As expected, Malta is among the group of four teams that are seeded last for the draw of the European waterpolo championships.
The draw will take place in Belgrade on Sunday, and the competition will be held in the Serbian capital city between 10 and 23 January.
Malta has qualified for the finals of the main European waterpolo event for the first time in its history. This competition will be held with the participation of 16 teams, again for the first time.
Malta’s best ever result in waterpolo was the 15th position obtained in 2002 – that was achieved with a third place in the European B championships. In those years, the European A championships were contested by 12 teams, so Malta’s third place in the B championships was technically a 15th place overall.
Equalling or bettering the result obtained 13 years ago is a feat that can be achieved, although the countries Malta will play against are giants of the game.
The teams to be drawn on Sunday are the following:
Top seeds: Serbia, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro
Second seeds: Croatia, Spain, Greece, Romania
Third seeds: Russia, Germany, France, Holland
Fourth seeds: Malta, Slovakia, Georgia, Turkey