Spain clinched 1st place in the World Cup Division 1.
On the final day of the tournament in Alexandroupolis, Greece defeated Spain in a penalty shootout, 15:13 (11:11). However, one point in this match was enough for Spain to remain at the top of the standings, finishing in the 1st-4th place group.
Two points didn’t help Greece to clinch 2nd place. Italy finished behind Spain, because it beat Hungary 12:9 in the last game. Italy kept 2nd place, Greece is 3rd and Hungary, which didn’t win a single point in the second phase of the tournament, is in 4th place.
Croatia secured the last available berth for the Final Eight in Sydney from Division 1. The Croatian team convincingly won all of their matches in the group for fifth place, earning their ticket to Australia. After defeating the Netherlands 12:8 and the USA 18:12 in the first two rounds, Croatia blew Serbia away today, 11:6. The match between these archrivals, both fielding young teams, lacked the usual excitement typical of encounters between Croatia and Serbia. Serbia struggled to respond to Croatia’s strong defense in the first half, managing to score only two goals in the first 16 minutes. Croatia led 8-2 at halftime, and the second half was mostly a formality.
In the last match in this group, the Netherlands defeated the USA 13:12. While this victory marked the first points for the Dutch in Alexandroupolis, it did not help the Dutch move up from eighth place.
As of today, two pairs of the quarterfinals of the Final Eight have been confirmed. Spain, the winner of Division 1, will meet Australia, and Hungary and Croatia, the 4th-placed and 5th-placed teams, will face off. Italy and Greece will learn their opponents tomorrow after the final day of the Division 2 tournament in Malta.
Quarterfinals: Spain – Australia; Italy – 2nd-placed team in Division 2; Greece – 1st-placed team in Division 2; Hungary- Croatia
2026 World Men’s Cup, Division 1, Day 6
Group 1st – 4th place, Round 3
(quarters 3:1, 2:4, 2:3, 4:3, PSO 2:4)
Spain: Biel 4, Sanahuja 3, Asensio 1, Valls 1, Daura 1, Cabanas 1.
Greece: Argyropoulos 4, Pouros 3, Skoumpakis 1, Kalogeropoulos 1, Kakaris 1, Gardikas 1.
Spain’s head coach, David Martin, fielded the team without Alvaro Granados. However, the Spaniards were very close to winning all three points, even with their best player missing. It was a game full of twists and turns. Greece scored an equalizer (11:11) just nine seconds from the end and eventually took two points in a penalty shootout.
Spain began the match strongly, showcasing a perfect defense. Unai Aguirre made several crucial saves in the first quarter, while his teammates blocked a few shots as well. The Spanish team established its rhythm and built a 3-0 lead by the 6th minute. However, Argyropoulos managed to put Greece on the scoreboard with a counterattack just 45 seconds before the end of the first quarter. The opening minutes of the second period saw a defensive battle. Argyropolos broke the deadlock in the 12th minute, making it 2:3. The hosts continued their series with three more goals to complete a hat-trick. After trailing 0:3 in the 6th minute, they established a 5:3 lead 68 seconds before the middle break. Spain’s goalless phase lasted for more than nine minutes, but they leveled at 5:5 with two goals in the last 45 seconds of the first half.
The home side went to 7:5 in the third period. Spain managed to equalize, with Valls tying it at 7:7 with just 45 seconds remaining in the quarter. However, Skoumpakis responded quickly, allowing Greece to head into the final period with an 8:7 lead.
Panagiotis Tzortzatos (Greece) Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
Unai Biel opened the fourth quarter with two early goals to put Spain in front – 9:8. Greece then netted two back-to-back goals (Pouros and Gardikas) and regained the lead. The rollercoaster continued with two consecutive goals from the Spaniards. In the 30th minute, Pol Daura converted a man-up with a nice lob – 11:10. Both teams wasted their 6 on 5 chances in the following 60 seconds. At 00:29, Greece’s head coach, Theodoros Vlachos, called a timeout to prepare his team for the last attack. The hosts set up a 7-on-6 possession, playing without a goalkeeper. And it paid off for them. Kakaris leveled at 11:11 with nine seconds to go, from a close-range shot, after an excellent assist from Dimitrios Skoumpakis. Spain didn’t score in the remaining time, and the match entered a penalty shootout.
Greece’s goalkeeper Panagiotios Tzortzatos saved shots from Munarriz and Biel in the first two rounds. Those saves made the difference as all the other penalties were converted and Greece won two points.
(quarters 1:1, 4:4, 5:3, 2:1)
Italy: Iocchi Gratta 3, Dolce 2, Bruni 2, Cassia 1, Di Somma 1, Gianazza 1, Del Basso 1, Carnesecchi 1.
Hungary: Vin. Vigvari 2, Szalai 2, Tatrai 1, Dala 1, Fekete 1, Burian 1, Varga 1.
