The Dutch women’s water polo team easily reached the quarterfinals of the World Championships in Singapore on Thursday. The team of national coach Evangelos Doudesis won 9-14 against New Zealand in the intermediate round. Now a cracker awaits against reigning Olympic champion Spain.
The Netherlands was forced to play the intermediate round after losing to the United States in the group stage and missing out on the group win. On paper, New Zealand was not a tough opponent, and that quickly became apparent in the water.
In the first quarter, New Zealand stayed somewhat close (1-3), but shortly after that, things went quickly. The Netherlands already extended to 3-8 in the second quarter, breaking New Zealand’s resistance.
Nevertheless, the Netherlands did not really manage to gain confidence for the quarterfinal against Spain on Saturday. The Orange defense proved not to be watertight, and New Zealand cautiously took advantage of that with a total of nine goals.
The Netherlands can take revenge against Spain. Spain was too strong in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games last year after penalty shootouts. Spain then thundered on to gold and is one of the favorites for the world title in Singapore.
The Netherlands does have good memories of earlier encounters with Spain. Last year, the Netherlands defeated Spain in the European Championship final in Eindhoven. In 2023, the Netherlands became world champion by defeating Spain in a thrilling battle in the final.