# Water polo at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification

The 2012 Women's Water Polo Olympic Qualification Tournament was held at the Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi in Trieste, Italy, from 15 to 22 April 2012.

## Participants

There were 12 places originally allocated to continental associations in the tournament not already directly qualified to the Olympics – 5 from Europe, 3 from the Americas, 2 from Asia, 1 from Africa, and 1 from Oceania.
Italy qualified from Europe as host country. Greece, Hungary, Russia and Spain qualified from the 2012 European Water Polo Championships and confirmed their attendance at the tournament. Canada, Brazil and Cuba qualified from the 2011 Pan American Games, Canada and Brazil confirmed their attendance, but Cuba declined to participate and no other teams from the 2011 Pan American Games volunteered to take their place. Kazakhstan and Japan qualified from the 2012 Asian Water Polo Championship, Kazakhstan confirmed their attendance, but Japan declined to participate and there were no other nations entered in the 2012 Asian Water Polo Championship to take their place. There was an article written by a FINA press correspondent in Japan showing confusion around the qualification procedure from the Asian Championship, as the article states that the winners of the Asian Championship had advanced to this qualification tournament (in fact, they qualified directly for the Olympics) and that Japan could no longer get to the Olympics (in fact, according to FINA By-Laws, they were eligible for this tournament, and they did not apply).
No teams from Africa or Oceania applied to participate in the qualification tournament. The next highest placed teams from the other continents were invited to take the four available places (one each from the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania), in the following rotation:
* Host continent (Europe)
* Americas
* Asia
* Europe
* Oceania
* Africa
As there were no remaining American, Asian, Oceanic, nor African teams making themselves available for selection, the available places were offered to the teams in the 2012 European Water Polo Championships that were not already either qualified for the Olympics or already in this tournament. Only the Netherlands accepted. The qualification tournament, designed as a 12-team tournament, therefore had only 9 entries.
| Europe | How qualified |
| Italy | Host country (1st, 2012 European Water Polo Championships) |
| Greece | 2nd, 2012 European Water Polo Championships |
| Hungary | 3rd, 2012 European Water Polo Championships |
| Russia | 4th, 2012 European Water Polo Championships |
| Spain | 5th, 2012 European Water Polo Championships |
| Netherlands | 6th, 2012 European Water Polo Championships |
| Americas | |
| Canada | 2nd, 2011 Pan American Games |
| Brazil | 3rd, 2011 Pan American Games |
| Asia | |
| Kazakhstan | 2nd, 2012 Asian Water Polo Championship |
| Africa | |
| | No entries |
| Oceania | |
| | No entries |

## Draw

The draw took place on 19 February 2012 at 12:00 at the Crowne Plaza, London Docklands. There were originally to be six teams in each preliminary round group. However, with the low number of entries for this tournament, there was one group of four teams and one group of five teams. Each team was taken from a draw line of two teams based on their results, first in the last World Championships, then by their last continental championships.
| Draw line | Country | Status | Drawn into group | Country | Status | Drawn into group |
| Line 1 | Greece | 1st, 2011 World Championships | B | Russia | 3rd, 2011 World Championships | A |
| Line 2 | Italy | 4th, 2011 World Championships | A | Netherlands | 7th, 2011 World Championships | B |
| Line 3 | Canada | 8th, 2011 World Championships | B | Hungary | 9th, 2011 World Championships | A |
| Line 4 | Spain | 11th, 2011 World Championships | A | Kazakhstan | 13th, 2011 World Championships | B |
| Line 5 | Brazil | 14th, 2011 World Championships | B | | | |
After being drawn into Group A and B, the teams drew numbers from 1 to 5 to determine the order of matches.
| | Group A | | Group B |
| 1 | Italy | 1 | Greece |
| 2 | Russia | 2 | Brazil |
| 3 | Hungary | 3 | Canada |
| 4 | Spain | 4 | Kazakhstan |
| | | 5 | Netherlands |

## Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+2)

