2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship

For the men's tournament, see 2026 Men's European Water Polo Championship.
2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship
Campeonato Europeu de Polo Aquático de 2026 (in Portuguese)
Tournament details
CountryPortugal
CityFunchal
VenueOlympic Swimming Pool Complex
Dates26 January – 5 February
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Final positions
Champions Netherlands (7th title)
Runners-up Hungary
Third place Greece
Fourth place Italy
Tournament statistics
Matches played52
Goals scored1,296 (24.92 per match)
Top scorer Beatriz Ortiz (25 goals)
Most saves Mariia Dvorzhetska (49 saves)
Official website
Funchal 2026

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.

Host selection

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

Hosting change

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:

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

Main article: 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers

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

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]
Total First Last Streak
 Greece Top eight in 2024 6 January 2024 19th 1989 2024 19 Runners-up (2010, 2012, 2018, 2022) 2
 Italy 19th 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 3rd 2022 2024 3 Eleventh place (2022) 13
 Israel Top two in Group D 5th 2018 5 Sixth place (2022) 8
 Slovakia 5th 1993 4 Eighth place (2020) 12
 Germany Top two in Group B 21st 1985 6 Third place (1985) 10
 Turkey 4th 2016 2 Twelfth place (2016, 2018) 14
 Serbia Top two in Group C 7th 2006 6 Eighth place (2006) 9
  Switzerland 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
Olympic Swimming Pool Complex
Capacity: 850

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
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
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

Main article: 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship 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:

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. Goal difference in all group matches;
  5. 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 PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Greece 3 3 0 0 0 73 17 +56 9 Main round
2  France 3 2 0 0 1 39 47 −8 6
3  Germany 3 1 0 0 2 38 50 −12 3 Classification round
4  Slovakia 3 0 0 0 3 31 67 −36 0
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 PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Hungary 3 3 0 0 0 65 14 +51 9 Main round
2  Spain 3 2 0 0 1 51 20 +31 6
3  Portugal (H) 3 1 0 0 2 23 57 −34 3 Classification round
4  Romania 3 0 0 0 3 14 62 −48 0
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 PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy 3 3 0 0 0 66 29 +37 9 Main round
2  Croatia 3 2 0 0 1 38 41 −3 6
3  Serbia 3 1 0 0 2 23 35 −12 3 Classification round
4  Turkey 3 0 0 0 3 28 50 −22 0
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 PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 3 3 0 0 0 65 12 +53 9 Main round
2  Israel 3 2 0 0 1 41 38 +3 6
3  Great Britain 3 1 0 0 2 28 31 −3 3 Classification round
4   Switzerland 3 0 0 0 3 17 70 −53 0
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 PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Great Britain 3 3 0 0 0 53 16 +37 9 Ninth place game
2  Portugal (H) 3 2 0 0 1 37 32 +5 6 Eleventh place game
3   Switzerland 3 1 0 0 2 30 47 −17 3 13th place game
4  Romania 3 0 0 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 PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Greece 3 3 0 0 0 61 21 +40 9 Semifinals
2  Italy 3 2 0 0 1 58 32 +26 6
3  Croatia 3 1 0 0 2 33 56 −23 3 5th–8th place semifinals
4  France 3 0 0 0 3 19 62 −43 0
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
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
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

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
3 February
 
 
 Greece8 (3)
 
5 February
 
 Hungary (PSO)8 (4)
 
 Hungary10 (3)
 
3 February
 
 Netherlands (PSO)10 (5)
 
 Netherlands8
 
 
 Italy4
 
Third place game
 
 
5 February
 
 
 Greece15
 
 
 Italy8
 
5th–8th place semifinalsFifth place game
 
      
 
3 February
 
 
 Croatia15
 
4 February
 
 Israel11
 
 Croatia9
 
3 February
 
 Spain23
 
 Spain15
 
 
 France4
 
Seventh place game
 
 
4 February
 
 
 Israel20
 
 
 France12

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

Main article: 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship 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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Statistics

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]
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

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
 Croatia
 Cyprus
 Greece
 Hungary
 Israel
 Italy
 Lithuania
 Netherlands
 Poland
 Portugal
 Spain
Rest of World
  • Eurovision Sports

Notes

  1. ^ Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.

