2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship

CountryPortugal

Dates26 January – 5 February

2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship
Campeonato Europeu de Polo Aquático de 2026 (in Portuguese)

Tournament details
Country	Portugal
City	Funchal
Venue	Olympic Swimming Pool Complex
Dates	26 January – 5 February
Teams	16 (from 1 confederation)
Final positions
Champions	Netherlands (7th title)
Runners-up	Hungary
Third place	Greece
Fourth place	Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played	52
Goals scored	1,296 (24.92 per match)
Top scorer	Beatriz Ortiz (25 goals)
Most saves	Mariia Dvorzhetska (49 saves)
Official website
Funchal 2026
← 2024 2028 →

The 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship was the 21st edition of the biannual continental championship for women's national water polo teams, organised by Europe's governing aquatics body, European Aquatics. The tournament was played from 26 January to 5 February 2026.

The competition was intended to be held in Serbia's capital Belgrade, alongside the men's championship.^[1]^[2] However, the Serbs would later relinquish the hosting rights for the women's event. On 4 July 2025, Portugal was awarded the hosting rights for the first time with Madeira's capital, Funchal, being selected as the host city.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] This was the second edition to have different hosts for both genders after European Aquatics made the change permanent in March 2025.^[2] This edition also witnessed a new format, introducing a second group stage as opposed to an extended knockout round.

For the second time, 16 teams were participating in the tournament, following the expansion in 2024. The top eight teams from the 2024 edition qualified automatically, while the remaining eight teams progressed via qualification. Future hosts, Portugal, and Switzerland qualified after a 10 and 31 year drought respectively.

This tournament acted as a qualifier for the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest and the 2028 European Championship edition.

Netherlands were the defending champions, beating Spain, 8–7, in the final in Eindhoven. They defended their title with a 15–13 penalty shootout win over Hungary.^[6] Croatia achieved their best result, placing 6th.

Hosting change

Belgrade

Belgrade was given the hosting rights in May 2022.^[1] This would've been Serbia's third time hosting after 2006 and 2016.

At a press conference in Valletta, Malta, held in June 2024, it was briefly mentioned that the bidding process had reopened for this competition, but no official statement was made at that time. It would later become official as in March 2025, it was confirmed that the men's event will be held in Belgrade but the venue for the women's tournament would be changed due to Serbia requesting that they only host the men's event.^[2]^[7]

Winning bid indicated in Bold:

Italy (unknown city)
Portugal (with Funchal as the host city)
Spain (with Tenerife as the host city)

After that announcement, Italy^[8] and Tenerife, Spain^[9]^[10] were touted as potential hosts, but on 4 July 2025, Portugal was given the hosting rights with Funchal as the venue.^[3]^[4]^[5] This is Portugal's first time hosting the event and first time the country hosted a senior women's championship in any sport. Miguel Arrobas, President of the Portuguese Swimming Federation said the following:

"For the FPN and for Portugal, the organization of this Women's Senior European Championship is very important. It will be the first time that Portugal hosts a women's senior event in team sports. In sporting terms, this is also a commitment by the FPN to the growth of water polo and, in this case, in particular, to the women's category with this participation and organization."

Preparations

On 28 September 2025, a dedicated website went live.^[11]
On 8 October, an information bulletin became available.^[12]

Tickets

Tickets were put on sale on 10 December 2025.^[13]

Partners and sponsors

Format

A new system was used for this tournament. The new format was unveiled in March 2025. This was the third different format in three editions.^[15]

Group stage

The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. In each group, there were two teams from the last tournament and two teams from the qualifiers. They played a round-robin in their groups. The top two teams of each group advanced to the main round (Group A & Group C formed Group E and Group B & Group D formed Group F) with all results against the teams that advanced aswell carried over. The bottom two teams were dropped to the classification round, which was played in a similar style to the main round.

Second group stage

In the main round, the teams played against opponents from the other first-round group. From this round, the top-two ranked teams of each group advanced to the semifinals; the other teams were dropped to the 5th–8th place semifinals.

In the classification round, the teams played against opponents from the other first-round group. Then each team played one classification game for the final position.

Knockout stage

The four remaining teams progressed to the knockout stage, where two semifinals and a final determined the European champions.

Qualification

16 teams were able to compete at the main event. They were broken up as follows:

The top eight teams from the 2024 European Championship not already qualified as host nation
Final eight from the qualifiers.