### Group A

| | Team | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Hungary | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 4 |
| 2. | Russia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 4 |
| 3. | Spain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 31 | -1 | 2 |
| 4. | Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 34 | -1 | 2 |
| 17 April 2012 18:40 | Report | Russia | 12–13 | Hungary | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Littlejohn (GBR), Stavridis (GRE) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Littlejohn (GBR), Stavridis (GRE) |||
| 17 April 2012 20:00 | Report | Italy | 9–10 | Spain | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Matache (ROU), Williams (NZL) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Matache (ROU), Williams (NZL) |||
| 18 April 2012 18:40 | Report | Russia | 12–11 | Spain | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Klopper (NED), Deslieres (CAN) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Klopper (NED), Deslieres (CAN) |||
| 18 April 2012 20:00 | Report | Italy | 11–9 | Hungary | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Stavridis (GRE), Carvalho (BRA) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Stavridis (GRE), Carvalho (BRA) |||
| 19 April 2012 18:40 | Report | Hungary | 10–9 | Spain | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Williams (NZL), Deslieres (CAN) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Williams (NZL), Deslieres (CAN) |||
| 19 April 2012 20:00 | Report | Russia | 15–13 | Italy | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Matache (ROU), Carvalho (BRA) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Matache (ROU), Carvalho (BRA) |||

### Group B

| | Team | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Netherlands | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 28 | +34 | 7 |
| 2. | Greece | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 27 | +28 | 6 |
| 3. | Canada | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 29 | +10 | 5 |
| 4. | Kazakhstan | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 53 | -27 | 1 |
| 5. | Brazil | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 64 | -45 | 1 |
| 15 April 2012 18:00 | Report | Canada | 15–4 | Kazakhstan | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Littlejohn (GBR), Teixido (ESP) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Littlejohn (GBR), Teixido (ESP) |||
| 15 April 2012 19:20 | Report | Brazil | 4–23 | Netherlands | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Williams (NZL), Cao (CHN) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Williams (NZL), Cao (CHN) |||
| 16 April 2012 17:30 | Report | Netherlands | 11–11 | Canada | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Bianchi (ITA), Matache (ROU) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Bianchi (ITA), Matache (ROU) |||
| 16 April 2012 18:50 | Report | Greece | 23–4 | Brazil | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Vogel (HUN), Krapivin (RUS) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Vogel (HUN), Krapivin (RUS) |||
| 17 April 2012 16:00 | Report | Kazakhstan | 7–15 | Netherlands | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Cao (CHN), Vogel (HUN) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Cao (CHN), Vogel (HUN) |||
| 17 April 2012 17:20 | Report | Canada | 2–10 | Greece | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Teixido (ESP), Bianchi (ITA) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Teixido (ESP), Bianchi (ITA) |||
| 18 April 2012 16:00 | Report | Greece | 16–8 | Kazakhstan | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Cao (CHN), Krapivin (RUS) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Cao (CHN), Krapivin (RUS) |||
| 18 April 2012 17:20 | Report | Brazil | 4–11 | Canada | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Matache (ROU), Littlejohn (GBR) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Matache (ROU), Littlejohn (GBR) |||
| 19 April 2012 16:00 | Report | Kazakhstan | 7–7 | Brazil | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Littlejohn (GBR), Vogel (HUN) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Littlejohn (GBR), Vogel (HUN) |||
| 19 April 2012 17:20 | Report | Greece | 6–13 | Netherlands | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Teixido (ESP), Bianchi (ITA) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Teixido (ESP), Bianchi (ITA) |||

## Final phase

All times are local (UTC+2)

### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | 1st-4th semifinals | 1st-4th semifinals | 1st-4th semifinals | Gold medal game | Gold medal game | Gold medal game |
| A1 | Hungary | 18 | | | | | | |
| B4 | Kazakhstan | 5 | | | | | | |
| B4 | Kazakhstan | 5 | A1 | Hungary | 8 | | | |
| | | | A3 | Spain | 10 | | | |
| A3 | Spain | 9 | A3 | Spain | 10 | | | |
| B2 | Greece | 7 | | | | | | |
| B2 | Greece | 7 | | | | A3 | Spain | 9 |
| | | | | | | A4 | Italy | 5 |
| A2 | Russia | 7 | | | | | | | A4 | Italy | 5 |
| B3 | Canada | 6 | | | |
| B3 | Canada | 6 | A2 | Russia | 13 | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game | Bronze medal game |
| | | | A4 | Italy | 14 |
| A4 | Italy | 7 | A4 | Italy | 14 | A1 | Hungary | 13 |
| B1 | Netherlands | 6 | | | | A2 | Russia | 18 |

