2023 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup

The 2023 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup was the 18th edition of the tournament. It ran from 11 April to 25 June 2023.^[1] The Super final took place between 23 and 25 June 2023 in Long Beach, United States.^[2]

2023 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup
League	FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup
Sport	Water polo
Duration	11 April – 25 June
Super Final
Finals champions	United States
Runners-up	Netherlands

From this year on, the tournament was replacing the FINA Water Polo World League.^[3]

The United States won their fourth straight and fifth overall title after defeating the Netherlands in the final.^[4]

Format

There were two divisions. In Division 1, the top eight teams from the World Championships played. They played a round-robin in April, at pre-selected venues. All other teams could sign up in Division 2, in which each continent hosted a qualification tournament. The top two teams from the tournaments played in an intercontinental tournament. The top-six teams of Division 1 and the top-two teams from Division 2 competed in the super final, held between 23 and 25 June 2023.^[5][6] At the end of the tournament, the last-ranked team was relegated to Division 2 and the winner of Division 2 moved to Division 1 for the following year. A win gave a team three points, a win after penalties two, a loss after penalties one and a loss after regular time zero points.^[7]

Division 1

The draw was held on 1 December 2022.^[8] The first tournament was played from 11 to 13 April in Rotterdam, Netherlands and the second tournament between 19 and 21 April 2023 in Athens, Greece.^[6] The top four teams from the first tournament qualified for the super final but participated in the second tournament as well, where the last two spots were played out.^[2]

Round 1

The top-two teams from both groups qualified for the super final. All teams participated in the second tournament.

All times are local (UTC+2).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands (H)	3	3	0	0	0	37	28	+9	9	Super final
2	Hungary	3	2	0	0	1	42	35	+7	6
3	Greece	3	1	0	0	2	32	35	−3	3
4	Australia	3	0	0	0	3	25	38	−13	0

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) head-to-head result.
(H) Host

11 April 2023 18:30	Report	Australia	7–11	Netherlands	Rotterdam Referees: Pau Segurana (ESP), Jennifer McCall (USA)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–4, 2–2, 1–4
		C. Andrews, Williams 2	Goals	Sleeking 3

11 April 2023 20:30	Report	Greece	12–14	Hungary	Rotterdam Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA), Matan Schwartz (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 4–2, 4–3, 2–6, 2–3
		Eleftheriadou 4	Goals	Keszthelyi 6

---

12 April 2023 18:30	Report	Netherlands	14–10	Greece	Rotterdam Referees: Hendrik Schopp (GER), Zhang Liang (CHN)
		Score by quarters: 3–0, 4–1, 5–4, 2–5
		Van de Kraats 4	Goals	three players 2

12 April 2023 20:30	Report	Hungary	17–11	Australia	Rotterdam Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA), Pau Segurana (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 6–2, 2–4, 5–1, 4–4
		Szilágyi 4	Goals	four players 2

---

13 April 2023 14:00	Report	Greece	10–7	Australia	Rotterdam Referees: Alessia Ferrari (ITA), Zhang Liang (CHN)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 1–0, 4–2, 2–1
		Eleftheriadou 3	Goals	A. Andrews 2

13 April 2023 18:30	Report	Netherlands	12–11	Hungary	Rotterdam Referees: Jennifer McCall (USA), Pau Segurana (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 4–2, 3–4, 3–3
		L. Rogge 5	Goals	Parkes 3

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	3	2	0	1	0	38	30	+8	7	Super final
2	Italy	3	2	0	0	1	40	36	+4	6
3	Spain	3	1	1	0	1	36	32	+4	5
4	China	3	0	0	0	3	25	41	−16	0

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) head-to-head result.

