Favorites were merciless on the opening day of the female tournament at the 34th European Championships in Budapest.

The teams which arrived in the capital of Hungary to take medals recorded convincing wins. There were no thrilling matches today.

Day 1 results

Group A: Slovakia – Russia 2:31, Greece – Serbia 26:7, Hungary – Croatia 25:6.

Group B: France – Spain 6:15, Germany – Italy 4:13, Netherlands – Israel 22:3.

34th European Championships, women, Day 1

Group A

Slovakia – Russia 2:31 (0:9, 0:5, 1:8, 1:9)

Slovakia: Kolarova 2.
Russia: Bersneva 6, Gorbunova 6, Serzhantova 4, Simanovich 3, Timofeeva 3, Karimova 3, Borisova 2, Ivanova 2, Soboleva 1, Fedotova 1.

Extra player shot: Slovakia 0/2, Russia 3/4. Penalties: Russia 1/2.

Russia kept Slovakia, the only debutant at the European Championships, scoreless for two quarters. By halftime, the Russians earned a 14:0 lead. Slovakia’s Kolarova opened the second quarter with a goal for 1:14. Russia didn’t slow down after a big lead in the first quarter and recorded a 31:2 win.

Slovakia – Russia Photo: Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo

Greece – Serbia 26:7 (9:1, 5:3, 5:2, 7:1)

Greece: Myrokefalitaki 6, Plevritou 5, Xenaki 4, Avramidou 3, Kotsia 2, Ninou 2, Tsoukala 2, Eleftheriadou 1, Benekou 1.
Serbia: Vukovic 3, Miskovic 1, Milicevic 1, Jakovljevic 1.

Extra player shot: Greece 4/4, Serbia 3/4. Penalties: Greece 1/1, Serbia 1/1.

Greece grabbed an early 2:0 lead. Quickly after that, the Serbs found the net for the first time (Tijana Jakovljevic), but then Greece netted eight goals in a row to jump to a 10:1 lead and dominated until the end.

Greece – Serbia Photo: lalex k./Total Waterpolo

Hungary – Croatia 25:6 (5:1, 7:2, 7:1, 6:2)

Hungary: Keszthelyi-Nagy 5, Parkes 4, Szilagyi 3, Gurisatti 3, Valvyi 2, Garda 2, Mate 2, Illes 1, Leimeter 1, Gyongyossy 1, Rybanska 1.
Croatia: Miljkovic 2, D. Butic 2, Skelin 1, I. Butic 1.

Extra player shot: Hungary 5/11, Croatia 2/5. Penalties: Hungary 0/2, Croatia 2/2.

Host Hungary defeated Croatia easily. The Hungarians didn’t have a good percentage of the shots with an extra player and they missed two penalties, but they controlled the match for all 32 minutes. The best scorer of the 2019 World Championships Rita Keszthelyi led Hungary with five goals.

Day 2 (January 13th): Croatia – Greece, Russia – Serbia, Slovakia – Hungary.

Group B

Netherlands – Israel 22:3 (4:0, 5:1, 7:1, 6:1)

Netherlands: Megens 5, Van der Sloot 3, Wolves 3, Sleeking 3, Keuning 2, Joustra 2, Genee 1, Stophorst 1, Sevenich 1, Van de Kraars 1.
Israel: Bogachenko 2, Futorian 1.

Extra player shot: Netherlands 5/7, Israel 0/2. Penalties: Netherlands 2/2

The Netherlands, the current European champion, opened its campaign as it was expected. The Dutch were too strong for Israel. Maud Meggens, who scored five goals, led the titleholder to a big 22:3 victory.

France – Spain 6:15 (1:3, 0:3, 1:4, 4:5)

France: Daule 3, Mahieu 1, Dhaullin 1, Mahieu 1.
Spain: Espar 4, Ortiz 3, Garcia 2, Leiton 2, Tarrago 1, Espar 1, Crespi 1, Forca

Extra player shot: France 1/3, Spain 7/14. Penalties: France 1/2, Spain 2/2.

Spain, the silver medalist at the last year’s World Championships, had no troubles in beating France. Early in the third period, Spain jumped to a 7:1 lead and never looked back. It should be mentioned that 16-years-old Juliette Dhaullin (born on November 14th, 2004), the youngest player at the Championships, managed to score a goal for France.

Photo: Laszlo Balogh/ Total Waterpolo

Germany – Italy 4:13 (2:4, 2:5, 0:2, 0:2)

Germany: Eggert 2, G. Dieke 1, Pannasch 1.
Italy: Garibotti 3, Marletta 2, Palmieri 2, Tabani 1, Aiello 1, Bianconi 1, Emmolo 1, Chiappini 1, Carrega 1.

Extra player shot: Germany 0/1, Italy 3/4. Penalties: Italy 1/1.

Germany kept up with the Italians for almost eight minutes. Deep into the second period, Germany trailed by a goal 2:3. Then Italy produced a 5:0 run to jump to an 8:2 lead. It was 9:4 at halftime, while Germany couldn’t score a single goal in the second quarter and Italy increased the margin to 9 – 13:4.

Day 2 (January 13th): Germany -Netherlands, Israel – France, Italy – Spain.

Slovakia debuted at the European Championships Photo: Laszlo Balogh/ Total Waterpolo