The World Men’s Cup Division 1 tournament in Alexandroupolis kicked off with two exciting derbies, both decided in the dying seconds.
Hungary narrowly defeated host Greece 13:12, and Italy beat Spain 12:10. Based on the rosters and players’ experience, Greece and Spain were the (slight) favorites, but left the pool empty-handed and will battle for their first points tomorrow.
Serbia defeated the Netherlands 15:11. However, this match was an even contest for most of the time. Three minutes and a half into the match, Serbia had a 12:11 lead and then produced a 3:0 run.
The only one-sided match was the last encounter of the day, Croatia beat USA 16:7.
2026 World Men’s Cup, Division 1, Day 1
GROUP A
(quarters 3:2, 3:5, 4:3, 3:2)
Hungary: Vin. Vigvari 4, Ad. Nagy 2, Fekete 2, Burian 2, Nemet 1, Tatrai 1, Vismeg 1.
Greece: Papanastasiou 3, Gkillas 3, Pouros 2, Argyropoulos 2, Kalogeropoulos 1, Nikolaidis 1.
Greece had strong support from the packed stands, but Hungary celebrated in the end, thanks to a good finish.
In the first quarter, Hungary took the lead, but Greece regained control after the first break and quickly scored two goals to take a 4:3 advantage. Hungary managed to level the score three times during this quarter, but Greece maintained a slight lead, ending the first 16 minutes of the game at 7:6. However, the hosts never took the lead in the second half.
In the middle of the third period, Fekete and Burian found the net within 56 seconds, and Hungary made it 8:7. A minute and a half before the end of this quarter, Zsombor Vismeg made it 10:8. It was the only time that one team had a 2-goal lead. Greece caught up with Hungary with two powerplay goals from Pouros and Papanastasiou in the final 69 seconds of the quarter, and the teams were tied at 10:10 before the last eight minutes.
Vince Vigvari Photo by Krsto Vulovic
In the 27th minute, Vince Vigvari made it 11:10 from a penalty shot awarded after Hungary’s challenge and a VAR review. Pouros equalized in the following possession of the home team. Following that, there were no goals for a while. In the 30th minute, Greece didn’t convert a 6 on 5 possession and paid for it. Adam Nagy put Hungary ahead from a counterattack. The Greeks had a response. Argyropoulos converted a man-up for a new equalizer, 12:12. Then, the hosts stole the ball in Hungary’s next attack and had a chance to take a lead, but Argyropoulos’s shot was blocked. With 32 seconds remaining, Hungary’s head coach Zsolt Varga called a time out. His players managed to force an exclusion with 23 seconds to go. Buran converted that man-up from a close-range shot, after an assist from Vismeg just six seconds before the buzzer, securing a 13:12 victory for Hungary.
(quarters 5:4, 2:2, 4:4, 4:1)
Serbia: Martinovic 5, N.Jaksic 4, Lukic 2, Pljevancic 1, Krstic 1, P. Jaksic 1, Dimitrijevic 1.
Netherlands: Van den Burg 3, Ten Broek 2, Van der Werve 2, M.van der Weijden 1, Te Riele 1, Rouwenhorst 1, Hofmeijer 1.
Serbia recorded a 4-goal win, but the victory wasn’t as convincing as the final score displays. The match was similar to an encounter between the same rivals at the European Championships in Belgrade, when the Serbs collected two points after a penalty shootout.
The Serbs started excellently and built a 5:1 lead in the 6th minute. However, the Dutch scored three goals in the last two minutes of the quarter to narrow the gap to 4:5. At the finish of the quarter, Milojevic made it 6:4, but after a VAR check, the goal was canceled as the time for Serbia’s possession expired. The same happened to the Netherlands in the match against Serbia at the Europeans, but in the most important moment, their winning goal was disallowed because a shot came after the buzzer.
Nikola Jaksic Photo by Krsto Vulović.
The Dutch leveled for the second time in the 16th minute, Hofmeijer made it 6:6, but Pljevancic converted a man-up for 7:6. Midway through the third period, Van den Burg gave the Dutch an 8:7 lead. However, it was the only time they managed to go ahead. Serbia, led by Vasilije Martinovic, who scored four goals in the last ten minutes, answered well. Serbia entered the final period leading 11:10.
Martinovic increased the European champions’ advantage early in the final quarter (12:10). The Serbs had a few chances to widen the difference to three goals, but they failed. In the 24th minute, they wasted a man-up, the Dutch pulled a counterattack, and Van der Werve scored (11:12). But, it was their last goal. Martinovic scored with an extra player (it was a 5-on-4 possession, making it 13:11 with 03:38 minutes remaining). The Serbs closed the match with two goals in the final 38 seconds.