Of the sixteen teams who qualified, fourteen took part in the previous edition. Switzerland returned for the first time since 1995 and did so on merit for the first time.^[16]^[17] Portugal comes back for the first time since 2016.^[18]^[19]

Of the absentees, Czechia failed to qualify after appearing in 2024, while 2024 debutants, Bulgaria, didn't enter qualification.

The lowest ranked team to qualify was future hosts Portugal, ranked 20th, while Ukraine is the highest ranked team to not qualify, placed 15th.


Event	Date	Location	Quotas	Nation(s)
2024 European Championship	5–13 January	Eindhoven	8	Netherlands Spain Greece Italy Hungary France Great Britain Croatia
Qualifiers	6–8 June 2025	Setúbal	2	Portugal Romania
		Hannover	2	Germany Turkey
		Novi Sad	2	Serbia Switzerland
		Nováky	2	Israel Slovakia

Summary of qualified teams

Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	Appearance(s)				Previous best performance^[a]	Rank^[20]
Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	Total	First	Last	Streak	Previous best performance^[a]	Rank^[20]
Greece	Top eight in 2024	6 January 2024	19th	1989	2024	19	Runners-up (2010, 2012, 2018, 2022)	2
Italy			19th	1989		19	Champions (1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2012)	5
Netherlands			21st	1985		21	Champions (1985, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2018, 2024)	3
Spain			17th	1993		17	Champions (2014, 2020, 2022)	1
Croatia		8 January 2024	7th	2010		6	Eighth place (2022, 2024)	6
France			17th	1985		7	Third place (1987, 1989)	7
Great Britain			10th			2	Sixth place (1985)	11
Hungary			21st			21	Champions (1991, 2001, 2016)	4
Portugal	Top two in Group A	7 June 2025	4th	1995	2016	1	Tenth place (2016)	20
Romania	Top two in Group A		3rd	2022	2024	3	Eleventh place (2022)	13
Israel	Top two in Group D		5th	2018		5	Sixth place (2022)	8
Slovakia	Top two in Group D		5th	1993		4	Eighth place (2020)	12
Germany	Top two in Group B		21st	1985		6	Third place (1985)	10
Turkey	Top two in Group B		4th	2016		2	Twelfth place (2016, 2018)	14
Serbia	Top two in Group C		7th	2006		6	Eighth place (2006)	9
Switzerland	Top two in Group C	8 June 2025	3rd	1993	1995	1	Tenth place (1993)	18

Venue

Similar to 2016, the Štark Arena (now Belgrade Arena) was to be used for the entire competition before their withdrawal.^[21]^[22] When Funchal was confirmed as the new hosts, the Olympic Swimming Pool Complex was also announced as the venue for competition. The facility was built in 2004 and has recently hosted some Aquatics events, including the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, 2024 World Para Swimming European Open Championships and the 2025 European Artistic Swimming Championships.

Funchal		Funchal
		Olympic Swimming Pool Complex
		Capacity: 850

Original venue in Serbia
Belgrade		Belgrade
		Štark Arena (now Belgrade Arena)
		Capacity: 18,386

Draw

The draw was held at 11:30 WET on 2 October 2025 in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.^[23]^[24]^[25] Before the draw began, speeches were done by Eduardo Jesus, Regional Secretary of Tourism and Culture, Miguel Arrobas, President of the Portuguese Swimming Federation, and European Aquatics president, Antonio Silva. The guests were seven-time Olympic windsurfer, João Rodrigues and Masters Swimming Champion, Susana Gomes, who assisted with the draw. The draw started with, in order, pots 1, 2, 3 and 4 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically. The position for the team within the group would then be drawn (for the purpose of the schedule).

Seeding

The pots were decided by the rankings of the 2024 European Championship and also of the 2026 Qualifiers.

Pot 1 consisted of the teams positioned 1–4 in the 2024 Women's European Water Polo Championship
Pot 2 consisted of the teams positioned 5–8 in the 2024 Women's European Water Polo Championship
Pot 3 consisted of the group winners of the 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers
Pot 4 consisted of the group runners-up of the 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers

Pot 1
Team	Rank
Netherlands	1
Spain	2
Greece	3
Italy	4

Pot 2
Team	Rank
Hungary	5
France	6
Great Britain	7
Croatia	8

Pot 3
Team	Group
Portugal (H)	A
Germany	B
Serbia	C
Israel	D

Pot 4
Team	Group
Romania	A
Turkey	B
Switzerland	C
Slovakia	D

2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship – Draw

Draw Live Streaming

Draw results

Group A
Pos	Team
A1	Greece
A2	France
A3	Slovakia
A4	Germany

Group B
Pos	Team
B1	Hungary
B2	Romania
B3	Spain
B4	Portugal (H)