11 April 2023 14:00	Report	Spain	17–15	United States	Rotterdam Referees: Nóra Debreceni (HUN), Hendrik Schopp (GER)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–4, 4–5, 3–1  PSO: 5–3
		Forca, Ortiz 4	Goals	Raney 3

11 April 2023 16:00	Report	Italy	14–13	China	Rotterdam Referees: Peter de Jong (NED), Alexandros Chatzigoulas (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 3–2, 5–3, 4–4
		Avegno 6	Goals	Zhang J. 4

---

12 April 2023 14:00	Report	Spain	9–13	Italy	Rotterdam Referees: Alexandros Chatzigoulas (GRE), Matan Schwartz (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–4, 3–3, 1–4
		Ruiz 3	Goals	Marletta 4

12 April 2023 16:00	Report	United States	12–5	China	Rotterdam Referees: Fiona Haigh (AUS), Peter de Jong (NED)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 2–2, 4–1, 3–1
		Bonaguidi, Musselman 3	Goals	Yan S. 3

---

13 April 2023 16:00	Report	Spain	15–7	China	Rotterdam Referees: Nóra Debreceni (NED), Alexandros Chatzigoulas (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 3–4, 6–1, 4–1
		Ortiz 4	Goals	Yan S. 4

13 April 2023 20:30	Report	United States	14–13	Italy	Rotterdam Referees: Matan Schwartz (ISR), Hendrik Schopp (GER)
		Score by quarters: 5–1, 3–6, 4–3, 2–3
		Musselman, Steffens 5	Goals	Picozzi 4

Round 2

All teams from Group 1 were already qualified and played for seeding for the super final. The top-two placed teams from Group 2 qualified for the super final. All results from the first round were taken over.

All times are local (UTC+3).

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Netherlands	6	5	0	0	1	73	58	+15	15
2	United States	6	4	0	1	1	66	53	+13	13
3	Hungary	6	4	0	0	2	75	59	+16	12
4	Italy	6	2	0	0	4	59	75	−16	6

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) head-to-head result.

19 April 2023 16:00	Report	Netherlands	16–10	Italy	Athens Referees: Marta Cabañas (ESP), Fiona Haigh (AUS)
		Score by quarters: 4–2, 5–2, 4–3, 3–3
		Van de Kraats, L. Rogge 4	Goals	Bettini 3

19 April 2023 20:00	Report	United States	10–8	Hungary	Athens Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Natalia Markopoulou (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–1, 2–3, 3–2
		four players 2	Goals	Gurisatti 3

---

20 April 2023 16:00	Report	Netherlands	11–12	Hungary	Athens Referees: Aurélie Blanchard (FRA), Natalia Markopoulou (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 4–5, 3–3, 2–2, 2–2
		Sleeking 4	Goals	Szilágyi 4

20 April 2023 20:00	Report	United States	10–6	Italy	Athens Referees: Zhang Liang (CHN), Fiona Haigh (AUS)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 1–2, 6–2, 1–1
		Raney 5	Goals	Marletta 3

---

21 April 2023 16:00	Report	United States	8–9	Netherlands	Athens Referees: Fiona Haigh (AUS), Natalia Markopoulou (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 2–4, 3–2, 1–0
		Bonaguidi, Musselman 3	Goals	B. Rogge 3

21 April 2023 20:00	Report	Italy	3–13	Hungary	Athens Referees: Marta Cabañas (ESP), Aurélie Blanchard (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 1–6, 0–1, 1–2
		three players 1	Goals	Hajdú 3

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Spain	6	3	2	0	1	75	64	+11	13	Super final
2	Greece (H)	6	2	0	2	2	73	74	−1	8
3	Australia	6	1	1	0	4	60	69	−9	5
4	China	6	0	0	0	6	54	83	−29	0	Division 2

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) head-to-head result.
(H) Host

19 April 2023 14:00	Report	Spain	9–8	Australia	Athens Referees: Giuliana Nicolosi (ITA), Diana Dutilh (NED)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 2–4, 3–2, 1–1
		Ortiz 5	Goals	three players 2

19 April 2023 18:00	Report	Greece	13–11	China	Athens Referees: Aurélie Blanchard (FRA), Gabriella Várkonyi (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 2–3, 5–2, 4–2
		Eleftheriadou 5	Goals	three players 2

