The men’s qualification tournaments for the 2020 European Championships were completed today. The top two teams from each of the four groups advanced to the Championships, which will be held in Budapest in January.
Georgia defeated Switzerland 24:7 in the 3rd match of Group A (Tbilisi) and joined the teams which qualified for the Championships in Budapest yesterday: Germany, Slovakia, France, Romania, Malta, Turkey and the Netherlands.
The tournaments in other groups were ended by encounters which decided group winners. Slovakia won the 1st place in Group B (Novaky), Romania finished atop of Group C (Malta), while Turkey was the best in Group D (Utrecht).
Besides the eight teams which finished qualification successfully, top eight teams from the previous European Championships (Barcelona 2018) will compete in Budapest: Serbia, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Russia, Hungary.
Men’s European Championships 2020 -Qualifications, Day 3
Group A (Tbilisi, Georgia)
Georgia – Switzerland 24:7 (6:1, 6:0, 6:4, 6:2)
Georgia: Shushiashvili 7, Bitadze 3, Jelaca 3, Adeishvili 3, Meskhi 2, Jakhaia 2, Bagaturia 2, Crepulja 1, Magrakvelidze 1.
Switzerland: Pleyer 3, Herzog 2,Carballo 1, Damjanov 1.
Germany bye.
Georgia dominated the last match in the group. The hosts cruised to the win and the 1st place.
1 Georgia 2 – 6
2 Germany 2 – 3
3 Switzerland 2 – 0
Group B (Novaky, Slovakia)
Slovakia – France 9:6 (3:2, 2:3, 3:0, 1:1)
Slovakia: Maros Tkac 3, Caraj 2, Zatovic 1, Marek Tkac 1, Kolarik 1, Balaz 1.
France: Kalinic 2, Marzouki 2, Crousillat 1, Canonne 1.
Ukraine – Belarus 7:10 (1:4, 2:1, 4:3, 0:2)
Ukraine: Dyadyura 3, Mametyev 2, Dzhura 1, Voitenko 1.
Belarus: Velichka 3, Shalamitski 2, Kharlap 1, Radzko 1, Dzikhtsiarenka 1, Chuprina 1, Kuzmenko 1.
The battle for the 1st place between Slovakia and France was decided in the second half. The French led 5:4 deep into the second quarter, but Maros Tkac levelled the score a second before the end of the period. After the middle break, the hosts rushed to a 9:5 lead. France its only goal in the second half scored 46 seconds from the end when it was too late.
1 Slovakia 3 – 9
2 France 3 – 6
3 Belarus 3 – 3
4 Ukraine 3- 0
Group C (Msida, Malta)
Malta – Romania 7:13 (2:3, 2:3, 2:4, 1:3)
Malta: S. Camilleri 3, M. Zammit 2, J. Camilleri 1, Abela 1.
Romania: Gheorghe 4, Negrean 3, Prioteasa 2, Oanta 2, Fulea 1, Dragomirescu 1.
Portugal bye.
Malta kept up with the Romanians for a while. A minute and a half before the end of the second period, the hosts trailed by only a single goal (4:5). Then Romania produced a 3:0 series for a safe 8:4 lead and controlled the game until the end.
1 Romania 2 – 6
2 Malta 2 – 3
3 Portugal 2 – 0
Group D (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Netherlands – Turkey 8:8 (3:1, 2:2, 2:2, 1:3)
Netherlands: Van Ijperen 2, Van den Burg 1, Gbadamassi 1, Veenhuis 1, Lindhout 1, Muller 1, Filipovic 1.
Turkey: Biyik 3, Kahraman 2, Albayrak 1, Sonmez 1, Cagatay 1.
Lithuania bye.
The Netherlands built an early 4:1 advantage. The home team were keeping a 3-goal gap during the 2nd and the 3rd quarter. The Dutch were 7:4 ahead, before but Turks started coming back. Early in the fourth, the visitors reduced the gap to 1 (6:7). Shortly after that, the Dutch went 8:6 up, but Turkey managed to equalise (8:8) with 01:59 to go. In the remaining time, the visitors kept the point and took the first place in the group thanks to a better goal difference. Both teams have the same goal difference (+17), but the Turks scored more goals than the Dutch.
1 Turkey 2 – 4 (32:15)
2 Netherlands 2 – 4 (29:12)
3 Lithuania 2 – 0
Draw on 22 April
The draw for the 34th European Water Polo Championships will be held in Budapest on 22 October. The championships will be played in the Danube Arena from 12 to 26 January.
The male tournament in Budapest won’t see newcomers or returnees on the main European stage. The list of the participating teams is exactly the same as the list of the teams which competed at the 2018 European Championships.
Final rankings at the 33rd European Championships (Barcelona, 2018): 1. Serbia, 2. Spain, 3. Croatia, 4. Italy, 5. Greece, 6. Montenegro, 7. Russia, 8. Hungary, 9. Germany, 10. Netherlands, 11. Romania, 12. France, 13. Georgia, 14. Slovakia, 15. Turkey, 16. Malta.
The qualifications for ladies will be completed on 26 October.
