London, England (Sports Network) - Though both teams came out winners on Friday, Spain claimed first place in Group A over the United States as the preliminary round in women's water polo concluded.

Spain bested Hungary 13-11 and the U.S. downed China 7-6, leaving both countries with a 2-0-1 mark. However, Spain's two-goal win over Hungary was better than the Americans' earlier 14-13 win over the club, giving the Spaniards the tie-breaker.

The U.S. and Spain had battled to a draw earlier in the round.

The Americans will face Italy (1-2-0) in the quarterfinals on Saturday, while Spain will battle winless Great Britain, which lost 10-5 to Italy and was outscored by 19 goals in the preliminary round.

China also went winless and will face 3-0 Australia, which led Group B and recorded an 11-8 win over Russia on Friday. The Aussies notched a goal differential of plus-18 in their three games and got four goals by Nicola Zagame on Friday.

Hungary and Russia will also meet in the quarterfinals.

08/03 16:23:16 ET