Group C
Pos	Team
C1	Italy
C2	Serbia
C3	Croatia
C4	Turkey

Group D
Pos	Team
D1	Netherlands
D2	Switzerland
D3	Great Britain
D4	Israel

Schedule

Schedule^[26]
Round	Matchday	Date
Group stage	Matchday 1	26 January 2026
	Matchday 2	27 January 2026
	Matchday 3	29 January 2026
Second group stage	Matchday 4	30–31 January 2026
Second group stage	Matchday 5	1 February 2026
9–16 placement games	All games	2 February 2026
Knockout stage 5–8 placement bracket	Semi-finals	3 February 2026
	5–8 placement games	4 February 2026
	Final	5 February 2026

Referees

On 24 November 2025, the following 18 referees were selected for the tournament.^[27]^[28] The referees represent 18 countries, including the 16 participating teams alongside match officials from Malta and Ukraine.

Lea Saftić
Aurely Bouchez
Hendrik Schopp
Maxim Gerasimov
Natali Markopoulou
Nóra Debreceni
Ayal Gabel
Alessia Ferrari
Massimo Angilleri
Diana Dutilh Dumas
Luis Santos
Mihnea Alexandrescu
Ivanka Raković Krstonošić
Martina Kuniková
Marta Cabanas
Ruben Garcia
Gökhan Can Ciğer
Anna Goncharenko

Squads

Each nation has to submit a list of 15 players.

Preliminary round

The match schedule was released on 12 November 2025.^[29]

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
Goal difference in all group matches;
Goals scored in all group matches.

If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a drawing of lots will decide the outcome.

All times are local (UTC±0).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Greece	3	3	0	73	17	+56	9	Main round
2	France	3	2	1	39	47	−8	6	Main round
3	Germany	3	1	2	38	50	−12	3	Classification round
4	Slovakia	3	0	3	31	67	−36	0	Classification round

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.

26 January 2026 10:30	Report	Greece	24–7	Slovakia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Nóra Debreceni (HUN), Anna Goncharenko (UKR)
		Score by quarters: 8–1, 5–3, 7–1, 4–2
		Karagianni 5	Goals	Vitaliano 2

26 January 2026 12:15	Report	France	13–11	Germany	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Luis Santos (POR), Mihnea Alexandrescu (ROU)
		Score by quarters: 4–3, 4–1, 3–3, 2–4
		Vernoux 5	Goals	Deike 3

27 January 2026 10:30	Report	Germany	22–11	Slovakia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Diana Dutilh Dumas (NED), Ayal Gabel (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 7–5, 6–1, 4–1, 5–4
		Bujka 5	Goals	Stankovianska 5

27 January 2026 17:00	Report	Greece	23–5	France	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Marta Cabanas (ESP), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 7–2, 7–2, 6–0, 3–1
		E. Plevritou, V. Plevritou 4	Goals	Benlekbir, Bouloukbachi 2

29 January 2026 13:45	Report	Greece	26–5	Germany	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Ruben Garcia (SUI), Ayal Gabel (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 7–1, 6–1, 6–1, 7–2
		Myriokefalitaki 7	Goals	Bujka 4

29 January 2026 18:45	Report	France	21–13	Slovakia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Maxim Gerasimov (GBR), Mihnea Alexandrescu (ROU)
		Score by quarters: 5–4, 5–2, 5–4, 6–3
		Vernoux 7	Goals	Sedláková 3

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hungary	3	3	0	65	14	+51	9	Main round
2	Spain	3	2	1	51	20	+31	6	Main round
3	Portugal (H)	3	1	2	23	57	−34	3	Classification round
4	Romania	3	0	3	14	62	−48	0	Classification round

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
(H) Host

26 January 2026 17:00	Report	Hungary	9–7	Spain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA), Aurely Bouchez (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 2–3, 1–2, 4–0
		Garda, Szilágyi 2	Goals	Ortiz 3

26 January 2026 21:00	Report	Romania	7–12	Portugal	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Natali Markopoulou (GRE), Lea Saftić (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 1–2, 1–2, 4–6
		Mihăilă, Şerbănescu 2	Goals	Machado 4

27 January 2026 13:45	Report	Hungary	28–3	Romania	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Martina Kuniková (SVK) , Hendrik Schopp (GER)
		Score by quarters: 7–0, 7–1, 6–0, 8–2
		Faragó 6	Goals	Şerbănescu 2

