The title holder, Team USA, along with Greece, Hungary, and Olympic champion Spain, are still vying for medals at the womenβs tournament in the World Championships in Singapore.
In the semifinals scheduled for Monday, the USA will face Greece, while Spain will compete against Hungary.
The quarterfinals featured an exciting match between Spain and the Netherlands. The Olympic champions established a five-goal lead in the first half, but the Dutch fought back to equalize in the final minute, making the score 11:11. Ultimately, Spain advanced to the semifinals by winning the penalty shootout 15:13.
Greece also secured its place in the semifinals after a thrilling match against Australia, clinching an 8:7 victory with a last-minute goal scored just two seconds before the final buzzer.
Team USA dominated Japan, winning decisively with a score of 26:8. Meanwhile, Hungary controlled the game against Italy, finishing with a 12:9 victory.
Interestingly, these same four teams played in the semifinals in Doha last year, though the matchups were different. In those semifinals, the USA triumphed over Spain, while Hungary defeated Greece. Ultimately, Team USA took home the gold medal, Spain earned silver, and Hungary secured the bronze.
In the classification matches, New Zealand and China advanced to the 9th-place match. Croatia won 13th place, beating Argentina in a penalty shootout. In a 12-goal 15th-place game, South Africa defeated Singapore
Road to medals
- Crossover round (July 17): Italyβ China 13:11, New Zealandβ Netherlands 9:14, Greeceβ France 23:9, Japanβ Great Britain 23:10.
- Quarterfinals (July 19): Australiaβ Greece 7:8, USAβ Japan 26:8 , Hungaryβ Italy 12:9, Spain β Netherlands 15:13 (PSO).
- Semifinals (July 21): Greece – USA, Hungary – Spain.
- Final Day (July 23)
2025 World Womenβs Water Polo Championships, Day 5
QF Quarterfinals
Australia β Greece 7:8 (1:1, 2:4, 2:1, 2:2)
Australia: A. Andrews 2, C. Andrews 2, Williams 1, Kearns 1, Jackovich 1.
Greece: E. Prevritou 2, Santa 2, Tricha 1, Giannapoulou 1, Ninou 1, Myriokefalitaki 1.
Greece, the World Cup champion, triumphed over Olympic silver medalist Australia, scoring a dramatic last-minute goal from a counterattack. Australia took a one-goal lead three times in the first half (1:0, 2:1, 3:2), but Greece ended the second quarter with a 3:0 run, heading into the third period with a 5:3 advantage.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Greece had several scoring opportunities, but Australian goalkeeper Gabrielle Palm made several impressive saves, boosting her team’s confidence in their attempts to make a comeback. The “Sharks” managed to catch up, equalizing in the 29th minute when Charlize Andrews scored to make it 6:6. Greece then forced an exclusion during their next possession, and Eleftheria Plevritou took advantage of the extra player to score, giving Greece a slight lead.
Maria Myriokefalitaki of Greece (Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo)
Greece maintained a 7:6 advantage until the final minute. Danijela Jackovich then scored from a 6-on-5 situation, leveling the game at 7:7 with just 47 seconds remaining. In the Greeks’ next attack, they lost possession, giving Australia a chance to score a winning goal with 22 seconds left on the clock. However, the Stingers unexpectedly committed a turnover foul, allowing Maria Myriokefalitaki to swim toward the Australian goal. She shot from distance, scoring just before the buzzer and securing an 8-7 victory with only two seconds left.
USA β Japan 26:8 (11:2, 5:1, 5:2, 5:3)
USA: Pearson 5, Flynn 4, Ausmus 4, Prentice 3, Neushul 3, Bonaguidi 2, Roemer 2, Woodhead 1, Stryker 1, Gazzaniga 1.
Japan:Ura 2, Sunabe 2, Nishiyama 1, Inoue 1, Kobayashi 1, Fukuda 1.
The game didn’t look like a quarterfinal match at the World Championships. The eight-time world champion and triple Olympic gold medalist proved too strong for Japan, which achieved a historic result by reaching the quarterfinals.