---

20 April 2023 14:00	Report	Spain	17–11	China	Athens Referees: Jennifer McCall (USA), Giuliana Nicolosi (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 4–4, 4–2, 5–4
		Ruiz 5	Goals	Wang H. 3

20 April 2023 18:00	Report	Greece	18–19	Australia	Athens Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Gabriella Várkonyi (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 4–4, 7–5, 1–4, 3–2  PSO: 3–4
		Ninou 6	Goals	Halligan 4

---

21 April 2023 14:00	Report	China	7–12	Australia	Athens Referees: Diana Dutilh (NED), Jennifer McCall (USA)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–4, 2–2, 0–4
		Zhang J. 4	Goals	A. Andrews, Ridge 3

21 April 2023 18:00	Report	Spain	18–17	Greece	Athens Referees: Zhang Liang (CHN), Boris Margeta (SLO)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 5–4, 1–1, 4–4  PSO: 5–4
		Ortiz 4	Goals	Ninou 4

Division 2

The draw was held on 13 April 2023.^[9] The tournament took place in Berlin, Germany between 2 and 4 May 2023.^[2]

All times are local (UTC+2).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Israel	3	3	0	0	0	70	16	+54	9	Crossover
2	South Africa	3	2	0	0	1	38	35	+3	6
3	Uzbekistan	3	1	0	0	2	26	44	−18	3
4	Ukraine	3	0	0	0	3	17	56	−39	0

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) head-to-head result.

2 May 2023 08:30	Report	South Africa	7–22	Israel	Berlin Referees: Hendrik Schopp (GER), Adil Aimbetov (KAZ)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 4–4, 2–6, 0–8
		Versfeld 4	Goals	Levi, Rahum 4

2 May 2023 10:00	Report	Uzbekistan	11–10	Ukraine	Berlin Referees: Ursula Wengenroth (SUI), John Waldow (NZL)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 1–2, 5–4, 2–1
		Pulatova 5	Goals	Aboimova 3

2 May 2023 16:00	Report	South Africa	19–5	Ukraine	Berlin Referees: Adil Aimbetov (KAZ), John Waldow (NZL)
		Score by quarters: 6–0, 4–0, 7–2, 2–3
		Versfeld 4	Goals	Aboimova 2

2 May 2023 17:30	Report	Uzbekistan	7–22	Israel	Berlin Referees: Maxim Gerasimov (GBR), Sander Gransjean (NED)
		Score by quarters: 2–6, 3–5, 1–5, 1–6
		Sayfiddinova 3	Goals	Strugo 6

---

3 May 2023 14:00	Report	Uzbekistan	8–12	South Africa	Berlin Referees: Hendrik Schopp (GER), Maxim Gerasimov (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 2–6, 2–1, 0–3, 4–4
		Sayfiddinova 5	Goals	Meecham, Versfeld 4

3 May 2023 15:45	Report	Ukraine	2–26	Israel	Berlin Referees: Adil Aimbetov (KAZ), John Waldow (NZL)
		Score by quarters: 0–9, 0–5, 2–8, 0–4
		Belinska, Danylina 1	Goals	Strugo 7

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	New Zealand	3	3	0	0	0	50	21	+29	9	Crossover
2	Kazakhstan	3	2	0	0	1	34	29	+5	6
3	Germany (H)	3	1	0	0	2	28	35	−7	3
4	Great Britain	3	0	0	0	3	26	53	−27	0

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) head-to-head result.
(H) Host

2 May 2023 11:30	Report	New Zealand	23–7	Great Britain	Berlin Referees: Viktoriya Markova (UZB), George Makharadze (UKR)
		Score by quarters: 7–0, 4–1, 7–3, 5–3
		Houghton 6	Goals	Clapperton 4

2 May 2023 13:00	Report	Kazakhstan	11–7	Germany	Berlin Referees: Dasch Barber (RSA), Sander Gransjean (NED)
		Score by quarters: 4–5, 3–0, 3–2, 1–0
		Khritankova, Tsoy 3	Goals	Deike 4

2 May 2023 19:00	Report	Kazakhstan	15–7	Great Britain	Berlin Referees: Tal Shildan (ISR), Dasch Barber (RSA)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 5–1, 5–2, 3–2
		Pochinok 5	Goals	Clapperton 4

2 May 2023 20:30	Report	New Zealand	12–6	Germany	Berlin Referees: Ursula Wengenroth (SUI), George Makharadze (UKR)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 4–0, 1–3, 4–1
		Doyle 4	Goals	Krukenberg 3

---

3 May 2023 17:30	Report	Kazakhstan	8–15	New Zealand	Berlin Referees: Ursula Wengenroth (SUI), Sander Gransjean (NED)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 2–4, 1–4, 3–5
		three players 2	Goals	McDowall 5

3 May 2023 19:15	Report	Germany	15–12	Great Britain	Berlin Referees: Tal Shildan (ISR), George Makharadze (UKR)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 4–3, 3–2, 5–4
		Deike 4	Goals	Clapperton 6

Classification games

4 May 2023 14:00	Report	Great Britain	10–4	Ukraine	Berlin Referees: Viktoriya Markova (UZB), Dasch Barber (RSA)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 2–1, 1–2, 4–0
		Nurthen, Rogers 4	Goals	Zelenko 2

---

4 May 2023 17:30	Report	Germany	15–8	Uzbekistan	Berlin Referees: Maxim Gerasimov (GBR), Tal Shildan (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 2–1, 5–2, 6–3
		Deike 4	Goals	Sayfiddinova 4

Crossover

The winners qualified for the super final.

4 May 2023 15:45	Report	Israel	19–8	Kazakhstan	Berlin Referees: Hendrik Schopp (GER), George Makharadze (UKR)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 4–2, 6–2, 6–3
		Bogachenko 5	Goals	Khritankova 4

---

4 May 2023 19:15	Report	New Zealand	16–3	South Africa	Berlin Referees: Sander Gransjean (NED), Adil Aimbetov (KAZ)
		Score by quarters: 2–0, 4–1, 6–0, 4–2
		Houghton 4	Goals	Penney 2

Super final

2023 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup

Tournament details
Host country	United States
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	23–25 June
Teams	8 (from 3 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	United States (5th title)
Runner-up	Netherlands
Third place	Spain
Fourth place	Hungary
Tournament statistics
Matches played	12
Goals scored	293 (24.42 per match)
Best player	Anni Espar
Best goalkeeper	Amanda Longan

The tournament took place at the Long Beach City College in Long Beach, United States between 23 and 25 June 2023.^[2] The quarterfinal matchups were announced on 7 May 2023.^[10]

Bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	23 June
	New Zealand	5
					24 June
	Netherlands	15
					Netherlands	12
	23 June
					Spain	8
	Spain	12
									25 June
	Italy	5
									Netherlands	11
	23 June
									United States	12
	United States	16
					24 June
	Israel	6
					United States	16
	23 June
					Hungary	10			Third place
	Hungary	20
									25 June
	Greece	13
									Spain	18
									Hungary	15

Fifth place bracket

	5–8th place semifinals				Fifth place
	24 June
	New Zealand	7
					25 June
	Italy	17
					Italy	9
	24 June
					Greece	10
	Israel	11
	Greece	22
					Seventh place
					25 June
					New Zealand	11
					Israel	12

All times are local (UTC−7).