27 January 2026 20:15	Report	Portugal	7–22	Spain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Ivanka Raković Krstonošić (SRB), Anna Goncharenko (UKR)
		Score by quarters: 1–5, 2–5, 2–7, 2–5
		Machado 3	Goals	Anton 5

29 January 2026 12:15	Report	Romania	4–22	Spain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Anna Goncharenko (UKR), Gökhan Can Ciğer (TUR)
		Score by quarters: 1–7, 1–4, 1–5, 1–6
		four players 1	Goals	Anton 5

29 January 2026 15:30	Report	Hungary	28–4	Portugal	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Natali Markopoulou (GRE), Martina Kuniková (SVK)
		Score by quarters: 7–2, 7–1, 7–1, 7–0
		Vályi 6	Goals	four players 1

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Italy	3	3	0	66	29	+37	9	Main round
2	Croatia	3	2	1	38	41	−3	6	Main round
3	Serbia	3	1	2	23	35	−12	3	Classification round
4	Turkey	3	0	3	28	50	−22	0	Classification round

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.

26 January 2026 13:45	Report	Italy	24–12	Croatia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Diana Dutilh Dumas (NED), Ruben Garcia (SUI)
		Score by quarters: 7–4, 6–3, 6–3, 5–2
		Cocchiere 5	Goals	Rožić 4

26 January 2026 15:30	Report	Serbia	9–8	Turkey	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Marta Cabanas (ESP), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–2, 3–3, 1–1
		Radonjić 6	Goals	Dabbağ 3

27 January 2026 12:15	Report	Italy	17–6	Serbia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Mihnea Alexandrescu (ROU), Massimo Angilleri (MLT)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 5–1, 4–2, 3–1
		three players 3	Goals	Milićević 3

27 January 2026 18:45	Report	Turkey	9–16	Croatia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Nóra Debreceni (HUN), Luis Santos (POR)
		Score by quarters: 4–2, 2–5, 2–4, 1–5
		Molnar, Yermakova 3	Goals	Janković, Rožić 5

29 January 2026 09:00	Report	Italy	25–11	Turkey	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Diana Dutilh Dumas (NED), Luis Santos (POR)
		Score by quarters: 7–2, 4–4, 7–3, 7–2
		Ranalli 5	Goals	Yermakova 4

29 January 2026 17:00	Report	Serbia	8–10	Croatia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Marta Cabanas (ESP), Nóra Debreceni (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 4–3, 0–3, 2–2
		Milićević, Vuković 2	Goals	Butić 4

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	3	3	0	65	12	+53	9	Main round
2	Israel	3	2	1	41	38	+3	6	Main round
3	Great Britain	3	1	2	28	31	−3	3	Classification round
4	Switzerland	3	0	3	17	70	−53	0	Classification round

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.

26 January 2026 09:00	Report	Switzerland	9–24	Israel	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Ivanka Raković Krstonošić (SRB), Massimo Angileri (MLT)
		Score by quarters: 0–7, 1–9, 2–2, 6–6
		Verhagen 3	Goals	Bogachenko, Yaacobi 4

26 January 2026 18:45	Report	Netherlands	14–4	Great Britain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Hendrik Schopp (GER), Martina Kuniková (SVK)
		Score by quarters: 3–0, 6–0, 3–3, 2–1
		B. Rogge 3	Goals	Turner 2

27 January 2026 09:00	Report	Netherlands	28–2	Switzerland	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Natali Markopoulou (GRE), Gökhan Can Ciğer (TUR)
		Score by quarters: 10–1, 7–0, 7–0, 4–1
		Joustra 9	Goals	De Feo 2

27 January 2026 15:30	Report	Israel	11–6	Great Britain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA), Lea Saftić (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–1, 4–2, 3–2
		Yaacobi, Levinshtein 3	Goals	Turner 2

29 January 2026 10:30	Report	Netherlands	23–6	Israel	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Aurely Bouchez (FRA), Ivanka Rakovic Krstonosic (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 7–2, 6–2, 7–2, 3–0
		L. Rogge, Schaap 4	Goals	Bogachenko 3

29 January 2026 20:15	Report	Switzerland	6–18	Great Britain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA), Massimo Angilleri (MLT)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 1–4, 1–6, 2–4
		De Feo, Kohli 2	Goals	Blenkinship 6

Classification round

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Serbia	3	2	0	1	0	30	21	+9	7	Ninth place game
2	Germany	3	1	1	1	0	43	32	+11	6	Eleventh place game
3	Turkey	3	1	1	0	1	33	30	+3	5	13th place game
4	Slovakia	3	0	0	0	3	24	47	−23	0	15th place game

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.

