Shanghai, China (June 5).— United States of America’s dominance of the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League comes under close scrutiny when the Super Final gets underway in Shanghai on Tuesday.
The reigning Olympic champion holds all titles on offer at the elite level, but it is the FINA World League that it has a stranglehold on the most.
Since the event’s inception in 2004 there have been 13 Super Finals with USA winning an incredible 10, while also claiming one silver and one bronze.
USA has won the last three Super Finals
Competition starts with and will be hoping that current form will bring another trophy to its already full cabinet.
At the just completed Kunshan Cup near here, USA had to come from four goals down against Greece to force and win a penalty shootout to clinch the title.
That desperation will carry into the eight-team Super Final.
USA had its first loss since winning the Rio Olympics when it lost the FINA World League Intercontinental Tournament final to Australia in Davis, USA last month, so the stage is set for a riveting tournament in Shanghai, playing in the same pool that Greece won the FINA World Championships in 2011.
Ironically, it was that year when USA suffered its worst loss on the international stage, going down by five goals to Australia in the play-off for fifth.
All teams have undergone radical changes since Rio and the first major event since then should provide some interesting pointers ahead of next month’s FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
USA, Russia, Japan and Netherlands complete the A Group with Australia, Hungary, Canada and China contesting Group B.
First-day matchups see Hungary-Canada, Russia-Japan, USA-Netherlands and Australia-China.