018 against Turkey. It’s also tied third best scoring effort for a single match. Spain holds the record from 1991 with 28 goals – note that time games lasted for 4×7 minutes.

Highest single-game scores, men’s tournament

28 goals
Spain v Great Britain 28-6 (1991)
27
Greece v Turkey 27-1 (2018) – largest win by 26
26
Hungary v Malta 26-0 (2020) – largest win by 26
Croatia v Austria 26-2 (1995)
Romania v Denmark 26-9 (1991)

Read alsoCroatia reaches QF, Hungary and Spain draw on Day 5 of European Water Polo Championships

Moreover, Italy, Hungary and Serbia followed Croatia to the quarter-finals after convincing wins in the last round of the prelims. Hungary indeed needed a 20-goal victory to build a better goal-difference than Spain and its match ended up in a 26-0 rout of Malta, the first shutout since 2001, a new scoring record for this tournament and the hosts also tied the largest-ever win in the history of the Europeans.

Men’s preliminaries, Round 3

Group A: Slovakia v Croatia 4-16, Germany v Montenegro 3-10

Rankings: 1. Croatia 9, 2. Montenegro 6, 3. Germany 3, 4. Slovakia 0

Group B: Romania v Russia 11-10, Serbia v Netherlands 11-4

Rankings: 1. Serbia 9, 2. Russia 3, 3. Romania 3, 4. Netherlands 3 Three-way tie (goal-difference based on the results against each other: RUS +5, ROU 0, NED –5)

Group C: Turkey v Spain 7-24, Malta v Hungary 0-26

Rankings: 1. Hungary 7 (+40), 2. Spain (+33) 7, 3. Turkey 3, 4. Malta 0

Group D: France v Greece 10-12, Italy v Georgia 18-6

Rankings: 1. Italy 9, 2. Greece 6, 3. Georgia 3, 4. France 0

Fixtures for Monday

Eight-finals: Montenegro v Turkey (QF v Italy), Germany v Spain (QF v Serbia), Russia v Georgia (QF v Hungary), Romania v Greece (QF v Croatia) For places 13-16th: Slovakia v Malta, Netherlands v France

The scoring race between Spain and Hungary offered the biggest excitements on the last day of the prelims. It kicked off early as the Spaniards started the day with the game against Turkey. Though the opening period was surprisingly close (3-5), then they geared up and by the end of the third quarter they already managed to produce the same score-line Hungary achieved at the end of the game against the Turks (5-19). After the 8-goal rush in the third, Spain could add five more in the closing period, thus the bar was raised high as the Hungarians needed a 20-goal win to finish ahead of their group-rival.

However, the Spaniards told immediately after their game that the Hungarian shooting machine should produce enough goals to finish atop – and they saw the future. In the evening the Magyars left no chance for their rivals as they heavily guarded them at the back, so Malta’s first shot on target arrived with 2:06 to go in the second. By then the hosts completed the first half of the journey as they took a 10-0 lead, by halftime they were already 13-0 up.

With 1:07 to go in the third they had it at 20-0 and stopped at 26 much to the delight of the home crowd which filled the stands once more (the number of shots, 36-14, on target: 30-5, told the story). Gergo Zalanki netted 7 goals (from 7 shots), also a new individual scoring record in this event.

The 26-goal win ties the Greeks’ record from 2018 when they beat Turkey 27- 1, it’s also a new scoring record in this event (Spain netted 24 twice), though still two goals shy of Spain’s 28-goal single-match scoring effort from 1991 (against Great Britain). It was the first shutout in the men’s tournament since Spain had beaten the Netherlands 4-0 here in Budapest in 2001.

Croatia and Montenegro didn’t leave any room for doubt in Group A. The Croats smashed Slovakia with ease (Andro Buslje enjoyed a perfect afternoon with 5 goals from 5 shots) and the battle for the second place was also onesided between the Montenegrins and the Germans. The latter ones could hold on until the middle the second period, than, after 1-2, the Montenegrins netted three in 1:43 minutes and never looked back.

The only hiccup occurred in Group B where Romania seized the opportunity that Russia could afford a narrow loss and still kept its second place. The difference in motivation was mirrored by the scoreboard, the Romanians scored four connecting goals after 1-3 in the second and they kept the lead for the remaining time. This win came at the cost of the Netherlands which beat the Romanians on the opening day but a big loss to Russia led to their drop to the 4th place.

