Israel's Women's U20 Water Polo Team Crushes France at European Championship

Israel's women's under-20 water polo team secured a commanding 19-9 victory over France at the European Championship held in Portugal. The Israeli squad, coached by Orestis Slatsas, dominated from the start, with standout performances including Mia Tirosh scoring seven goals and Tiva Dorfman adding five. Other contributors were Yuval Raz with three goals, Carmel Rahum two, and both Maya Katzir and Mika Koren with one goal each. Goalkeeper Roni Kakuzin notably saved three penalty shots, helping the team advance to a ninth-place match against Serbia scheduled for the following day.

Coach Slatsas praised the team's high-level performance, stating, "Today we proved again that we are a top-level team with a convincing win over France." He acknowledged the team's earlier luck running out in a semifinal loss to Russia but emphasized his commitment to pushing the team to maintain their best form. The ultimate goal remains winning the upcoming match against Serbia.

Meanwhile, Israel's boys' under-16 water polo team suffered a narrow 5-4 defeat to the Netherlands in their third game at the World Championship in Croatia. Yoav Berger scored three goals and Michael Ben Eliyahu added one for Israel.