Day 2: Netherlands – Hungary (12:30 CET), Greece – Serbia (16:30 CET)
Follow World Cup Division 1 on Total Waterpolo Arena
GROUP B
(quarters 2:3, 2:1, 3:3, 5:3)
Italy: Di Somma 3, Carnesecchi 3, Guerrato 1 Ferrero 1, Dolce 1, Iocchi gratta 1, Bruni 1, Alesiani 1.
Spain: Sanahuja 4, Aguirre 1, Granados 1, Larumbe 1, Cabanas 1, Valera 1.
The Mediterranean derby was an intense battle with many twists. Only twice were the teams separated by two goals – Italy initially took a 2:0 lead and ultimately won 12:10.
Italy’s defense, commanded by a returnee to the team, Gianmarco Nicosia, did a great job in the opening minutes. The Settebello built a 2:0 lead, keeping the Spaniards goalless until the 7th minute. But, the World Champions flied in the last two minutes of the first period, scoring three goals in 01:13 minutes and turned around a 2-goal deficit to a 3:2 lead.
Both teams continued playing well on defense in the second period. Dolce broke the deadlock with an equalizer from a counterattack in the 13th minute. Spain’s attackers didn’t outwit Italy’s defense and Gianmarco Nicosia (who posted 8 saves in the first 16 minutes) in the 2nd quarter, but goalkeeper Unai Aguirre did it. After a good save, he noticed that Nicosia wasn’t positioned well in front of his goal, and scored with a shot over the entire field to give the Spaniards a 4:3 lead with 26 seconds left in the first half. But, Carnesecchi responded in Italy’s next possession, and the teams were tied at 4:4 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Italy went ahead at 5:4 and 6:5, Spain leveled both times, and it regained the advantage in the 23rd minute. A penalty shot for Spain was awarded after a challenge called by Spain’s head coach David Martin. The Italians disagreed with this decision, and their head coach, Alessandro Campagna, called a challenge. After a repeated VAR review, the decision wasn’t changed, and Sanahuja scored from the 5m line – 7:6, but 45 seconds before the last break, Matteo Iocchi Gratta leveled with a nice shot from a distance.
Filippo Ferrero Photo by Krsto Vulović.
Sanahuja converted another penalty early in the final quarter to give Spain an 8:7. Ferrero and Carnesecchi replied with powerplay goals. Until the end of the match, Spain leveled at 9:9 and 10:10, but Italy had an immediate response on both occasions, even though it played without one of its leaders, Edoardo Di Somma, who received a red card (an exclusion with substitution) three minutes from the end. Three goals were scored in the final 59 seconds. First, Biel Gomilla scored with an extra player, leveling the score at 10:10. Thirty seconds later, Carnesecchi answered also with a man-up, 11:10. Sanahuja had his shot blocked with 11 seconds left. Then, Nicosia kept the ball for a while. A few seconds before the end, Italy started its last attack. Ferrero sent the ball into the empty net as Spain had no goalkeeper in the water.
(quarters 4:1, 5:1, 4:3, 3:2)
Croatia: Fatovic 3, Brubnjak 3, Buric 2, Zuvela 2, Butic 2, Bukic 1, Kharkov 1, Pavlic 1, Curkovic 1.
USA: Saveljic 3, R.Dodd 2, Daube 1, Leicthy 1.
Team USA has had a young squad since last summer. But, Croatia rejuvenated its roster ahead of the World Cup. Therefore, few expected Croatia to achieve an easy victory.
However, the Olympic silver medalists approached the match with determination and established their rhythm early on. Croatia took a strong lead, starting the game with a 4:0 advantage. Team USA managed to score only five seconds before the end of the first period. The second quarter followed the same pattern, with Croatia controlling the pace and consistently extending its lead with successful extra player shots, scoring six goals on eight power-play shots in the first half. The defense, anchored by a 21-year-old Mauro Ivan Cubranic in goal, held strong. Deep into the second period, Croatia led 8:1. Although Daube broke the Croats’ scoring run, debutant Tin Brubnjak converted a penalty shot with just 10 seconds remaining in the first half, giving Croatia a 9:2 advantage.
Men’s European Water Polo Championship match between Turkiye and Croatia at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, on 19.01.2026. Photo by Krsto Vulović.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Croatia’s scoring continued, but their defense weakened slightly. Team USA capitalized on this and went on a 3:0 run, narrowing the gap to 5:9. Nevertheless, Croatia responded emphatically by scoring five consecutive goals, establishing a 14:5 lead early in the fourth quarter and maintained a 9-goal difference until the final buzzer.
Day 2: Spain- Croatia (14:30, CET), USA – Italy (18:45 CET)
Follow World Cup Division 1 on Total Waterpolo Arena
More articles about the World Cup and the former World League
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