On paper, beating the Serbs seemed to be out of reach for the Dutch, though they made a serious try, led 0-1 after the first period and 1-2 late in the second while the Serbs were nowhere near to their real level (netted 3 goals from 15 shots). Still, with a double in 63 seconds they went ahead by halftime (3-2), but the Dutch pushed on, regained the lead at 3-4.

That was the point when the Olympic champions switched to combat mood and staged a 5-0 rush till the end of the third: buried two man-ups virtually from the goal-line, Andrija Prlainovic added two action goals in 36 seconds, and one more came from Nikola Dedovic for a commanding 8-4 lead. And it continued the same way in the fourth, the Serbs netted three, while the Dutch remained scoreless till the end, in fact for the last 13:16 minutes.

The French also tried to complete a ‘mission impossible’ and to beat Greece in Group D in order to stay on board. The Greeks were superior in the first half, built a 2-6 lead but the French went ‘all-in’ in the third, netted six goals and before the last period they trailed by only one goal.

However, the Greeks didn’t let it go (though they were in the same comfortable situation as the Russians), at 9-10 they netted two in 65 seconds and that closed down the game. Italy then thrashed the Georgians with a 6-0 rush in the last quarter to secure the first place and some extra resting days.

January 19, 2020

Hungary clinches first place, Slovakia writes history on Day 6 of European Water Polo Championships

Hungary clinched the first place in Group A after winning a brilliant game against Greece. The other favourites all blew their respective rivals away, Russia scored 34, the third best effort in the all-time single-game scoring rankings. Slovakia wrote history by claiming a historical first win at the European Championships, it came at the expense of Serbia.

Women’s preliminaries, Round 4
Group A: Hungary v Greece 13-10, Russia v Croatia 34-1, Slovakia v Serbia 6-2
Standings: 1. Hungary 12, 2. Russia 9, 3. Greece 9, 4. Slovakia 3, 5. Croatia 3, 6. Serbia 0
Group B: Germany v Spain 4-19, Netherlands v France 18-1, Italy v Israel 17-1
Standings: 1. Netherlands 12, 2. Spain 12, 3. Italy 6, 4. France 6, 5. Israel 0, 6. Germany 0

Read alsoCroatia reaches QF, Hungary and Spain draw on Day 5 of European Water Polo Championships

Another thrilling evening took place in the Duna Arena where 3,000 fans went wild as Hungary was rushing to an 11-6 lead against Greece in the fourth period of the game which was crucial in wake of the final rankings in Group A.

The match was a masterpiece of women’s water polo, the action-packed opening period saw 4 goals apiece as the offences were devastating at both ends.

With two quick exchanges the sides reached 6-6 by the middle of the second, then Hungary’s defence started clicking – and that froze the Greeks for as long as 13:53 minutes.

During this phase the home side netted 5 in a row – their New-Zealand born centre-forward Rebecca Parkes was outstanding in front of the goal, scored two action goals and a man-up – so they led 11-6 early in the fourth. Then the Greeks came back to life and by hitting three in a span of 94 seconds they came back to 11-9. They even killed a double man-down but couldn’t add one more and with 3:04 to go Krisztina Garda’s magnificent shot from 7m (her 4th goal in the game) killed the Greeks’ momentum. Margarita Plevritou buried a man-up 1:38 from time but Dora Leimeter also sent the ball home in a 6 on 5 to secure the Magyars’ win and their top spot in the group.

The preceding match was also an exciting one as Slovakia managed to beat the Serbs and claim its first ever victory in the history of the Europeans. The only new team of the field – compared to 2018 – had one appearance before, in 1993, when they lost all their six matches in Leeds. Here they lost three more – as expected against the giants of the group – but now they seized the opportunity and outplayed the Serbs in all aspects of the game. The defences were outstanding, especially Slovakian goalie Kristina Horvathova, who finished the match with a sensational 88.2% saving percentage (14 stops on 16 attempts, including a penalty catch). The Serbs could score at 2-0, after 13:24 minutes, but then they sank and their following (and last) goal came at 6-1, 24 seconds from time, after another scoreless period of 18:12 minutes. This has set up an ‘all-in’ match between Slovakia and Croatia for the 4th place and a spot in the quarters.

The other encounters were even more one-sided than in the initial phase of the tournament. As the heavy favourites are gearing up and getting their right rhythm, the lower ranked sides are finding harder and harder to score against them. The Germans could net four against Spain, but Croatia, France and Israel was limited to a single goal in their respective matches.

