Great Britain U19s have 'hope to deliver' at European Championships

Great Britain’s U19 Women’s water polo squad are full of optimism as they prepare for the European Aquatics U19 Championships in Zagreb.

The 13-strong squad flew out to the Croatian capital earlier this week after training camps in Greece and Manchester ahead of the competition getting underway on Saturday 24 August.

They’ll get the week-long competition underway when they take on Germany in their first match at the Mladost pool at 8am (UK time) on the opening day.

Following their match with the Germans, the team then face Bulgaria, Malta and Turkey to complete their group, before heading into the crossover matches from Wednesday onwards.

Two years ago the team finished in 15^th place after a narrow 15-14 defeat to Slovakia but buoyed by the success of the senior women’s side earlier this year there’s a real hope to deliver in Zagreb.

“Last year we sat down as a squad and set our goals towards this competition,” head coach Izzy Howe said.

“We’re aware of our potential and hope to deliver. We know that anything can happen so are very excited yet understandably slightly nervous to see how our tournament plays out.

“It won’t be easy as we have an intense competition schedule and some tough opposition.

“We know that regardless of the outcome we can be so proud of the efforts that got the team to being in this position.”

You can see the full Great Britain squad and times for each of their group matches here.

How to watch and follow

And Swim England Water Polo Programme Lead, Craig Figes, is excited to see what the team can do in Zagreb.

He said: “This group have put in the work, the long hours in the pool and deserve this opportunity to represent Great Britain on the European stage.

“The experience they gain here will be invaluable as they continue to build on their careers in the sport and I know that a number of these players will go on to become a major part of the senior side in the future.

“After the success of the senior team earlier this year, I’m really looking forward to seeing how this group get on and hopefully we can get into those top two spots and into those higher-ranked crossover matches.

“It’s not going to be easy as we have some tough opposition but we have a talented squad who I know will give it their absolute all in Croatia.”

If you want to watch the British team in action, European Aquatics will be streaming the event through their new ‘OTT’ channel on euroaquaticstv.com.

Live results, schedule and news will be available on the Euro Aqua app which can be downloaded for free on the Apple and Google Play stores and can also be found here.