30 January 2026 13:00	Report	Germany	12–12 PSO: 2–3	Turkey	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA), Natali Markopoulou (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 3–1, 1–4, 5–3
		Vosseberg 3	Goals	Ivanova 4

30 January 2026 15:00	Report	Serbia	12–4	Slovakia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Aurely Bouchez (FRA), Ayal Gabel (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 5–0, 2–2, 3–0
		Radonjić 3	Goals	four players 1

1 February 2026 09:00	Report	Slovakia	9–13	Turkey	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Nóra Debreceni (HUN), Alessia Ferrari (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 4–5, 3–2, 2–4, 0–2
		Kačková 3	Goals	Molnar 5

1 February 2026 12:15	Report	Germany	9–9 PSO: 4–3	Serbia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Natali Markopoulou (GRE), Lea Saftić (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 4–4, 1–0, 1–1
		Plotz 4	Goals	Radonjić, Vuković 2

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Great Britain	3	3	0	53	16	+37	9	Ninth place game
2	Portugal (H)	3	2	1	37	32	+5	6	Eleventh place game
3	Switzerland	3	1	2	30	47	−17	3	13th place game
4	Romania	3	0	3	21	46	−25	0	15th place game

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
(H) Host

30 January 2026 17:15	Report	Portugal	17–10	Switzerland	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Diana Dutilh Dumas (NED), Anna Goncharenko (UKR)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 3–3, 6–1, 3–4
		four players 3	Goals	De Feo, Verhagen 3

30 January 2026 19:15	Report	Great Britain	20–2	Romania	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Nóra Debreceni (HUN), Lea Saftić (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 3–0, 6–0, 5–1, 6–1
		Dickens 5	Goals	Melnychuk, Szeghalmi 1

1 February 2026 10:30	Report	Romania	12–14	Switzerland	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Diana Dutilh Dumas (NED), Ayal Gabel (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 3–1, 3–5, 3–5
		Szeghalmi 4	Goals	Verhagen 5

1 February 2026 13:45	Report	Portugal	8–15	Great Britain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Marta Cabanas (ESP), Aurely Bouchez (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 0–3, 4–3, 1–5, 3–4
		Machado, Nunes 2	Goals	three players 3

Placement games

15th place game

2 February 2026 13:00	Report	Slovakia	16–12	Romania	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Anna Goncharenko (UKR), Ruben Garcia (SUI)
		Score by quarters: 4–2, 5–4, 3–2, 4–4
		Sedlakova 9	Goals	Mihaila 5

13th place game

2 February 2026 15:00	Report	Turkey	19–8	Switzerland	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Luis Santos (POR), Massimo Angilleri (MLT)
		Score by quarters: 4–4, 7–1, 2–0, 6–3
		Molnar 4	Goals	Kohli 3

Eleventh place game

2 February 2026 17:15	Report	Germany	13–12	Portugal	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Martina Kuniková (SVK), Ayal Gabel (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 5–3, 3–2, 1–5, 4–2
		G. Deike 4	Goals	Machado 5

Ninth place game

2 February 2026 19:15	Report	Serbia	9–10	Great Britain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Gökhan Can Ciğer (TUR), Mihnea Alexandrescu (ROU)
		Score by quarters: 1–1, 3–3, 2–3, 3–3
		Ćuk, Vuković 2	Goals	Turner 4

Main round

All points obtained in the preliminary round against teams that advance as well were carried over.

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Greece	3	3	0	61	21	+40	9	Semifinals
2	Italy	3	2	1	58	32	+26	6	Semifinals
3	Croatia	3	1	2	33	56	−23	3	5th–8th place semifinals
4	France	3	0	3	19	62	−43	0	5th–8th place semifinals

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

31 January 2026 13:00	Report	Greece	15–10	Italy	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Ivanka Raković Krstonošić (SRB), Hendrik Schopp (GER)
		Score by quarters: 6–1, 1–2, 5–4, 3–3
		V. Plevritou 4	Goals	three players 2

31 January 2026 17:15	Report	France	9–15	Croatia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Maxim Gerasimov (GBR), Luis Santos (POR)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 2–3, 3–3, 2–5
		Di-Fraja, Heurtaux 2	Goals	Rožić 4

1 February 2026 15:30	Report	Italy	24–5	France	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Anna Goncharenko (UKR), Massimo Angilleri (MLT)
		Score by quarters: 8–1, 3–1, 5–0, 8–3
		Ranalli 5	Goals	Bouloukbachi, Vernoux 2