The Russians bettered their own scoring record in Budapest as they netted 34 against Croatia (hit 31 against Slovakia on the opening day, and now already stands with 100 goals). This was the third-best offensive effort in the history of the Europeans – the Netherlands 37-goal blast against Sweden in the first edition in Oslo 1985 is still a standing record, the Russians came close in Barcelona 2018 when they scored 35 against Turkey.

January 18, 2020

Croatia reaches QF, Hungary and Spain draw on Day 5 of European Water Polo Championships

Croatia was the first team to book its spot though they almost blew their win away against the Montenegrins who came back from 10-5 to 10-10 but the Croats netted the winner 72 seconds from time. Serbia and Italy are also on its way to the best eight, while the goal-difference will decide the first place between Hungary and Spain since the two sides played a thrilling 11- 11 tie in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,000 people in the Duna Arena.

Men’s preliminaries, Round 2

Group A: Croatia v Montenegro 11-10, Germany v Slovakia 8-5

Standings: 1. Croatia 6, 2. Montenegro 3, 3. Germany 3, 4. Slovakia 0

Group B: Romania v Serbia 7-15, Russia v Netherlands 15-9

Standings: 1. Serbia 6, 2. Russia 3, 3. Netherlands 3, 4. Romania 0

Group C: Hungary v Spain 11-11, Malta v Turkey 10-13

Standings: 1. Spain 4, 2. Hungary 4, 3. Turkey 3, 4. Malta 0

Group D: France v Italy 7-10, Greece v Georgia 17-10

Standings: 1. Italy 6, 2. Greece 3, 3. Georgia 3, 4. France 0

Read alsoHungary wins thriller, the Dutch shuts out Italy at Day 4 of European Water Polo Championships

The game of Hungary and Spain, in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,000 people, offered everything water polo is loved for: thrilling action, brilliant goals, great saves, tensions, twists and turns. Hungary got a better start and built a 4-2 lead in the first eight minutes. The Spaniards managed to tighten their defence in the second and halved their deficit while in a rare scene fieldplayer Alberto Munarriz – as goalie Dani Lopez was sent out for not taking the requested position – saved a penalty!

The third quarter was simply brilliant, Hungary netted three action goals and at one point they led 8-6 and had the ball after a killed man-up but from wasted pass of the hosts’ goalie the Spanish set up Felipe Perrone who scored another great goal. What’s more, Francisco Fernandez managed to find the back of the net in the very last second for 8-8.

In the fourth Spain took the lead for the first time, and, enjoying some luck while collecting the rebound twice in man-ups, they went ahead twice more (Perrone netted his 4th). At 10-11 they even had a 6 on 5 to close down the game but a terrible pass killed their plans and later Gergo Zalanki finished a counter with 40 seconds remaining. The draw means that the total goal difference will decide the top position, a piece of bad news for Turkey and Malta as they will face the two giants seeking big wins against them in the third round.

The late night show of Croatia and Montenegro offered a different kind of entertainment thanks to a breath-taking comeback from Montenegro. Though the world and European bronze medallist Croats needed 6:21 minutes to score their first goal, but once they had it they started rolling while the Montenegrins were unable to put away their man-ups, missed a penalty and found themselves 6-2 down shortly before the middle break.

The Croats maintained their lead with ease and sat comfortable in the driving seat at 10-5 with one quarter remaining. Perhaps too comfortable as with 4:19 to go the Montenegrins were already back to 8-10, then, in a span of 26 seconds they broke to even for 10-10 and there was still 2:32 minutes to play. They even had a possession to take the lead but the ball slipped out from the centre-forward’s hand and at the other end Javier Garcia halted his team’s scoreless struggle of 8:45 minutes. He put away a man-up 72 seconds from time while Drasko Brugljan’s shot in a 6 on 5 was stopped by Marko Bijac at the other end and that sealed Croatia’s win, which sent them directly to the quarter-finals.

In the other games the third qualifying spots have probably been decided in Group A and C. Although both the Germans, against Slovakia, and Turkey, against Malta, earned a 3-goal win respectively, the difference was much bigger during the games. The Germans took a 4-1 lead and kept their safe lead till the end. It was already 8-5 after three periods, the last one didn’t see any goal only two missed penalties from the Slovaks. At one stage the Turks led 8-1 before the Maltese started climbing back but they could never come really close.

Tensions ran high anyway, the referees had to show the red card five times.

In Group B both favourite sides – Russia and Serbia – netted 15 goals while winning with ease against Romania and the Netherlands. Italy kept the game against France under control though the world champs laid back a bit in the fourth period and the French came closer than usual at 9-7 but the Italian win was never in danger. Greece bounced back from the opening day’s defeat against Italy with a fine win over Georgia.

