There were no surprises on day one of the European Water Polo Championships women’s qualifiers, which are taking place across the continent this weekend, with all the favourites delivering big wins.

2026 European Water Polo Championships
Women’s Qualifiers, Day 1 Results
Friday 6 June 2025

Group A (Setubal)

Czechia 12-18 Portugal

Group B (Hannover)

Germany 14-2 Malta

Group C (Novi Sad)

Serbia 18-2 Ukraine

Switzerland 21-9 Finland

Group D (Novaky)

Israel 22-8 Sweden

The opening day of the European Water Polo Championships women’s qualifications tournaments, played in four venues across the continent, got underway on Friday, with all the favourites getting off to a winning start.

Only Portugal needed to overcome some early scares against the Czechs, who took a 6-4 lead in the first quarter.

The hosts then changed gears, and a 0-4 run put the match onto their desired path and in the end they won by six clear goals (12-18).

Germany comfortably beat Malta in Hannover (14-2), while Serbia clinched the biggest win of the day, a 16-goal thrashing of Ukraine (18-2), and Switzerland downed Finland too (21-9).

Finally, Israel kicked off their campaign with an 8-1 rush against Sweden and didn’t stop until 22, the highest score of the day.

For the fixtures and scores on day two, click here.

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics