Challenger Cup Women: Goztepe, Esslingen, Portuense and Jadran Split to contest Final Four
The full line-up for the 2025/26 Challenger Cup Women Final Four was confirmed on Sunday, as SSV Esslingen, Goztepe Sport Klub and VK Jadran Split secured the wins they needed to earn a place alongside Clube Fluvial Portuense.
The draw for the Final Four and 5th-12th Classification tournaments will take place on Monday 9 March at 13:00 CET and streamed live on the European Aquatics YouTube channel.
2025/26 Challenger Cup Women
Qualification Round II
Sunday 8 March
Group A
(Cottonera, Malta)
San Giljan ASC (MLT) 8-18 SSV Esslingen (GER)
Standings: 1. Esslingen 9pts, 2. Portuense 6pts, 3. San Giljan 3pts (2), 4. Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 0pts
Group B
(Izmir, Türkiye)
Sirens ASC (MLT) 7-17 VK Jadran Split (CRO)
London Otter (GBR) 18-8 Dalton Koleji SK (TUR)
Goztepe Sport Klub (TUR) 10-8 Nevsehir Belediye SK (TUR)
Standings: 1. Goztepe 15pts, 2. Jadran 12pts, 3. Nevsehir 9pts, 4. Sirens 6pts, 5. Otter 3pts, 6. Dalton 0pts
Group A
(Cottonera, Malta)
San Giljan ASC (MLT) 8-18 SSV Esslingen (GER)
Standings: 1. Esslingen 9pts, 2. Portuense 6pts, 3. San Giljan 3pts (2), 4. Crvena Zvezda (SRB) 0pts
SSV Esslingen roared to victory against San Giljan on Sunday, booking their place in the Final Four alongside Portugal’s Clube Fluvial Portuense in emphatic style.
The comprehensive win also ensured the German side finished top of Group A while maintaining their perfect record in Qualification Round II.
San Giljan managed to stay close to their superior opponents until midway through the second quarter. Trailing 6-8, Esslingen then produced a decisive burst, scoring six unanswered goals to take firm control of the contest.
Captain Elena Borg briefly halted their momentum by netting her fifth goal of the game with 59 seconds remaining in the third to make it 7-14, but by that stage San Giljan’s hopes of qualification had already slipped away.
Esslingen remained in command throughout the final period, continuing to dictate the tempo and winning the last quarter 1-4 to finish 10 goals clear.
Captain Jamie-Julique Haas led the scoring for the German outfit with four goals, as she and her teammates now turn their focus towards the upcoming Final Four.
Group B
(Izmir, Türkiye)
Sirens ASC (MLT) 7-17 VK Jadran Split (CRO)
London Otter (GBR) 18-8 Dalton Koleji SK (TUR)
Goztepe Sport Klub (TUR) 10-8 Nevsehir Belediye SK (TUR)
Standings: 1. Goztepe 15pts, 2. Jadran 12pts, 3. Nevsehir 9pts, 4. Sirens 6pts, 5. Otter 3pts, 6. Dalton 0pts
Hosts Goztepe Sport Club were celebrating in Izmir on Sunday as they edged their domestic rivals Nevsehir Belediye SK 10-8 to secure their spot in the Final Four and finish top of Group B.
The first half was full of twists and turns, as Nevsehir started brightly, opening up a 1-3 lead in the first quarter, with Milana Molnar, Betul Haltas and Carlotta Zandali scoring the goals.
This sparked Goztepe into life and they fired in three without reply in the second period to edge in front, but Molnar struck again to make it 4-4 at half-time.
In the third, the hosts hammered in four unanswered goals to take charge of the contest, and after Alena Serzhantova halted their charge, Kubra Kus struck twice to put Goztepe 10-5 ahead with 0:40 on the clock.
There was still time for Molnar to complete her hat-trick by converting a penalty, and Nevsehir’s Mariane Cosmo scored first in the fourth to cut the gap to three (10-7).
Zandali added another with just under three minutes to play, but the win they needed to progress remained out of touch, and the two-goal loss condemned them to third in the table.
Earlier, VK Jadran Split – inspired by Neli Jankovic’s nine-goal haul – sank Sirens ASC by 10 goals, but despite the big victory, they still needed to wait to see if Nevsehir could beat Goztepe later and overtake them in the table.
In the end, the hosts did Jadran a huge favour, so the Croats took the runners-up spot.
Also on Sunday, London Otter avoided finishing bottom of the group by beating Dalton Koleji SK 18-8.
The Turkish side put up a big fight until 7-7 early in the third quarter, then the Brits stamped their authority on the clash with a 7-0 blitz that sent them on their way to their first win of the weekend.
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
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