January 17, 2020

Hungary wins thriller, the Dutch shuts out Italy at Day 4 of European Water Polo Championships

Host Hungary upended the Russians in the first really thrilling match of the women’s tournament, while Italy suffered another 6-goal defeat, this time from the Netherlands. The Dutch won the second half 4-0.

Group A: Hungary v Russia 9-8, Greece v Slovakia 18-2, Serbia v Croatia 8-9

Standings: 1. Greece 9, 2. Hungary 9, 3. Russia 6, 4. Croatia 3, 5. Serbia 0, 6. Slovakia 0

Group B: Netherlands v Italy 10-4, Spain v Israel 18-2, France v Germany 17-5

Standings: 1. Netherlands 9, 2. Spain 9, 3. France 6, 4. Italy 3, 5. Israel 0, 6. France 0

Hungary and Russia usually entangle into tremendous fights, 5 out of their last 8 encounters at the Europeans – including the last two in 2016 and 2018 – saw a single goal deciding the outcome. And it ended the same way, though at halftime the hosts seemed to have firm control as they led 6-3 while the Russians were unable to score in the second period. Rita Keszthelyi already netted three goals, the second one was his 100th alone at the Europeans. However, their rivals came back strong for the second half, Maria Bersneva broke their scoreless period of 9:29 minutes and deep into the third they equalised for 6-6.

It was Hungary’s turn to bounce back and they just did that: Rita Keszthelyi’s brilliant lob halted their scoreless phase at 8:46 minutes and another action goal just 36 seconds later gave them an 8-6 lead before the last break.

The last period saw an enormous fight, Russia pulled one back with 4:42 remaining then they missed a crucial man-up while Anna Illes put one away in the dying phase for 9-7. Olga Gorbunova’s ball just sneaked in from the post in a 6 on 5 so the Russians had 1:56 minutes to save a point but they couldn’t set up another fine shooting chance.

In the other big game of the day Italy once again failed to be on the same level with its rival and they suffered another 6-goal defeat like against Spain. At half-time the Netherlands led 6-4 so some more excitements were in sight – instead the Dutch netted three more goals in the third to decide the outcome. Italy remained scoreless in the entire second half, altogether for 17:42 minutes. Their man-up was 2 for 4 at the beginning, but collapsed then to go 0 for 7 afterwards and they had a 14.8% shooting efficiency (4/27). At the other end Debby Willemsz posted a 71.4% saving percentage and Maud Megens scored 5 goals, one more than the entire Italian side.

In this group Spain beat Israel with ease and France handed a 17-5 defeat to the Germans, the heaviest in the history of the two teams in 35 years.

In Group A Greece enjoyed another easy match before taking on Hungary and Russia. In the game probably deceding the 4th place Serbia and Croatia staged a brilliant battle, sometimes recalling the tensions of the males’ big clashes. The Croats had the better start and took a 2-4 lead but the Serbs hit back with three connecting goals for 5-4. But the Croats reacted well, came back to 7-7 till the end of the third and after killing a man-down they managed to score twice for 7-9. The Serbs were unable to score for long minutes, with 1:02 to go they missed a penalty, and even though pulled one back 42 seconds from time, they created a shooting chance too late in their last possession and scored only after the buzzer. This win sets up the Croats to reach the quarters for the first time in their history.

January 16, 2020

34th European Water Polo Championships, Budapest – DAY 3

The Italian team opened its campaign in Budapest with a fine win over Greece, the world champions were really convincing in the second half. The title-holder Serbians had some struggles in the third period against Russia but bounced back in time and won with ease at the end.

Two games saw enormous battles since here the third places in the respective groups and the berth in the top 12 (and possibly in the Olympic qualification tournament) were at stake. Surprisingly, Georgia beat Rio 2016 participant France and the Netherlands came back from two goals down to win against Romania.

The 34th European Water Polo Championships will end on January 26.

Read alsoEuropean Water Polo Championships starts in Budapest

Men’s preliminaries, Round 1

Group A: Slovakia v Montenegro 4-15, Germany v Croatia 9-17

Group B: Serbia v Russia 13-9, Romania v Netherlands 8-9

Group C: Turkey v Hungary 5-19, Malta v Spain 7-23

Group D: Italy v Greece 10-6, France v Georgia 7-9

Greece’s miserable run against Italy at the Europeans didn’t come to an end in Budapest either. They have never beaten their Mediterranean rival (Italy won 10 out of 11 games, one ended in a tie) – and their hopes to halt this terrible streak lived only till halftime. Then it stood 4-4 but Italy came back strong for the third, shut out the Greeks for 6:54 minutes, scored three connecting goals and that did the damage. They won the second half 6-2, drowned the Greek offence – the number of shots (34-21) and those on target (23-12) tells the story.

