Croatian U20 Women's Water Polo Team Finishes Seventh in Europe
Mia Šimunić's squad concluded the championship in Oeiras with a convincing win over Great Britain, with focus now shifting to Tenerife.
Mia Šimunić's squad concluded the championship in Oeiras with a convincing win over Great Britain, with focus now shifting to Tenerife.
Croatia's women's U20 water polo team secured seventh place at the European Championship held in Oeiras, Portugal. In the tournament's final match, Mia Šimunić's side defeated Great Britain 23:14.
The Croatian team opened the tournament in their group with a convincing 20:10 victory over France. Two tough losses followed, against eventual champions Hungary (7:19) and bronze medalists the Netherlands (9:19). In the round of 16, the team shone, thrashing Serbia 22:8. However, in the quarterfinals, they were stopped by Italy, who won 17:12. In the placement matches for fifth through eighth place, a 20:7 loss to Russia came first, before concluding the competition with the aforementioned win over Great Britain.
Head coach Mia Šimunić reflected on the championship, aware that things could have gone better against the strongest opponents. "Somehow, there's a lingering feeling that we could have done a bit better regarding the large goal difference when playing against stronger opponents. But it seems to me, and I'm actually convinced, that this is our reality with the girls we brought here," she said for HRT. She emphasized that this was the youngest team at the tournament and expressed pride that all players scored a goal in the final match.
Captain Jelena Butić agreed with that assessment. "Seventh place is good. I thought we could do better, but against Italy, it just didn't work out. Their experience showed. Against Russia, we really couldn't, but we're satisfied with leaving Portugal as seventh," said Butić.
For most of the girls, the summer isn't over. Five of them will form the core of the U18 team that travels to the World Championship in Tenerife in the second half of August. "There were supposed to be six for Tenerife, but since Tonka Rogulj broke the thumb on her right hand, there will be five from this team," explained coach Šimunić. Heading to Spain are Nea Matičević, Neli Janković, Nina Jazvin, Mara Jadrešić, and Iva Garić. Šimunić believes that the players, despite missing preparations under coach Joka Kreković, gained valuable experience playing against top-tier opponents like Hungary and the Netherlands.
The European champion title went to Hungary, who defeated Spain in a dramatic final 21:20 on penalties after the match ended 13:13 in regular time. The Netherlands took the bronze medal with an 11:7 win over Italy. Croatia still had its representative in the final itself. Referee Maro Savinović from Dubrovnik officiated the final match between Hungary and Spain.
