Women, For places 11-12th – Croatia v Turkey 11-6

Dragan Matutinovic, head coach, Croatia:
“We are exactly where we deserve. There are some similar teams Turkey, Serbia, Israel… We could have done better. The 11th place is realistic. The team played with concentration. At the end we had +6, it could have been more if we hadn’t hit so many posts. There were mistakes but the team fought well. It is not easy to lose with 20, 30 goals difference and keep up the tension of the competition, you know. We should have won the group match against Israel. They are an excellent team, they have improved significantly with the arrival of the Greek coach. At the end it was a tie.”

Emmi Miljkovic, player, Croatia:
“We expected to win this game. It was great to start with 2-0 at the beginning of the game, then we were in the lead the whole time. The goal difference could have been bigger but we hit too many posts. This seems to be following us from the start of this Europeans. I want to congratulate my team. We missed some chances we had. We have been together since Belgrade 2016 more or less. We’ll see what the future brings.”

Hakan Sahbaz, head coach, Turkey:
“What can I say? It was our worst game at the Europeans. The worst!”

Women, For places 9-10th – Israel v Serbia 4-4, penalties: 1-2

Dimitrios Mavrotas, head coach, Israel:
“I think that when a match goes to penalties it’s more about luck then abilities. It was good, we had a good start using our counter-attacks well, paired with good defence. Then we received that unfortunate goal two seconds before the end. We are working towards a long-term plan which is Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028. It’s good for us to compete with better teams but maybe a format where we would play one more game with an equal team would be better and more encouraging. This way much depends on the draw.”

Shunit Strugo, captain, Israel:
“We wanted to finish 9th. We had a good start. At the end it was a tie. I’m proud of my girls, of our goalie too for the penalties. It was her the first time at a competition like this, the Europeans, no less. It’s a big achievement for us to be here. We have to continue working hard.”

Dejan Jovovic, head coach, Serbia:
“It was a typical match for this kind of games. We fought as hard as we could. We had problems getting fouls but our defence was working well so we managed to reach a tie and eventually win after penalties.”

Lara Luka, player, Serbia:
“I don’t know, at the beginning we did not what we had previously agreed we would do. It just wasn’t a team effort. I think that the first penalty was the deciding moment. We had luck on our side, but played also like a team later on.”

Women’s Quarter-finals – Greece v Russia 6-6, pens: 5-4

Georgios Morfesis, head coach, Greece:
“This happens in knock-out games… I am very proud of my team. They played excellent defence, were clever and never gave up. In the 3rd quarter I told them to continue as these games finish with the last whistle. I’m also proud of how they played man-down. I want to congratulate them. Now we have to keep our mind on semi-finals.”

Alkisti Avramidou, player, Greece:
“We played hard for two periods. Then the stress and the importance of the game made us commit some mistakes, we were nervous. We were leading by one and one badly played man-down brought about a tie. In the penalties we were more concentrated. We always lost to them before, at the Olympics, Word Championships. In our hearts, we believed we could win this time, and we deserved it.”

Andrei Belofastov, assistant coach, Russia:
“It was a tough, good game. We started off badly, were down two goals up until the second quarter. Then we managed to come back and were close to winning. Today they finally beat us in the penalty shootout. This is the third time in a row that we’re playing well but something is missing. For the first time in three years we’re out before the semis but that’s sport. Sometimes you need to take a step back in order to move forward.”

Women’s Quarter-finals – Italy v Hungary 9-10

Fabio Conti, head coach, Italy
“It was a very close match, one goal up one goal down. They were better and deserve to go to the semi-finals. A missed penalty at the end does leave a bitter taste. We were expecting an even match. We simply made too many mistakes in defence while attack and man-up were better. It was a very physical game. We have to work on the details. I want to congratulate my team, I know they gave their best. As I said before we are into the second year of a four-year cycle. We have to keep on working as the water polo keeps getting more and more aggressive.”

Elisa Queirolo, captain, Italy
“I am really sorry. We dominated throughout the game. Once our game lapsed we weren’t playing well in defence and they used the opportunities they were given. Simple as that. Penalty? The ball feels like it’s 5 kg at that precise moment, it takes a lot to do the shot but we can’t blame everything on that one missed shot. It’s nobody’s fault. We were in the lead at the beginning of the 4th quarter but they were excellent. I want to congratulate Hungary for the win. Now we have to see this Europeans all the way through even though it feels bitter right now.”

Attila Biro, head coach, Hungary
“I think we fully deserved this win, despite all the mistakes, our team effort was too strong and withstood all the pressure. The game went on as expected, including all elements, like facing seven turnover faults against one – this was to kill us, not the exclusions, even those numbers are also telling. Anyway, we were prepared for this, it’s usual in duels like this. It requires the mentality, the belief, the will and we just were better in those fields.”

Rita Keszthelyi, captain, Hungary
“First of all, congratulations to the team, everyone gave her best and together we could make it. It’s an awesome feeling to play for the medals again, the quarter-finals are really a cruel phase of a tournament as it determines whether you should play two more matches for only the 5th place or two for the podium. We have a new team, a young team and this is a tremendous boost for this learning process. On my winning goal? Well, credits go to my father with whom I practiced this backhanded shot in endless mornings for at least ten years – and also to Dora Csabai who fed me the ball perfectly, again, it’s a ten year-old playing connection between us and it definitely helped to set up the final attack like this.”

Edina Gangl, goalie, Hungary:
“Stopping this penalty was at least something I could contribute to the team’s success as I was really below my expected level. Only one thought was in my mind: the penalty must not go in as we shouldn’t have more excitements during a shootout. I prepared for the penalty shots, guessed the side and I was right, the ball hit my head, I’m still a bit recovering from this…”

Women’s Quarter-finals – Netherlands v Germany 22-2

Arno Havenga, head coach, Netherlands:
“It was an easy game. We knew it would be like that. We were concentrated, played with intensity which is a big plus for the last two matches. For us it’s like the championships is starting all over again as we enter the top four.”

Iris Wolves, player, Netherlands:
“It was a good preparation for the semi-finals. We had the right speed and intensity which resulted in such a high score. We kept the defence up and didn’t make mistakes. Semi-finals? I’m really excited. We are in a good position and have a good flow.”

Anja Skibbe, head coach, Germany:
“It was OK for us. The Netherlands is a very good team. For us it’s important to try solving problems, exercises in the game. That’s what makes me happy to see. Of course they don’t have the concentration or strength to do that for the whole game. Most teams compared to us were heavily defeated so to keep the score under -20 is a plus for now. I hope in time we can change and develop a new style of water polo, more aggressive and with a lot more movement.”

Women’s Quarter-finals – France v Spain 5-14

Florian Bruzzo, head coach, France:
“It was a very difficult game for us against one of the best teams at this Europeans. My congratulations to them and I whish them the best in the semi-finals. We now have to play against Italy for the 5-8th place.”

Miguel Oca, head coach, Spain:
The 0-2 start made us the beginning very difficult. Later in the 2nd quarter we played good defence and scored 5 goals which allowed us to finish the match with calm. Semi-finals? Greece is a very strong team. They played very good games in the group stage. We have to prepare a good tactics against them. It will be tough. We will have to give our best.”

Matilde Ortiz, player, Spain:
“It was hard. It should have been easier for us but we made some mistakes. We need to correct them for the semi-finals. I’m excited, we will have to give our best if we want to win against Greece.”

Follow all games live and look for the detailed stats and play-by-play descriptions on www.len.eu
Fonte Gergely Csurka
LEN Media Manager
Site https://www2.len.eu/

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