References

Matchday reports

Preview reports

  1. ^ a b "Tel Aviv, Belgrade To Host Next Two European Water Polo Championships". swimswam.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Two host cities and new format for 2026 European Water Polo Championships - European Aquatics®". March 31, 2025.
  3. ^ a b LEN, Juliana (July 4, 2025). "Competition dates confirmed for 2026 Water Polo events and Artistic Swimming Youth championships - European Aquatics®". Archived from the original on July 4, 2025. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Portugal organiza Europeu feminino absoluto no Funchal em 2026". www.fpnatacao.pt. Archived from the original on 2025-07-15. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
  5. ^ a b "Portugal organiza Europeu feminino de polo aquático de 2026 | Abola.pt". Abola.pt. July 4, 2025. Archived from the original on July 4, 2025. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "Funchal 2026: Dutch delight as Netherlands secure second successive European crown with epic shootout victory | European Aquatics®". February 5, 2026.
  7. ^ "Alaposan felforgatják a vízilabda-Eb-k eddig ismert rendszerét". ORIGO. April 1, 2025.
  8. ^ Curcic, Ivan (June 8, 2025). "Portugal and Switzerland return to European Championships". Archived from the original on June 21, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  9. ^ "Változik a vízilabda Európa-bajnokságok lebonyolítása". Infostart.hu. April 1, 2025.
  10. ^ Emil, Krasz (April 2, 2025). "Jóból nem árthat meg a sok: újabb nemzetközi kupasorozatot indítanak az európai vízilabdában". index.hu. Archived from the original on April 8, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  11. ^ "New website for 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championships goes live - European Aquatics®". September 28, 2025.
  12. ^ "European Aquatics Women Water Polo Championship Funchal 2026: Information bulletin now available – Funchal | 2026 European Water Polo Championships Men". europeanaquatics.org. Archived from the original on 2025-12-23. Retrieved 2025-10-30.
  13. ^ "Funchal 2026: Tickets on sale for women's European Water Polo Championships | European Aquatics®". December 10, 2025.
  14. ^ "SCHEDULE & RESULTS". Archived from the original on 2026-02-17. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
  15. ^ "2026 Men's European Championships in Belgrade by new format; women won't play in Serbia". total-waterpolo.com. 31 March 2025. Archived from the original on 10 June 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Switzerland set to return to Euros after 30 years - European Aquatics®". June 8, 2025. Archived from the original on December 23, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  17. ^ "Switzerland has made history by qualifying for the European Championship for the very first time". Archived from the original on 2025-06-08. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
  18. ^ "Roménia vence a Chéquia (12-11) no Torneio de Apuramento em Setúbal". www.fpnatacao.pt.
  19. ^ "Portugal vence Roménia e está na fase Final do Europeu". www.fpnatacao.pt. Archived from the original on 2025-06-17. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
  20. ^ "Women Country Ranking - European Aquatics®". February 20, 2023.
  21. ^ "Београд домаћин Европског првенства у ватерполу 2026. године". РТС. Archived from the original on 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  22. ^ "Opet Beograd! Srpska prestonica zvanično domaćin EP u vaterpolu!". INFORMER. Archived from the original on 2025-04-01. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  23. ^ "Watch the 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championships draw live from Funchal". europeanaquatics.org. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  24. ^ "Exciting clashes await after 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championships draw". europeanaquatics.org. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  25. ^ "Hungria, Espanha e Roménia no caminho de Portugal". www.fpnatacao.pt. Archived from the original on 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
  26. ^ "Regulations" (PDF).
  27. ^ "Women European Water Polo Championship 2026` – WWR – World Waterpolo Referee Association". Archived from the original on 2025-12-22. Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  28. ^ "European Water Polo Championships: Technical Officials, EA Committees and Bureau Representatives announced for Belgrade and Funchal | European Aquatics®". November 24, 2025.
  29. ^ "Funchal 2026: Women's European Water Polo Championships schedule announced". europeanaquatics.org. 12 November 2025.
  30. ^ "Top scorers" (PDF).
  31. ^ "Top scoring teams" (PDF).
  32. ^ a b "Overall Team Statistics" (PDF). ea.microplustimingservices.com.
  33. ^ "Two host cities and new format for 2026 European Water Polo Championships | European Aquatics®". 31 March 2025.
  34. ^ a b "Funchal 2026: Hungary and Netherlands to battle for gold after sensational semi-final victories | European Aquatics®". February 3, 2026.
  35. ^ "WHERE TO WATCH".
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