Favourites start strongly in Istanbul on day one of the Women’s U16 European Water Polo Championships

No hiccups on the opening day of the Women’s U16 European Water Polo Championship in Istanbul, as the favourites all won by scoring 20 goals or more.

Women’s U16 European Water Polo Championships
Day 1 Results – Istanbul, Türkiye
Friday 27 June 2025

Group A

Spain 20-6 Netherlands
Hungary 23-5 Serbia

Group B

Greece 22-7 Croatia
Italy 21-5 Germany

Group C

Czechia 15-13 France
Türkiye 14-8 Slovakia

Group D

Romania 14-10 Malta

In the top division, Spain beat the Netherlands with unexpected ease. A 6-2 rush in the first eight minutes set the tone and they never slowed down.

Also in Group A, Hungary didn’t show any mercy against Serbia, as they staged a 7-3 blast in the opening quarter and added six more goals before half-time. They capped a commanding performance with a powerful 10-1 second half.

Next came Greece against Croatia, and after a somewhat balanced first period, 5-3, it was followed by a decisive 7-1 run by the Greeks, who never looked back as they cruised to a comfortable opening-day victory.

Italy delivered some flawless defending and some clinical finishing in the first half against Germany, as they took an insurmountable 12-0 lead.

The Germans managed to score early in the second half and added five in total in the third, but Italy slammed the door shut again in the fourth and ran out worthy 21-5 winners.

In the second division, Czechia stunned France. The French got off to a flying start and built up a 1-5 advantage, but the Czechs hit back and a last-gasp goal put them level at 6-6 by half-time.

Czechia then scored three unanswered goals to go 9-6 up early in the third, but this time the French fought back to 10-9 late in the quarter. The Czechs had the final say in the third for 11-9 and opened the fourth with another 3-0 run which helped secure all the points.

Romania also had some headaches against Malta. They blew an early three-goal lead as the Maltese slowly clawed their way back and equalised early in the fourth at 9-9, but then four connecting goals from the Romanians put the game to bed.

In the evening, hosts Türkiye kicked off their opening match with a 4-0 rush in front of a large crowd and went 7-1 up deep into the second period.

The Slovakians were able to gain some ground and cut the gap to four on five occasions, but they could never get any closer as the Türks bagged all three crucial points.

Watch all the action live for free on the European Aquatics TV channel, which can be found by clicking here. For the full results and schedule, click here.

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

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