A total of 60 cadet national teams will take part in two World Championships that will be held in Zagreb this summer.
The draws for the World U16 Championships for girls (July 25 – 31) and for boys (August 3 – 9) were held today.
Since the competition format at both tournaments is similar to this year’s World Cup Division 2, the teams were not drawn into groups; the game schedule was determined by drawing.
World Men’s U16 Championships (Zagreb, August 3 – 9)
The men’s tournament will feature 36 teams. Prior to the draw, these teams were organized into two pots based on the World Aquatics Rankings. The group stage will take place over four days. Each team will compete in two games against teams from their own pot and two games against teams from the other line.
The points for each match will be awarded based on the World Aquatics Tournament Performance Index (TPI) ranking system, which uses formulas to calculate each result’s value, considering the goal difference and the team’s positions in the World Aquatics Rankings.
The best 32 teams after the four days of the group stage will advance to the knockout stage. The bracket will be formed based on the standings in the group. In the round of 32 the best-placed will face the 32nd-placed, etc. The eighth-finals, quarterfinals, semifinals and the final day will follow.
Line A: Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Hungary, Australia, Spain, Turkiye, USA, Greece, Croatia, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Montenegro, Serbia, China.
Line B: Egypt, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Uruguay, Malaysia, Malta, Israel, Romania.
There will be 18 matches each day of the group stage, and two highlights will be the duels between Spain (the reigning champion) and Greece, and between Italy (the silver medalist in 2024) and Montenegro. Both games are scheduled for Day 2 (August 4).
World Women’s U16 Championships (Zagreb, July 25 – 31)
The competition format for the women’s championships is the same. 24 teams are divided into two lines, and each team will play four games during the group stage.
But, after four rounds, only the top 8 teams will continue battling for the medals and advance to the quarterfinals. The teams placed 9th–16th in the group will play in the 9th- 16th classification, and the remaining teams will play in the 17th-24th classification. All classification matches will be in a knockout format.
Line A: Canada, China, Spain, USA, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Australia, Israel, Netherlands, Greece, New Zealand.
Line B: Zimbabwe, Brazil, Peru, Serbia, South Africa, Germany, Ukraine, Mexico, Turkiye. Romania, Czech Republic, Russia.
More articles about the World U16 Championships
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
