Kunshan, China, May 31.— Defending champion United States of America will play Russia and Canada will clash with Netherlands in the medal semifinals of the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League Super Final at the Kunshan Sports Centre on Friday.
In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Russia was the first team to go to the semifinals, at the expense of Spain, coming back from three down in the final quarter to level at 8-8 and go on to win the shootout 4-3 for a 12-11 victory.
Netherlands swamped Japan 18-7 with Maud Megens slamming in five goals as the Japanese had no answer for the Dutch power, strength and shooting prowess.
Reigning champion United States of America survived a torrid opening half against Australia before swimming away with the match in the second half. From 3-0 at halftime, USA won 12-1.
Canada was the final qualifier with a dour 5-2 margin over China, achieved by shutting out the host nation for the last 21 minutes of the match; that and the brilliant goalkeepering of Clara Vulpisi with 14 saves.
Friday Schedule:
Semifinals
15:00, Spain v Australia
16:30, China v Japan
18:00, Russia v United States of America
19:30, Canada v Netherlands