Euro Cup Women: the night of the return final, Trieste seeks an upset at De Zaan’s home pool

Everything is on the line in one night. On Saturday, April 5, in the return final of the Women's Euro Cup, Pallanuoto Trieste will face off against Zv De Zaan at their home pool. The match will take place at the Sloterparkbad pool in Amsterdam, with the game starting at 8:30 PM (CET). A paid live stream will be available on European Aquatics TV, and real-time play-by-play will be provided by Microplustiming. The referees for the match are Nora Debreceni (Hungary) and Maria Daskalopoulu (Greece). The Orange team leads by 1 goal (9-10 from the first leg at “Bruno Bianchi” pool).

The moment has arrived for the Samer & Co. Shipping-sponsored team, who are called to deliver an outstanding performance in the Netherlands. Not just because of the 1-goal deficit accumulated three weeks ago, but especially due to the strength of an opponent who has proven to be of solid international caliber. However, a comeback is still possible, provided that Trieste delivers a near-perfect match. “We absolutely have to believe in it,” says coach Paolo Zizza. “We’ve worked well during this long week of preparation, analyzing every detail of the first leg and trying out some tactical solutions. We are aware of the challenges ahead, but we cannot let fear take over. We’re not going there to watch De Zaan celebrate. In fact, the pressure is on them now, and we will do everything we can to overturn the prediction. This will be a match to play with heart, requiring patience in attack and great focus in defense. We want this cup, and we’ll give everything, until the last drop of energy, to try and win it.”

Regarding the lineup, Zizza will decide on the thirteen players to take to the water only after Friday’s final training session.

There isn’t much more to uncover about De Zaan, as this will be the third time the Orchette have faced the Dutch team within the past 12 months. The main threats will come from Lieke Rokke and Nerida Drewes, who decided the first-leg matchup on March 15 with a powerful shot at 0.8 seconds before the buzzer. Also, attention must be paid to the physical strength of center forward Takyiwa Sam, while Britt Van Den Dobbelsteen guarantees stability between the posts. Lastly, the crowd factor is at play, as Sloterparkbad is expected to be packed.