The third edition of the World Men’s U16 Championships has started in Zagreb.
A total of 36 teams are taking part, and the competition format is the same as in World Cup Division 2.
All teams are in the same group for the group stage. Each nation will play four matches against opponents of varying quality. The match pairings were determined by a draw conducted after the teams were sorted into four pots based on their quality and ranking in the World Aquatics Rankings.
In each match, both the winning and losing teams are awarded points based on the World Aquatics Tournament Performance Index (TPI) ranking system. The TPI calculates the value of each result using various formulas that take into account several factors, including goal difference and both teams’ strengths. These strengths are determined by the teams’ positions and points in the World Aquatics Rankings.
The top eight teams with the best average of TPI points after the group phase will advance to the quarterfinals.
Most of the opening day’s games were one-sided contests, and almost all favorites beat their opponents with ease. Montenegro recorded the most convincing win of the day, beating Zimbabwe 34:2. The Netherlands didn’t concede a single goal in a win over the Czech Republic, 24:0.
One of the most interesting matches of Day 1 was an encounter between Russia and Greece. The Russian boys, the returnees to the international stage, earned a 7:4 victory over the Greeks. Romania defeated Canada 9:6. Australia had to dig deep to beat Slovenia – 11:8.
The most exciting game of the day was the last one. Malta defeated China 12:11 after a penalty shootout.
2026 World Men’s U16 Championships, Zagreb, Day 1
Kazakhstan- Egypt 9:14 (3:2, 0:4, 2:2, 4:6)
Spain – South Africa 18:5 (3:2, 8:1, 6:1, 1:1)
Germany – Urugay 19:1 (7:0, 2:0, 7:1, 3:0)
Singapore – Poland 14:8 (5:1, 0:2, 4:3, 5:2)
Netherlands – Czech Republic 24:0 (7:0, 6:0, 6:0, 5:0)
Turkiye – Mexico 17:1 (4:0, 6:0, 6:0, 1:1)
Brazil – Israel 13:7 (4:0, 2:4, 3:2, 4:1)
New Zealand – Portugal 20:10 (5:2, 3:2, 5:3, 7:3)
Hungary – Ukraine 16:4 (3:1, 5:1, 3:2, 5:0)
USA – Peru 12:2 (1:1, 3:0, 4:0, 4:1)
Italy – Malasia 23:1 (4:0, 7:0, 7:1, 5:0)
Monteenegro – Zimbabwe 34:2 (10:0, 9:0, 9:1, 6:1)
Australia – Slovenia 11:8 (3:2, 1:1, 4:4, 3:1)
Greece – Russia 4:7 (2:2, 0:1, 1:2, 1:2)
Croatia – Georgia 20:4 (3:1, 5:1, 4:0, 8:2)
Serbia – Puerto Rico 26:3 (7:0, 7:0, 7:0, 5:3)
Canada – Romania 6:9 (2:4, 1:0, 2:2, 1:3)
China – Malta 11:12 (1:1, 1:4, 3:1, 3:2, PSO 3:4)
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
