Great Britain secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Women’s U20 European Championships after defeating France 13-12 in a dramatic crossover match in Oeiras.
The British side joined Greece, Croatia and Neutral Athletes B in progressing to the last eight, with two teams from the competition’s second division overcoming first-division opponents on Tuesday.
France began strongly and established a 4-1 advantage, but Great Britain transformed the contest during the second quarter. Four unanswered goals moved the Brits ahead before Jo Lamont-Tuckett converted a penalty to give her team a 7-5 lead at half-time.
France responded after the break and quickly levelled the score at 7-7. However, Lucy Blenkinship and Lamont-Tuckett struck within 34 seconds of each other before Blenkinship added another goal to put Great Britain 10-7 ahead.
The French fought back again, with Arianna Banchi and Sohane Bentaleb helping reduce the deficit before Banchi made it 10-10 early in the fourth quarter.
Isabella Ibbs converted a player advantage for Great Britain, but Lana Di-Fraja replied from the penalty line. Lamont-Tuckett then scored her fifth goal before Georgia Haines extended the lead to 13-11.
France pulled one goal back, but Great Britain’s defence held firm, including during a final French six-on-five opportunity with 25 seconds remaining, to secure a memorable 13-12 victory.
Great Britain will now face Spain in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Neutral Athletes B also advanced from the second division after an emphatic 22-8 victory over Israel. The game was close at 4-3 before NAB produced a nine-goal run and took complete control. They will face Hungary in the last eight.
Greece comfortably defeated hosts Portugal 27-8 after opening the match with an 8-2 first quarter. Aspasia Fouraki scored four goals as Greece set up a quarterfinal against the Netherlands.
Croatia completed the quarterfinal line-up with a dominant 22-8 win over Serbia. Croatia pulled away with a 7-1 second quarter, while captain Jelena Butic led the scoring with seven goals.
Quarterfinals
Hungary v Neutral Athletes B
Netherlands v Greece
Spain v Great Britain
Italy v Croatia
Day 4 results
Malta 18-9 Romania
Ireland 7-13 Switzerland
Germany 15-4 Ukraine
Czechia 11-18 Türkiye
Israel 8-22 Neutral Athletes B
Greece 27-8 Portugal
France 12-13 Great Britain
Croatia 22-8 Serbia
Homepage
Read more about U20 European Championships
Read more about Youth water polo
Visit the WP360 Shop!
Follow Waterpolo 360 on Facebook, Instagram and X