In Friday’s squad announcement, it was revealed that there has been only one change to the men’s squad compared to the fourth squad in last week’s World Cup final in Los Angeles, as Zoltan Poll will travel to Japan in place of Ákos Konarik.
Zsolt Varga said there are many players in the squad who can now prove themselves at the World Cup after successful youth matches in recent years. At the same time, he added, the renewal is incremental, as Hungarian water polo requires always achieving the best possible results, and the team has been formed in light of this.
The captain of the team, Jansek Szilard, highlighted: They do not want to put a heavy load on themselves in advance, because last year, at the World Cup organized in Hungary, things went badly, but the team has already gathered for the European Championship in Split.
We did everything for each other there, and I want to see that again now
– said the Ferencvaros player.
The men’s national team will meet hosts Croatia, Argentina and Japan in the group stage.
For the women, nine of the bronze medalist team at the Tokyo Olympics and 12 of the silver medalist team at last year’s World Cup in Budapest will travel to Japan.
“The three great values of Hungarian water polo. Attila Biro, who said that in addition to the Hungarian national team, the US, Spanish and Dutch teams are eligible for the Olympic quota in Fukuoka, said they already have a chance.
The most important change in water polo is that, for the first time, the federation captain can manage 15 players, who have the opportunity to change the squad of 13 players after each match.
Team captain Rita Kichtelli highlighted that, just like last year’s World Championships, they want to go step by step this time around, which means the final on Margate Island.
“We want to play well and meet the challenges we face,” added the world-class player, who plays in Spain.
The women’s national team will play against Canada, New Zealand and Japan in the group stage.
At the event, Norbert Madaras, President of the Hungarian Water Polo Federation, and representatives of the MOL company signed a cooperation agreement, according to which one of the largest Hungarian companies will continue to support the sport in the future.
World Cup squad for the Hungarian men’s water polo team:
- goalkeepers: Marton Levay, Soma Vogel
- field players: Daniel Anguilla, Christian Manhersh, Zoltan Paul, Marton Vamos, Odam Nagy, Gergo Zalanke, Gergo Fekete, Tony Nemit, Denis Varga, Zilard Jancic, Fendel Vegvary, Eric Mulengari,
Hungarian women’s World Cup squad for water polo:
- Goalkeepers: Alda Magyari, Boglárka Neszmély
- field players: Dorottya Szilágyi, Vanda Vályi, Gréta Gurisatti, Geraldine Mahieu, Rebecca Parkes, Zsuzsanna Máté, Rita Keszthelyi, Dóra Leimeter, Natasa Rybanska, Kamilla Faragó, Krisztina Garda, Dalma Dömsödi, Kata Hajddi