1 February 2026 18:45	Report	Greece	23–6	Croatia	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Luis Santos (POR), Mihnea Alexandrescu (ROU)
		Score by quarters: 5–0, 6–2, 6–0, 6–4
		V. Plevritou 6	Goals	Rožić 3

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	3	2	0	1	0	41	23	+18	7	Semifinals
2	Hungary	3	2	0	0	1	35	18	+17	6	Semifinals
3	Spain	3	1	1	0	1	43	29	+14	5	5th–8th place semifinals
4	Israel	3	0	0	0	3	19	68	−49	0	5th–8th place semifinals

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

31 January 2026 15:00	Report	Netherlands	5–4	Hungary	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Maxim Gerasimov (GBR), Luis Santos (POR)
		Score by quarters: 2–0, 2–2, 0–0, 1–2
		L. Rogge 2	Goals	four players 1

31 January 2026 19:15	Report	Spain	23–7	Israel	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Ruben Garcia (SUI), Mihnea Alexandrescu (ROU)
		Score by quarters: 6–2, 6–2, 6–2, 5–1
		Ortiz 4	Goals	Yaacobi 3

1 February 2026 17:00	Report	Hungary	22–6	Israel	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Ivanka Raković Krstonošić (SRB), Ruben Garcia (SUI)
		Score by quarters: 5–4, 5–1, 7–1, 5–0
		Keszthelyi 4	Goals	Tirosh 2

1 February 2026 20:15	Report	Netherlands	13–13 PSO: 0–3	Spain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Hendrik Schopp (GER), Gökhan Can Ciğer (TUR)
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 3–3, 5–3, 4–5
		Joustra 5	Goals	Ortiz 7

Knockout stage

Bracket

Semifinals		Final

3 February

Greece	8 (3)
		5 February
Hungary (PSO)	8 (4)
		Hungary	10 (3)
3 February
		Netherlands (PSO)	10 (5)
Netherlands	8

Italy	4
		Third place game

		5 February

		Greece	15

		Italy	8

5th–8th place semifinals		Fifth place game

3 February

Croatia	15
		4 February
Israel	11
		Croatia	9
3 February
		Spain	23
Spain	15

France	4
		Seventh place game

		4 February

		Israel	20

		France	12

5th–8th place semifinals

3 February 2026 13:00	Report	Croatia	16–11	Israel	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA), Diana Dutilh Dumas (NED)
		Score by quarters: 5–4, 3–2, 4–3, 4–2
		Janković, Rozić 4	Goals	Levinshtein 3

3 February 2026 15:00	Report	Spain	15–4	France	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Martina Kuniková (SVK), Ruben Garcia (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 6–1, 4–1, 3–1, 2–1
		Ortiz 4	Goals	four players 1

Semifinals

3 February 2026 17:15	Report	Greece	8–8 PSO: 3–4	Hungary	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Marta Cabanas (ESP), Ivanka Raković Krstonošić (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 1–3, 2–1, 2–2, 3–2
		three players 2	Goals	Garda, Keszthelyi 2

3 February 2026 19:15	Report	Netherlands	8–4	Italy	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Aurely Bouchez (FRA), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 1–1, 1–1, 2–1
		Hicks, Joustra 2	Goals	Bettini 2

Seventh place game

4 February 2026 17:15	Report	Israel	20–12	France	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Nóra Debreceni (HUN), Diana Dutilh Dumas (NED)
		Score by quarters: 7–3, 3–2, 6–5, 4–2
		Bogachenko 7	Goals	Vernoux 6

Fifth place game

4 February 2026 19:15	Report	Croatia	9–23	Spain	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Aurely Bouchez (FRA), Luis Santos (POR)
		Score by quarters: 4–8, 1–5, 1–5, 3–5
		Butić 3	Goals	Ortiz 5

Third place game

5 February 2026 17:15	Report	Greece	15–8	Italy	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Marta Cabanas (ESP), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 5–1, 5–3, 5–2, 0–2
		V. Plevritou, Tricha 3	Goals	Bettini 4

Final

5 February 2026 19:15	Report	Hungary	10–10 PSO: 3–5	Netherlands	Olympic Pools Complex, Funchal Referees: Aurely Bouchez (FRA), Hendrik Schopp (GER)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 1–4, 2–2, 4–3
		five players 2	Goals	Van de Kraats 3