The other game in this group offered even more the tensions as Georgia pulled off a surprising win over France. It was a balanced match but the Georgians made most of their chances in the second half while the French could score only twice in this phase after netting five in the first. With 6:47 to go it stood 7-7 but Georgia scored two in a span of 44 seconds and managed to kill all French attacks in the remaining 5:24 minutes.

Earlier, a thrilling match kicked off the men’s event, which saw the Netherlands staging a big comeback against Romania to earn a crucial win. The Dutch led at halftime 4-5 but Romania enjoyed a great spell in the third, netted four goals to go 8-6 up. But they were unable to score more in the last period (their drought lasted 9:51 minutes indeed) while the Dutch started rolling and with a 0-3 rush they turned the game and bagged three points and set themselves to reach the top 12.

In the other game of Group B the Serbs seemed to sit comfortable in the driving seat as they led 7-4 at halftime only to see the Russians netting three PRESS RELEASE LEN PR 5/2020 connecting goals in a span of 1:55 minutes early in the third for 7-7. However, the title-holders responded well, hit back with a double in 66 seconds and did the same after 9-8 in the fourth to secure their win at the end.

As expected, in Group A and D the favourites enjoyed easy matches while they geared up the engines. Both Montenegro and Croatia claimed surprisingly easy wins, even though after the first period nothing promised an easy cruise either of them. The two greats were 1-2 down after eight minutes against Slovakia and Germany respectively, then the Montenegrins staged a 6-0 rush and won the second half 8-2 while the Croats won the middle two periods 12-3.

Spain also had a slow start against Malta (4-3), then speeded up and scored 19 more goals. Hungary did the same, spent the opening quarter with calming down, and that was quite visible on the scoreboard (4-4). But once they found the necessary level in concentration, Turkey had to face the inevitable, which came in a form of a 15-1 blast, much to the joy of the home crowd.

January 15, 2020

European Water Polo Championships starts in Budapest

The 34th European Water Polo Championships started here on Sunday, with the Hungarian capital staging the tournament for the fifth time.

“Twenty-eight teams of seventeen nations are ready to rock in the Duna Aréna, as Budapest will stage the European Water Polo Championships from Sunday for a record fifth time,” the organizers informed in a press release.

“We are always happy to come to Budapest, it’s a true home of water polo where great atmosphere and successful events are guaranteed,” said LEN Vice-President Fernando Carpena who welcomed the attendees at the opening press conference of the 34th European Water Polo Championships.

“With the Olympic qualification at stake, this event is one of the most important tournaments this year and we are delighted that our teams can play in such a terrific venue as the Duna Aréna,” Carpena added.

Budapest welcomes the best water polo teams for the fifth time after 1926, 1958, 2001 and 2014, which is a record in the history of the event.

It is the first time when the event is held indoors in the Hungarian capital after memorable editions staged in the legendary Alfred Hajos complex on the Margaret Island.

The championship starts Sunday with three games in the women’s tournament

in Group A

Slovakia-Russia 2-31
Greece-Serbia 26-7
Hungary-Croatia (later)

in Group B

France-Spain 6-15
Germany-Italy 4-13
Netherlands-Israel 22-3

According to LEN, a total of 364 waterpolo players had been entered to the championships at Budapest, with every team having 13 players.

The 34th European Water Polo Championships will end on January 26.

January 12, 2020

European Water Polo Championships in Budapest – 23 teams are ready to rock!

XXXIV LEN European Water Polo Championships 2020

For a record fifth time, Budapest will stage the European Water Polo Championships from Sunday. The two-week spectacle takes place in the renowned Duna Arena and it’s going to see tremendous battles as one Olympic berth apiece is at stake in the men’s and the women’s tournament.

“We are always happy to come to Budapest, it’s a true home of water polo where great atmosphere and successful events are guaranteed” said LEN Vice-‐President Fernando Carpena who, on behalf of the LEN Family and President Paolo Barelli, welcomed the attendees at the opening press conference of the 34th European Water Polo Championships.

“With the Olympic qualification is at stake, this event is one of the most important tournaments this year and we are delighted that our teams can play in such a terrific venue as the Duna Arena” Mr Carpena added.

