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Another competition line-up has been confirmed for the Rio 2016 Games

Following in the recent footsteps of equestrian, handball, women’s football and hockey, the teams that will compete for Olympic medals in the women’s water polo tournament this August are now known

The USA, Russia, Italy and Spain won the final four places at the Olympic qualifying tournament in the Dutch city of Gouda, as confirmed by FINA, aquatic sport's world governing body

They join Brazil, Australia, China and Hungary in the final line-up for the Olympic Games

Become a water polo expert with our interactive infographicThe last four slots were decided at the weekend, when the quarter-finals were completed, as the top four teams from the qualifier earn places at the Rio 2016 Games

The most dramatic game was Russia v Greece, in which the Russians tied the scores at 10-10 with 4

4 seconds remaining

Russia goalkeeper Anna Ustyukhina then stopped three shots in the penalty shoot-out as her side won 3-2, leaving the Greeks in floods of tears and out of the Olympic Games

“We feel really sorry for Greece, they deserved to go to Rio too

But we proved that our team is good enough to go to the Olympics”Russia coach Andrei BelofastovTwelve teams competed for the final four Olympic places in Gouda (Photos: FINA/DeepBlueMedia)The Italians also had to fight hard for their place in Rio, holding off a Canadian fight-back to triumph 8-7

Italy captain Tania di Mario said: “It was a tough match

Towards the end we struggled to deal with the Canadians’ pressing, but the result is what counts and our minds are already on Rio

”The USA, the reigning Olympic world champions whose new generation trained in Rio last November, had less difficulty in confirming their berth in Brazil, beating France 19-0

USA coach Adam Krikorian said: “We are certainly a talented team but I don’t think it can be underestimated how hard the players work

I’m proud of how we played

”Spain knocked out the hosts with a 10-7 victory, leaving the Dutch, who won Olympic gold at Beijing 2008, without a place in Rio

The Spanish celebrated (see image below) while Netherlands coach Arno Havenga was left to wonder what could have been

“I don’t know if it’s the pressure or something else,” he said

“We didn’t played on the level we used to

” Descripción gráfica de la felicidad! Este preolímpico sigue, hoy a las 16h semifinales contra USA

A disfrutar de lo que queda!!! #roadtoRioA photo posted by Jenny (@jenniferpareja) on Mar 27, 2016 at 3:41am PDT With the exception of the Dutch, the most recent world and Olympic champions are confirmed for Rio

Along with the currently dominant USA, the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic champions (Australia and Italy) and 2013 world champions Spain will compete for medals at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre and Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Barra Olympic Park

 Siamo le miglioriiii grazie ragazze!!! #rioarriviamo #7rosa #bellesiamo A photo posted by Arianna Garibotti (@ariannagaribotti) on Mar 26, 2016 at 1:15pm PDTItaly celebrate their qualification for Rio with a glass of bubblyEight teams – Brazil, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Australia, Japan, Montenegro and the USA – are already qualified for the men’s water polo tournament

The final places will be decided at the Olympic qualifier in Trieste, Italy, on April 3-10, with the following teams competing: Russia, Slovakia, France, Hungary, Romania, Canada, Italy, South Africa, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Kazakhstan

   Follow the race to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Rio2016

com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process

Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games)

The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change

When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC)

Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota