Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Water Polo World Championship match.
The United States enter the quarter-finals of the World Aquatics Championships as tournament favourites. Their opponents, Japan, are infrequent participants at major international events.
USA (women)
The United States cruised through the group stage with emphatic victories. They recorded commanding wins over key play-off contenders — China (15:7) and the Netherlands (11:9) — and overwhelmed Argentina (26:3). Such dominance is hardly surprising given the squad’s status as the world’s third-ranked team and their haul of five gold medals from the past six World Championships. At the Olympic Games, the Americans have reached the podium in all but one of their seven appearances (2024).
Japan (women)
Japan had a far tougher path to the knockout round. They opened with a 25:12 win over Croatia, but then suffered heavy defeats at the hands of two of the world’s top-four sides — Hungary (13:33) and Greece (15:25). In the previous play-off round, the squad defeated Great Britain (23:10); however, that side has never finished higher than ninth in World Championship history. Historically, the Japanese have struggled badly against the United States, losing all 14 previous meetings and scoring more than six goals only twice.
United States (women) vs Japan (women) Prediction
The United States have consistently outclassed their opponents, and Japan are unlikely to be an exception. The Japanese have never beaten the Americans and typically struggle to find the net in these encounters. Expect a margin of victory around 14 goals, with Japan likely to stay below the 10-goal mark.