Budapest welcomes the best water polo teams for the fifth time after 1926, 1958, 2001 and 2014, which is a record in the history of the event (until 1997 water polo was part of the ‘big Europeans’). Though this is going to be the first time when the event is held indoors in the Hungarian capital after memorable editions staged in the legendary Alfred Hajos complex on the Margaret Island.

“Thanks to ten months of dedicated work, it’s going to be a successful meet and hopefully one of the best-‐ever European Championships” said Attila Vári, President of the Hungarian Water Polo Federation.

“We hope our guests will be satisfied what we can offer here. Ee are kind of obliged to do our very best, based on our traditions and the experiences we gained in the recent years while organising one big event after the other.”

The press conference offered a rare scene, as LEN Operational Manager Marco Birri highlighted it, since five Olympic champion of different ages sat next to each other: LEN Bureau Liaison Aleksandar Sostar (Seoul 1988 with Yugoslavia), LEN TWPC Chairman Gianni Lonzi (Rome 1960 with Italy), HWPF President Attila Vari (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 with Hungary), Hungary’s head coach Tamas Marcz (Sydney 2000) and team captain Denes Varga (Beijing 2008). “This demonstrates the strength of our sport and the quality and appreciation of our champions” Mr Birri added. He also noted that both the expansion of the event to feature 28 teams (16 men, 12 women) and to hold the Olympic-‐year editions in January proved to be an enormous success.

Varga said that even if 2020 was an Olympic year, their focus was on entirely on the upcoming event.

“We are yet to qualify and we need to finish in a good position to obtain the quota. But we go for more, we want to win the title here. I feel the strength in the team to achieve that” the captain said.

Hungarian men’s last win came in 1999 (President Vari and head coach Marcz were part of that side in Florence), the gap of 21 years since the last triumph is the longest one in the history for the Hungarians who top the all-‐time medal chart with 12 golds.

This is a record, however, title-‐holder Serbia is seeking to tie Hungary’s other long-‐standing record of winning five editions in a row. The Magyars hunted down the first five titles in history (between 1926 and 1938) – the Serbs are set to repeat that feat now as they triumphed in the last four championships (Eindhoven 2012, Budapest 2014, Belgrade 2016, Barcelona 2018).

The Serbs come to the Hungarian capital with their Olympic berth already secured, just like in the case of World Championships finalists Italy and Spain– either the champion or the highest ranked team behind any of these three sides will also qualify for Tokyo. The other teams will also have a lot at stake as among the non-‐qualified participants the five teams with the highest rankings earn the right to play in the Olympic Qualification tournament. The same applies for the women’s competition, though there only Spain has booked its place in the Olympics.

The European Championships kick off on Sunday with the first round of the women’s preliminaries, the men start their competition on Tuesday. The finals are due on 25-‐26 January.

LEN shall offer free live streaming on its website (www.len.eu) from each game with English commentary. Photos, game highlights and exclusive interviews will also be available on the social media platforms during the next fortnight.

Get more information HERE.

January 10, 2020

Less than a month until European Water Polo Championship in Budapest

There is less than a month until the European Water Polo Championship starts in Budapest, and the president of the Hungarian Water Polo Association has revealed that the preparations for the event are going well.

Attila Vári thanked supporters, the Hungarian government and the team of over one hundred people who work in the background on Monday’s press conference, reported Origo.

David Székely, editor-in-chief of M4 Sport, emphasised that during the year of the Olympics it is even more important to show how successful Hungarian athletes are. He added that they are confident that, just like at the 2017 Wet World Championship, Hungarian teams will fight for medals again on the home field.

He also said that they are especially preparing for the continental battle, the Hungarian matches will be broadcast from 7 PM, commentated by István Hajdú B.

He hopes spectators will have a busy two days on January 25 and 26, as on these dates medal battles are held in the Danube Arena and the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Debrecen.

Gergely Csurka, press officer of the European Association (LEN), said that the organisation had already held its last check-in in Budapest, which has shown that preparations to be indeed very well underway. He explained that in addition to broadcasting M4 Sport in at least 30 countries, matches would be available on LEN’s website worldwide.

The event introduced the European Championship mascot as well, which will be the main character of the popular Hungarian cartoon Vízipók-csodapók.

The main sponsors of the European Championship will be E.ON Hungária Zrt., Szerencsejáték Zrt., Gránit Bank Zrt. and Porsche Hungaria.

The European Championship will take place between January 12 and 26, with teams from 16 countries for men and 12 for women. An Olympic quota is available for both genders.

