Six of the globes best u20 women’s national teams convened on Margaret Island this weekend for the Herakles tournament, ultimately won by the United States, ahead of next week’s u20 World Championships in Coimbra, Portugal.
Played out on a sunny and vibrant Margaret Island in tandem with the senior men’s Hungarian Cup, the warm-up tournament provided some interesting results, suggesting next week’s World Championships could be well worth the watch.
Team USA are deservedly considered the team to beat, after a perfect five from five showing in the Hungarian capital. The Magyars themselves, alongside Greece, are obviously in the conversation for medals; Greece fell to Israel on penalties day 2 of the competition, but recovered well to defeat the hosts Hungary 13-11 on the penultimate evening of the competition.
The notable ommission from the four-day tournament is the reigning champions from 2021, Spain. With regards to other teams at the World Championships, the Netherlands have been preparing alongside Australia and Canada.
The U20 Water Polo Championships 2023 takes place in Coimbra, Portugal, from 8-15 September 2023.
Herakles Tournament, 31st August-3rd September, Budapest
Final Standings
- United States – 5 – 14pt
- Greece – 5 – 11pts
- Hungary – 5 – 9pts
- Italy – 5 – 6pts
- Israel – 5 – 5pts
- New Zealand – 5 – 0pts
Day 1
Israel 8 – 11 United States ((2-3,3-4,1-3,2-1))
Hungary 19 – 5 New Zealand (6-1,6-0,4-4,3-0)
Italy 11 – 16 Greece (2-6,3-4,1-4,5-2)
Day 2
Israel 11 – 9 New Zealand (0-2,4-1,4-3,3-3)
Hungary 17 – 11 Italy (5-4,1-1,5-4,6-2)
Greece 23 – 24 United States (4-4,4-4,1-3,3-1, PSO: 11-12)
New Zealand 5 – 15 Italy (0-4,3-4,1-2,1-5)
United States 12 – 7 Hungary (3-1,2-3,4-2,3-1)
Israel 18 – 17 Greece (1-4, 2-1, 7-4, 2-3, PSO: 6-5)
Day 3
Italy 18 – 8 Israel (5-1,3-3,7-2,3-3)
United States 17 – 3 New Zealand (3-1,2-1,8-0,4-1)
Hungary 11 – 13 Greece (2-2,3-3,2-5,4-3)
Day 4
Greece 11 – 7 New Zealand (3-2,2-1,4-2,2-2)
Italy 4 – 8 USA (1-4,0-2, 0-1, 3-1)
Israel 6 – 13 Hungary (1-1, 1-4, 1-4, 3-4)
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