Team USA got off to a flying start, taking a 6:0 lead before Japan scored the first goal. At the first break, the difference was already nine goals.
Ryann Neushul (USA) Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
Japan played as best as it could, but with a lot of scoring attempts (30 shots compared to the USAβs 34). However, both Team USAβs goalkeepers, Longan and Williams, were up to the task, combining 14 saves.
Hungary β Italy 12:9 (3:3, 3:2, 4:2, 2:2)
Hungary: Keszthelyi 4, Leimeter 2, Garda 2, Virag Sumegi 2, Szilagyi 1, Valyi 1.
Italy: Ranalli 4, Giustini 3, Bianconi 1, Bettini 1.
Hungary and Italy were in a closely contested match in the first half. Hungary made a strong push to the final by going on a 6:2 scoring run in the middle of the game.
There were many twists and turns in the first half, but neither team managed to establish a two-goal lead. Three minutes before halftime, Italy led 5:4, but Hungary scored the last two goals of the half, with Krisztina Garda making it 6:5 just six seconds before the break.
Kamilla Farago of Hungary Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
Hungary carried its momentum into the second half. Rita Keszthelyi, who excelled in both defense and offense, increased the lead to 7:5 in the 19th minute, marking the first time a two-goal gap appeared between the teams. The teams then traded goals, and Italy was able to cut the deficit to 6:7 and 7:8. However, Italy could not respond after Leimeter scored on a power play to make it 9:7. Rita Keszthelyi then netted a beautiful lob with 48 seconds remaining in the quarter, stretching Hungary’s lead to three goals at 10:7.
Defenses were strong in the fourth period, with no goals scored until the 30th minute. With 2:54 left, Italy was awarded a penalty, but Boglarka Neszmely saved Ranalliβs shot. However, immediately after a new penalty shot was awarded to the Italians, Sumegi jumped toward the shooter, resulting in her receiving a red card. Ranalli took the penalty again and scored, bringing the score to 10:8. At the other end, Garda responded with a shot from the top right, making it 11:8 at 2:29. Giustini then scored on a power play at 1:17, tightening the score to 11:9. Leimeter sealed Hungary’s victory with a 12:9 powerplay goal from deep right with just 37 seconds remaining.
Spain – Netherlands 15:13 (3:1, 4:2, 3:5, 1:3, PSO 4:2)
Spain: Ortiz 3, A. Ruiz 2, Crepi 2, Espar 1, Perez 1,E. Ruiz 1, Camus 1.
Netherlands: L. Rogge 6, Joustra 3, Van der Weijden 1, B.Rogge 1.
Penalty shootout:L.Rogge 0:1, Ortiz 1:1, B. Rogge – miss, E. Ruiz 2:1, Van de Kraats 2Δ2, Crespi 3:2, Keuning – Terre saved, A. Ruiz 4:2
Spain had a dream start against the Netherlands. The Olympic champions opened the match with a 3:0 lead. The Dutch narrowed the gap to two goals at 1:3 and 2:4. After the second goal from the Netherlands, the Spaniards scored three consecutive goals in just 82 seconds (Bea Ortiz, Adriana Ruiz, and Bea Ortiz from a counter again) and were 7:2 up in the 15th minute.
Spain had a dream start against the Netherlands. The Olympic champions opened the match with a 3:0 lead. The Dutch narrowed the gap to two goals at 1:3 and 2:4. After the second goal from the Netherlands, the Spaniards scored three consecutive goals in just 82 seconds (Bea Ortiz, Adriana Ruiz, and Bea Ortiz from a counter again) and were 7:2 up in the 15th minute.
Irene Gonzalez of Spain Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
But the Netherlands recovered from a bad start. It trailed 3:7 at halftime and added three goals in the first 4:04 minutes of the second half, cutting the deficit to one (6:7). Elena Ruiz ended the Dutch series from a penalty shot.