Check out Budapest’s most popular swimming pools for wintertime!

In another article, Origo also reported, that Attila Bíró, the captain of the Hungarian women’s water polo team, had announced his 19-member group for the European Championship.

“I have invited the nineteen players who have a realistic chance of joining the European Championship Thirteen. There’s a lot of water training and conditioning training, and we will do everything that can fit into these three weeks,” Bíró said.

The group started training last week, with two sessions a day; the coach had also revealed that this would be the shortest time for preparation the group will have because of the holidays.

They will play five official matches before the start of the European Championships in Russia and Greece where World League battles await them and play an international tournament in Dunaújváros in early January.

The framework of the Hungarian national team:
Goalkeepers: Edina Gangl (UVSE), Orsolya Kasó (FTC), Alda Magyari (Eger)
field players: Dóra Antal (UVSE), Dóra Csabai (FTC), Kamilla Caragó (UVSE), Krisztina Garda (Dunaújváros), Gréta Gurisatti (Dunaújváros), Anikó Gyöngyössy (BVSC), Brigitta Horváth (DTC), Anna Illés (FTC) Rita Keszthelyi (UVSE), Dóra Leimeter (BVSC), Zsuzsanna Máté (FTC), Rebecca Parkes (UVSE), Natasa Rybanska (UVSE), Dorottya Szilágyi (Eger), Gabriella Szücs (UVSE), Vanda Vályi (Dunaújváros)

You can catch the national team on:

December 17: Russia-Hungary – World Cup Qualifier
December 23: Greece-Hungary – World Cup Qualifier
January 4-6: Preparatory gymnastics, Dunaújváros (Hungary, Greece, France, China)

Find out more about sports HERE and check out the Related articles section below for more content like this!

December 17, 2019

Hungarian success at the European Short Course Swimming Championship – PHOTOS

hosszú katinka euroswim 2019 swimming gold medal

Hungary sent a delegate of 23 to the European Short Course Swimming Championship in Glasgow between the 4^th and 8^th of December. Katinka Hosszú, who won 6 medals in Copenhagen two years ago, competed in 4 events this time.

The Hungarian sports team consisted of 8 female and 15 male contestants at the most important short course event of the year, reports Nemzeti Sport.

On the first day of the event, Katinka Hosszú received the European champion title in the 400-meter medley. In the same number, Zsuzsanna Jakabos came second, winning a short course medal at the European Championship again since 2012.

Read alsoKatinka Hosszú: swimmer, club owner and ambassador

Katinka Hosszú told M4 Sport: “I don’t want to understate the short course swimming championship, but it is the Olympics next year, and so this is a stage of preparation, practice if you will. However, the time result was not bad. It is so strange that I get to say what I do, but I’ve been competing long enough to know what I am capable of. I only concentrate on the competition and everything is fine so far.”

Katinka Hosszú also won the 100-meter medley, getting the 1000^th medal in the overall history of Hungarian swimming. She stated that she only considered gold since the 1000^th is best that way.

She brought home the 200-meter medley gold and as well while on the same day, Szebasztián Szabó finished at second place in the 50-meter butterfly stroke with a 22.35 time.

In the 200-meter butterfly stroke, Katinka won gold while Zsuzsanna Jakabos finished at third place in the same event.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=external&v=519198545603481

Maxim Lobanovszkij got bronze in the 50-meter freestyle.

Glasgow, UK. Szebasztián Szabó. Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor

Ajna Késely won a bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle and silver in the 800-meter freestyle. “I have to wait to come to my full potential in the adult field. This was my first full year in this age category, and I can gain a lot of strength from the example of Katinka Hosszú since she got on top in the middle of her career. While I did well in the junior category, I need time to do the same among adults.” – She stated.

Read alsoRio2016 – Fourteen-year-old swimmer Ajna Késely is the youngest member of the Hungarian Olympic team

In the last event, the Hungarian team won a silver medal with great effort in the final of the 4×50-meter medley relay.

The Hungarian delegate won 11 medals and finished at the fourth place overall, after Russia, Italy and the Netherlands.

Bohus, Dávid Horváth, Szebásztián Szabó and Maxim Lobanovszkij - silver medal. Photo: MTI — Glasgow, UK. Hungarian team: Richárd
Bohus, Dávid Horváth, Szebásztián Szabó and Maxim Lobanovszkij – silver medal. Photo: MTI

Glasgow HOSSZÚ Katinka; JAKABOS Zsuzsanna — Glasgow, UK. Photo: MTI

December 10, 2019

New men’s U17s win top Euro qualifying group!