### 5th-8th place bracket

| 5th-8th semifinals | 5th-8th semifinals | 5th-8th semifinals | 5th place | 5th place | 5th place |
| B4 | Kazakhstan | 9 | | | |
| B2 | Greece | 21 | | | |
| B2 | Greece | 21 | B2 | Greece | 10 |
| | | | B1 | Netherlands | 11 |
| B3 | Canada | 13 | B1 | Netherlands | 11 |
| B1 | Netherlands | 16 | 7th place | 7th place | 7th place |
| | | | B4 | Kazakhstan | 2 |
| | | | B3 | Canada | 17 |

## Quarterfinal round

The winners in the quarterfinal round qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games water polo tournament.
| 20 April 2012 15:30 | Report | Hungary | 18–5 | Kazakhstan | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Williams (NZL), Klopper (NED) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Williams (NZL), Klopper (NED) |||
| 20 April 2012 17:00 | Report | Russia | 7–6 | Canada | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Matache (ROU), Carvalho (BRA) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Matache (ROU), Carvalho (BRA) |||
| 20 April 2012 18:30 | Report | Spain | 9–7 | Greece | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Krapivin (RUS), Vogel (HUN) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Krapivin (RUS), Vogel (HUN) |||
| 20 April 2012 20:00 | Report | Italy | 7–6 | Netherlands | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Stavridis (GRE), Teixido (ESP) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Stavridis (GRE), Teixido (ESP) |||

## Semifinal round
### 5th-8th classification semifinals

| 21 April 2012 16:00 | Report | Kazakhstan | 9–21 | Greece | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Vogel (HUN), Deslieres (CAN) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Vogel (HUN), Deslieres (CAN) |||
| 21 April 2012 17:30 | Report | Canada | 13–16 | Netherlands | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Williams (NZL), Aimbetov (KAZ) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Williams (NZL), Aimbetov (KAZ) |||

### 1st-4th classification semifinals

| 21 April 2012 19:00 | Report | Hungary | 8–10 | Spain | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Bianchi (ITA), Cao (CHN) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Bianchi (ITA), Cao (CHN) |||
| 21 April 2012 20:30 | Report | Russia | 13–14 | Italy | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Littlejohn (GBR), Matache (ROU) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Littlejohn (GBR), Matache (ROU) |||

## Final round
### 7th-8th place

| 22 April 2012 08:30 | Report | Kazakhstan | 2–17 | Canada | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Cao (CHN), Klopper (NED) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Cao (CHN), Klopper (NED) |||

### 5th-6th place

| 22 April 2012 10:00 | Report | Greece | 10–11 | Netherlands | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Deslieres (CAN), Aimbetov (KAZ) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Deslieres (CAN), Aimbetov (KAZ) |||

### Bronze medal game

| 22 April 2012 11:30 | Report | Hungary | 13–18 | Russia | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Bianchi (ITA), Teixido (ESP) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Bianchi (ITA), Teixido (ESP) |||

### Gold medal game

| 22 April 2012 13:00 | Report | Spain | 9–5 | Italy | Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Carvalho (BRA), Williams (NZL) |
| Polo Natatorio Bruno Bianchi, Trieste Referees: Carvalho (BRA), Williams (NZL) |||

## Final ranking

| RANK | TEAM |
| 1. | Spain |
| 2. | Italy |
| 3. | Russia |
| 4. | Hungary |
| 5. | Netherlands |
| 6. | Greece |
| 7. | Canada |
| 8. | Kazakhstan |
| 9. | Brazil |