Final standings

Best results

Team	Previous	New
Croatia	8th (2010, 2022, 2024)	6th

Rankings table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	Netherlands	7	5	1	1	0	101	43	+58	18	Champions
2	Hungary	7	4	1	1	1	109	43	+66	15	Runners-up
3	Greece	7	6	0	1	0	134	49	+85	19	Third place
4	Italy	7	4	0	0	3	112	72	+40	12	Fourth place

5	Spain	7	5	1	0	1	125	53	+72	17	Fifth place game
6	Croatia	7	4	0	0	3	83	107	−24	12	Fifth place game

7	Israel	7	3	0	0	4	85	110	−25	9	Seventh place game
8	France	7	2	0	0	5	69	121	−52	6	Seventh place game

9	Great Britain	6	4	0	0	2	73	50	+23	12	Ninth place game
10	Serbia	6	2	0	1	3	53	58	−5	7	Ninth place game

11	Germany	6	2	1	1	2	72	83	−11	9	Eleventh place game
12	Portugal (H)	6	2	0	0	4	60	95	−35	6	Eleventh place game

13	Turkey	6	2	1	0	3	72	79	−7	8	Thirteenth place game
14	Switzerland	6	1	0	0	5	49	118	−69	3	Thirteenth place game

15	Slovakia	6	1	0	0	5	60	104	−44	3	Fifteenth place game
16	Romania	6	0	0	0	6	40	112	−72	0	Fifteenth place game

Source: European Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
(H) Host

Qualification table

Rank	Team	Qualification
Rank	Team	WC	EC
	Netherlands	Q	Q
	Hungary	Q	Q
	Greece	Q	Q
4	Italy		Q
5	Spain		Q
6	Croatia		Q
7	Israel		Q
8	France		Q
9	Great Britain
10	Serbia
11	Germany
12	Portugal
13	Turkey
14	Switzerland
15	Slovakia
16	Romania

Q	Qualified directly to a main tournament

Method of qualification

	Qualified for the phase indicated based on this tournament

2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship Netherlands Seventh title Team roster: Laura Aarts, Christina Hicks, Simone van de Kraats, Maxine Schaap, Maartje Keuning, Fleurien Bosveld, Bente Rogge, Noa de Vries, Kitty-Lynn Joustra, Lieke Rogge, Lola Moolhuijzen, Nina ten Broek, Britt van den Dobbelsteen, Pien Gorter, Linde Haksteen. Head Coach: Evangelos Doudesis

All Star Team

The all-star team was announced on 5 February 2026.^[6]

Position	Player
Goalkeeper	Laura Aarts
Field player	Maria Myriokefalitaki
Field player	Rita Keszthelyi
Field player	Simone van de Kraats
Field player	Krisztina Garda
Field player	Kitty-Lynn Joustra
Field player	Eleni Xenaki

Statistics

Top goalscorers


Rank	Name	Goals^[30]	Shots	%
1	Beatriz Ortiz	25	39	64
2	Vasiliki Plevritou	24	45	53
2	Iva Rožić	24	45	53
4	Kitty-Lynn Joustra	22	28	79
4	Ema Vernoux	22	57	39
6	Alma Yaacobi	20	41	49
6	Maria Bogachenko	20	42	48
8	Dafne Bettini	19	38	50
8	Monika Sedláková	19	38	50
10	Maria Myriokefalitaki	18	28	64
	Chiara Ranalli		30	60
	Maria Machado		47	38
	Jelena Butić		58	31

Top scoring teams


Rank	Name	Goals^[31]	Shots	%
1	Greece	134	258	51.9
2	Spain	125	246	50.8
3	Italy	112	233	48.1
4	Hungary	109	250	43.6
5	Netherlands	101	226	44.7
6	Israel	85	202	42.1
7	Croatia	84	217	38.7
8	Great Britain	73	196	37.2
9	Germany	72	185	38.9
10	Turkey	72	198	36.4
11	France	69	231	29.9
12	Portugal	60	182	33
13	Slovakia	60	195	30.8
14	Serbia	53	186	28.5
15	Switzerland	49	191	25.7
16	Romania	40	171	23.4

Top assisting teams


Rank	Team	Assists^[32]
1	Spain	63
2	Netherlands	52
3	Hungary	50
4	Greece	45
5	Italy	44
6	Croatia	35
7	Turkey	34
8	Great Britain	25
9	Israel	23
9	Portugal	23
11	Serbia	18
12	France	15
13	Germany	13
14	Romania	10
15	Switzerland	8
16	Slovakia	7

Top sprinting teams


Rank	Name	Sprints^[32]	%
1	Hungary	24/28	85.7
2	Spain	22/28	78.5
3	Italy	21/28	75
4	Great Britain	17/24	70.8
5	Switzerland	14/24	58.3
	France	14/28	50
	Greece	14/28	50
8	Netherlands	13/28	46.4
9	Croatia	12/28	42.8
10	Germany	11/24	45.8
10	Turkey	11/24	45.8
12	Serbia	10/24	41.6
12	Slovakia	10/24	41.6
14	Portugal	9/24	37.5
15	Romania	5/24	20.8
16	Israel	1/28	3.5

Player of the match

For the first time, player of the match awards will be given during the knockout stage.^[33] A player of the match award is given to the player deemed as playing the best in each match.