Antal Németh’s team didn’t concede a goal in any of their three matches at the European Championship first qualifying round mini-tournament in Minsk, eventually qualifying for the Elite round next spring as group winners.

An opening draw against hosts Belarus and a 3-0 victory over Latvia left Hungary in the relatively comfortable position of knowing a draw against Serbia in their final mini-tournament match in Minsk would guarantee qualification for the Elite qualifying round of the UEFA U17 European Championship next spring.

Their opponents, meanwhile, had won one and lost one so their continuation in the competition was by no means assured.

That shone through in the opening exchanges as the Serbs pressed hard but Hungary’s well-organised defence held firm and restricted their rivals to shots from distance. Antal Németh’s team didn’t just focus on defending though and could easily have taken the lead from several swift counter-attacks.

Serbia continued to search with urgency for a goal after the break but to no avail. Their task became even harder when Stankovic was dismissed for a second yellow card.

That effectively put paid their attacking threat but Hungary, on the other hand, hit the woodwork and created several other opportunities to score.

No goals were forthcoming on either side though, thus Hungary finished with five points after one win and two draws, a record which was enough to win the qualifying group and progress to the Elite round unbeaten.

Antal Németh, Hungary U17s head coach:

“Congratulations to the players for their performances throughout the tournament. They have progressed from a very difficult group in first place without conceding ány goals at all. Of the two halves against Serbia, I preferred the first even though we had difficulties and concentrated on defending too much. When we’d sorted this out we executed our plans, our defence worked well and the red card helped us move closer to a win. I’m very satisfied with the players’ approach – we worked in exemplary fashion throughout the tournament and there was a tremendous unity within the squad. I’m glad of qualification but we’ll need to develop more before the Elite round and I trust this great success will give a boost to every squad member and provide a foundation for the next step forward“.

November 3, 2019

Ronaldo to break the goal record of Hungarian legend Puskás

Based on recent statistics, Cristiano Ronaldo is approaching the goal count of the legendary football player, Ferenc Puskás, the pride of Hungary. The rising legend may reach the count of other one-time top players, e.g. Pelé or Bican.

According to Index, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 700th goal against Luxemburg on the European Championship Qualifiers. The 34-year-old Portuguese player has scored this count on 973 matches and jumped on the eternal rank of football players to the 6th place, just one score behind Gerd Müller, marca.com reports. There are only 9 scores between Ferenc Puskás and him.

This comparison is based on the scores of national teams and football clubs.

Take a look at the list of the top seven players of European football below:

Jozef Bican (1928-56) – 805 scores – 530 matches
Pelé (1956-77) – 779 scores – 842 matches
Romario (1985-2009) – 748 scores – 965 matches
Puskás Ferenc (1943-1966) – 709 scores – 720 matches
Gerd Müller (1962-83) – 701 scores – 762 matches
Cristiano Ronaldo – 700 scores – 973 matches
Lionel Messi – 668 scores – 823 matches

Jozef Bican is still leading the ranks with an extremely high score count. He was born in Vienna, and he played there and in Prague in the Austrian and the Czechoslovakian teams.

This year in September, Cristiano Ronaldo won the Puskás Award – you can read about it here. You can read about an animation movie being created about Ferenc Puskás here.

October 13, 2019

Hungarian team winning the 2019 European Women’s U-17 Handball Championship

The U17 Hungarian Women’s Team showed excellent performance during the whole tournament in Celje (Slovenia). On 10th August, Hungary’s opponent was Sweden in the finals.

The Swedish team had lost to the Hungarians in the semi-finals of the Championship (26-22). The score was similar this time as well: 28-24. The Hungarian team finished the match with a 4-score lead against the physically stronger Swedish team, thanks to their advantage in skill. Therefore, similarly to the Hungarian U19 Women’s Team, it

won the Championship with a 100% win-rate.

The Hungarian girls were dominating the finals from the first moments, and after the 21-14 lead, there was little doubt about who would be the winner of the tournament. At that point, the Swedish team suddenly started to perform a quick comeback by gaining 5 scores. After that, 6 minutes passed without any goals, and the 2-score lead seemed to stabilise. The final blow was given by the goals of Petra Koronczai. The match was won by the Hungarian team with the score: 28-24.

Magyar közönség — https://www.facebook.com/pg/kezivalogatott

2019 European Women’s U-17 Handball Championship

Finals:

Hungary–Sweden: 28–24 (13–9)

Third place:

Denmark–France: 21–28

August 12, 2019