Stingers into FINA World Cup final

The Australian women's water polo team have booked a place in the FINA World Cup final in Russia where they will play the US after beating Spain 8-2.

KHANTY-MANSIYSK, Russia, Aug 16 - The Australian women's water polo team have progressed to the final of the FINA World Cup with an 8-2 win over Spain in Russia.

Waiting for the Stingers in the decider is the Americans, who defeated China 11-4 to book their place in Sunday's (11.30PM AEST) final.

Kelsey Wakefield was again the backbone of the Aussie defence, with saves at crucial moments late in the game against the 2013 world champions Spain.

Australia's Jayde Appel said it was pleasing to beat Spain after losing to them at last year's final.

"We had unfinished business with the Spanish team ... we were confident in our tactics and physicality to take on the Spanish," Appel said.

"They are a smaller and quicker team, however we executed our tactics really well tonight and were able to come away with a convincing win."

Captain Bronwen Knox led the attacking charge, opening the scoring for Australia on her way to three goals for the game.

Glencora McGhie, and Rowie Webster both scored a double as Keesja Gofers also found the back of the cage in the dying seconds of the game.

Knox scored the opening two goals in the first term, as Spain managed just one to be trailing 2-1 at the break.

McGhie struck quickly in the second stanza to provide the Aussies with a two-goal buffer at halftime, the lead 3-1.

Spain narrowed the gap early in the third quarter, only for Webster to respond before McGhie to shot her second from the left wing.

With the final break all but upon them, Webster lobbed the ball from 20 metres out to score an unlikely goal on the buzzer.

A penalty save by Wakefield and goals to Knox and Gofers in the fourth period sealed the win for the Aussies, and a place in the gold medal game.


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