Round	Team	Match	Team	Player	Ref
Semifinals	Greece	11–12 PS	Hungary	Rita Keszthelyi	^[34]
Semifinals	Netherlands	8–4	Italy	Kitty-Lynn Joustra	^[34]
Third place game	Greece	15–8	Italy	Eleni Xenaki	^[6]
Final	Hungary	13–15 PS	Netherlands	Simone van de Kraats	^[6]

Notable statistics

Most goals in a game: 36 (Italy 25–11 Turkey, 29 January)
Least goals in a game: 9 (Netherlands 5–4 Hungary, 31 January)
Most goals by a team in a game: 28 (Netherlands 28–2 Switzerland, 27 January; Hungary 28–3 Romania, 27 January; Hungary 28–4 Portugal, 29 January)
Least goals by a team in a game: 2 (Netherlands 28–2 Switzerland, 27 January; Great Britain 20–2 Romania, 30 January)
Biggest goal difference in a game: 26 (Netherlands 28–2 Switzerland, 27 January)
Biggest half time deficit in a game: 16 (Netherlands 17–1 Switzerland, 27 January)
Most goals scored by a player in a game: 9 ( Kitty-Lynn Joustra vs Switzerland, 27 January; Monika Sedlakova vs Romania, 2 February)

Notable occurrences

Switzerland won their first game since 1993 after beating Romania 14–12.

Broadcasting rights

The television channels broadcasting the event is as follows:^[35]

Territory	Rights holder
Bulgaria	BNT
Croatia	HRT
Cyprus	CyBC
Greece	ERT
Hungary	MTVA
Israel	The Sports Channel
Italy	RAI
Lithuania	LRT
Netherlands	NOS
Poland	TVP
Portugal	RTP
Spain	RTVE
Rest of World	Eurovision Sports

v t e 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship
General	Squads Qualification Final
Venue	Olympic Swimming Pool Complex (Funchal)
Teams	Croatia France Germany Great Britain Greece Hungary Israel Italy Netherlands Portugal (Hosts) Romania Serbia Slovakia Spain Switzerland Turkey

v t e European championships in 2026
Summer sports & indoor sports	Aquatics aquatics Archery indoor outdoor 3D field Athletics cross country race walking team running Australian rules Badminton individual mixed team Baseball baseball5 men women Basketball men women Beach handball Beach volleyball Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Canoe marathon slalom sprint Cycling BMX cyclo-cross mountain bike road track Equestrian dressage eventing jumping Fencing Fistball (women) Flag football Futsal Men Golf team (men) team (women) Gymnastics acrobatic aerobic artistic rhythmic trampoline & tumbling Handball men women Indoor hockey men women Judo team Karate Minifootball Modern pentathlon Orienteering foot MTB Racquetball Rink hockey Rowing Shooting 10m 25m/50m/300m/Shotgun/RT Table tennis Taekwondo Triathlon Water polo men women Weightlifting Wrestling
Winter sports	Biathlon Bobsleigh / Skeleton Curling Figure skating Luge Speed skating long track short track
Para sports	Athletics Sitting volleyball Men Women Table tennis Taekwondo Wheelchair rugby
Cue & mind sports
Motor sports	Formula Regional Le Mans Series Motocross Rally Rallycross Speedway individual pairs team Touring car Truck racing

Tickets

Partners and sponsors

Summary of qualified teams

Seeding

Draw results

Schedule

Tiebreakers

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group G

Group H

Placement games

15th place game

13th place game

Eleventh place game

Ninth place game

Group E

Group F

Bracket

5th–8th place semifinals

Semifinals

Seventh place game

Fifth place game

Third place game

Final

Best results

Rankings table

Qualification table

All Star Team

Top goalscorers

Top scoring teams

Top assisting teams

Top sprinting teams

Player of the match

Notable statistics

Notable occurrences

Matchday reports

Preview reports

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