The Olympic gold medalists earned a 3-goal advantage (10:7) deep into the third quarter. However, Lieke Rogge closed the third period with a penalty shot goal. The Netherlands forced an exclusion in its first possession in the fourth quarter. Joustra successfully converted a 6 on 5 to 9:10, and the Netherlands was back in the game again. Β After a long scoring silence at both ends of the pool, Perez doubled Spainβs advantage with 03:24 minutes remaining. It was the Spaniardsβ last goal in regular time. Lieke Rogge converted a woman-up opportunity on the next possession. After several missed chances from both teams, the Netherlands forced another exclusion in the last minute. Lieke Rogge stepped up again and scored her sixth goal, equalizing the game at 11:11 with just 48 seconds left. Neither team scored for the remainder of the match, leading to a penalty shootout.
The Spaniards remained calm during this tense finale. They converted all their attempts in the shootout and advanced to the final. The Netherlands, the 2023 world champion and reigning European champion will miss the WCH semifinals for the second consecutive time, having lost a quarterfinal match in a shootout. Last year, Hungary edged out the Dutch team in Doha.
Spain scored all 11 of its goals in regular time from 6-on-6 attacks (including one from a counterattack), but they defended well with a woman down. The Dutch converted four of their 11 opportunities with an extra player.
CL 9th-12th place classification, semifinals
New Zealand β Great Britain 20:12 (5:3, 7:3, 5:1, 3:5)
New Zealand: Quin 5, Houghton 4, McDowall 2, Howarth 2, Dunn 2, Weston 1, Nicholson 1,Millichich 1, Spark 1, Shorter-Robinson 1.
Great Britain: Turner 4, Galvey 3, Rogers 2, Brown 1, Howe 1, Dickens 1.
China β France 18:6 (2:2, 6:2, 7:2, 5:2)
China: S. Yan 4, Zhang 3, Nong 2, J. Zhang 2, Shao 2, H. Wang 2, Yan 1, S. Wang 1, Ma 1.
France: E. Vernoux 3, Hardy 1, L.Vernoux 1, Raspo 1.
China and New Zealand dominated their matches against European opponents.
In the game between New Zealand and Great Britain, the teams traded goals in the opening minutes, leading to a tie at 2:2. However, between the 4th and 11th minutes, the “Kiwis” went on a crucial 6:2 run, jumping ahead to an 8:4 lead. France managed to reduce the gap to three goals at 5:8, but New Zealand quickly responded with another impressive run, outscoring France 9:2. They entered the final quarter with a commanding lead of 17:7 and slowed down their pace in the last moments of the game.
Xuan Wang of China and Camille Radosavljevic Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
In their match against China, France kept pace during the first quarter, which also ended tied at 2:2. However, from the beginning of the second quarter until the middle of the third, China went on a dominant 7:0 scoring run, establishing a 9:2 lead that they maintained for the rest of the match.
13 13th-place match
Argentina β Croatia 14:16 (2:3, 2:2, 4:5, 4:2, PSO 2:4)
Argentina: Bacigalupo 5, Auliel 3, Sol Canda 3, Sempedro 2, Agnesina 1.
Croatia: Rozic 3, Jankovic 3, Jazvin 3, Medic 2, Glas 2, Srhoj 1, Skelin 1, Pesic 1.
Croatia was ahead of Argentina for most of the match but secured 13th place only in a penalty shootout.
Two and a half minutes before the end of the third period, Neli Jankovic scored from a counterattack to give Croatia a 3-goal lead for the first time, 9:6. During the fourth period, the South Americans continued chasing the Croats, who maintained a 3-goal advantage until 12:9. In the last three minutes and a half, Argentina scored three unanswered goals, forced the match into a penalty shootout, but Croatia emerged victorious at the end of the thriller.
Croatian players celebrate win in a thrilling match Photo: MTB Photo
15 15th-place match
Singapore β South Africa 4:8 (0:3, 3:2,1:2, 0:2)
Singapore: Yap 1, T. Koh 1, Wan. L.X. Koh 1.
South Africa Williams 2, Macdonald 1, Caswell 1, Motau 1, Murray 1, Zondo 1, Meecham 1.
South Africa won a low-scoring 15th-place match thanks to a good start. The Africans earned a 4:0 lead before Singapore scored its first goal.
South Africa Photo: MTB-Photo
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