European water polo championships, the Setterosa is bronze

Netherlands beaten in final in Split

After the disappointment of the semifinal lost to Greece, the national women’s water polo team regained its smile on Friday evening: beating Holland 16-13, the Setterosa team in fact won the bronze medal, finishing on the continental podium behind Spain and Greece itself (9-6 the result of the final).

In the Split pool, the match was spectacular: at the first interval the score was 5-4 for the Azzuras, in net with Avegno (two goals), Picozzi, Giustini and Palmieri, while at the long break the score was 8-all, with two goals by Bianconi and another by Picozzi for Setterosa. In the third period, the Netherlands seemed to take the match into its own hands, leading 12-10 (Giustini and Vicava scored for Italy), but in the last fraction came the Azzurri’s acceleration: Bianconi scored three times, Giustini two and Picozzi to close on a high note at 16-13.

For Italy women’s water polo it is the first medal in a major event since 2019, when it won silver in the World League.