Quarterfinals

23 June 2023 13:00	Report	Hungary	20–13	Greece	Long Beach Referees: Danielle Dabbaghian (USA), Fiona Haigh (AUS)
		Score by quarters: 6–2, 6–4, 3–2, 5–5
		Keszthelyi 6	Goals	three players 3

---

23 June 2023 15:00	Report	Spain	12–5	Italy	Long Beach Referees: Gabriella Várkonyi (HUN), Diana Dutilh (NED)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 4–2, 4–1, 2–0
		E. Ruiz 4	Goals	Giustini 2

---

23 June 2023 17:00	Report	United States	16–6	Israel	Long Beach Referees: Maria Daskalopoulou (GRE), Asumi Tsuzaki (JPN)
		Score by quarters: 5–0, 4–3, 3–0, 4–3
		Flynn 3	Goals	Bogachenko 2

---

23 June 2023 19:00	Report	New Zealand	5–15	Netherlands	Long Beach Referees: Jaume Teixidó (ESP), Giuliana Nicolosi (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 1–4, 0–6, 3–3
		Houghton 3	Goals	Van de Kraats, Sleeking 3

5–8th place semifinals

24 June 2023 13:00	Report	Israel	11–22	Greece	Long Beach Referees: Megan Perry (NZL), Jaume Teixidó (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 2–5, 4–7, 3–6
		three players 2	Goals	Ninou 4

---

24 June 2023 15:00	Report	New Zealand	7–17	Italy	Long Beach Referees: Diana Dutilh (NED), Gabriella Várkonyi (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 3–6, 4–6, 0–4, 0–1
		Doyle 3	Goals	Avegno 6

Semifinals

24 June 2023 17:00	Report	United States	16–10	Hungary	Long Beach Referees: Fiona Haigh (AUS), Giuliana Nicolosi (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 4–2, 4–2, 5–2
		Flynn, Musselman 3	Goals	Garda 4

---

24 June 2023 19:00	Report	Netherlands	12–8	Spain	Long Beach Referees: Maria Daskalopoulou (GRE), Tal Shildan (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 4–2, 4–2, 3–2
		L. Rogge 4	Goals	three players 2

Seventh place game

25 June 2023 13:00	Report	New Zealand	11–12	Israel	Long Beach Referees: Asumi Tsuzaki (JPN), Danielle Dabbaghian (USA)
		Score by quarters: 4–4, 2–4, 3–3, 2–1
		Houghton 4	Goals	Yaacobi 5

Fifth place game

25 June 2023 15:00	Report	Italy	9–10	Greece	Long Beach Referees: Diana Dutilh (NED), Megan Perry (NZL)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 3–1, 1–3, 2–3
		Marletta 3	Goals	Xenaki 4

Bronze medal game

25 June 2023 17:00	Report	Spain	18–15	Hungary	Long Beach Referees: Tal Shildan (ISR), Giuliana Nicolosi (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 5–4, 6–5, 4–2, 3–4
		Espar 5	Goals	Garda 6

Gold medal game

25 June 2023 19:00	Report	Netherlands	11–12	United States	Long Beach Referees: Gabriella Várkonyi (HUN), Jaume Teixidó (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 2–5, 1–2, 4–3, 4–2
		Keuning, Van de Kraats 3	Goals	Steffens 3

Final standings

Rank[1][11]  United States  Netherlands  Spain 4.  Hungary 5.  Greece 6.  Italy 7.  Israel 8.  New Zealand

2023 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup  United States Fifth title

See also

• 2023 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup

References

1. "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
2. "Host cities set for the World Aquatics Men's and Women's Water Polo World Cup 2023 seasons". total-fina.org. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
3. "FINA Announces Dates for New 2023 Water Polo World Cup". fina.org. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
4. "USA claims fourth straight World Cup crown". fina.org. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
5. "New FINA competition: World Cup replaces World League". total-waterpolo.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
6. "Water polo calendar shake-up breathes life into World Aquatics World Cup season". fina.org. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
7. "RULES & REGULATIONS 2023" (PDF). Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
8. "Results are in – Team Draw for the FINA Water Polo World Cup 2023". fina.org. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
9. "Draw for World Cup Division 2: Sixteen teams in chase for four tickets". total-waterpolo.com. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
10. "Fields for the Men's and Women's Water Polo World Cup Finals set". worldaquatics.com. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
11. "Women's Water Polo World Cup 2023 Final" (PDF). Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

External links

• FINA Official site
• Rules and Regulations 2023