Both defenses, with excellent goalkeepers Soma Vogel and Gianmarco Nicosia, were up to the task in the first half. There were not many goals. Neither of the teams could build a 2-goal lead, but Italy went ahead only once – when Vincenzo Dolce converted a man-up to make it 3:2 in the 11th minute. A minute later, Gergely Burian leveled at 3:3. The teams entered the 16th minute tied at 4:4. Gergo Fekete then gave Hungary a 5:4 lead, just to see Matteo Iocchi Gratta score an equalizer.
Five seconds before the end, the referees excluded Italy’s Filippo Ferrero and Hungary’s Adam Nagy. After a challenge called by Alessandro Campagna, they checked the situation with a VAR review and sent both players off until the end of the game.Ferrero was substituted out, while Nagy received a red card for a violent foul, leaving Hungary with one less player in the water for the next four minutes.But, the “Settebello” didn’t capitalize on that advantage. Hungary’s goalkeeper, Soma Vogel, saved a penalty shot awarded to Italy after a violent foul.
Early in the third period, Dome Dala gave Hungary a 6:5 lead from a 5 on 4 possession (two Italian players were excluded). After a four-minute exclusion expired, Italy had a slim 7:6 advantage. Hungary leveled at 7:7 and 8:8. But, at the finish of the quarter, 66 seconds before the final buzzer,Italy managed to establish a 2-goal lead as Vincenzo Dolce made it 10:8 from a counterattack.
Francesco Cassia (ITA) Photo by Krsto Vulovic
Vince Vigvari halved the gap to 9:10 with a power-play goal in the 27th minute. Two minutes later, Hungary was awarded a penalty shot. Nicosia saved a shot from Fekete. Italy forced a penalty shot in its next possession. Edoardo Di Somma made no mistake, so instead of 10:10, it stood 11:9. It was a turning point. All the Hungarians’ hopes disappeared when Mario Del Basso made it 12:9 with 01:33 minutes to go.
Hungary had more scoring attempts than Italy (36 compared to 32), but Gianmarco Nicosia, Italy’s goalkeeper, displayed an excellent performance, posting 15 saves. Soma Vogel blocked 11 shots.
Standings: 1. Spain 7, 2. Italy 6, 3. Greece 5, 4. Hungary 0.
Visit Total Waterpolo Arena for all the scores and statistics of the World Cup Division 1
Group 5th – 8th place
(quarters 1:5, 1:3, 2:2, 2:1)
Serbia: N.Jaksic 2, Martinovic 2, Trtovic 1, Pljevancic 1.
Croatia: Kharkov 4, Fatovic 3, Butic 2, Bukic 1, Curkovic 1.
Serbia and Croatia met for the first time after the 2024 Olympic final. But, both teams arrived in Alexandroupolis rejuvenated with a few players who competed at the Paris Olympics. Still, many believed the big derby, with many new names on rosters, could be an interesting game.
However, Croatia entered the match far better than its rival and made the most of Serbia’s poor performance. In the first six and a half minutes, Croatia earned a 5:0 lead. Midway through the second period, the Croats widened the gap to six – 7:1 and maintained the difference until the halftime break – 8:2. The Serbs scored both of their goals in the first half from penalty shots.
Zvonimir Butic Photo by Krsto Vulovic
The second half was more balanced, but Croatia was in control and never let Serbia endanger its big lead. In the 20th minute, Serbia scored its first action goal – Martinovic for 3:8 from a counterattack. Shortly after, Nikola Jaksic cut the deficit to four. Still, Fatovic and Kharkiv restored a six-goal lead in the last two minutes of the quarter (10:4). In the fourth period, there were no goals until the 29th minute, when Butic gave Croatia an 11:4 lead. The Serbs scored the last two goals in the final minute.
Croatia scored four goals with a man-up from eight shots. Serbia didn’t convert a single one of its nine 6-on-5 shots.
(quarters 3:3, 3:3, 3:3, 3:2)
Netherlands: M. van der Weijden 5, De Weerd 2, Ten Broek 2, Van den Burg 1, Bakker 1, Christ 1.
USA: C. Dodd 3, R. Dodd 2, Irving 2, Brinkema 1, Vavic 1, Liechty 1
Both teams played for pride in the last match in the lower group, because they lost all chances to reach the Final Eight yesterday. Nevertheless, both sides were quite motivated to finish the tournament with a victory. The Dutch managed to do that, even though they went ahead only twice in the game and collected their first points in the tournament.
After a balanced 3:3 first quarter, Team USA imposed its rhythm and jumped to a 6:3 lead by the 13th minute. However, the Netherlands quickly recovered and came back. The Europeans responded with a 3:0 run in 01:19 minutes (two goals from De Weerd and one from Mart van der Weijden) and leveled at 6:6. There were no further goals until the end of the first half.
Mart van der Weijden Photo by Krsto Vulović.
The Netherlands kept momentum after the mid-break. The Dutch forced an exclusion in their first possession in the third period. Lars ten Broek converted a man-up and put the Netherlands in front for the first time – 7:6. Just 26 seconds later, Marko Vavic ended the Europeans’ 4:0 series with an equalizer. It didn’t take long before Liechty gave Americans a 9:8 lead. From that point until the middle of the final quarter, the teams traded goals, with Team USA taking the lead and the Dutch responding with equalizers. Martin van der Weijden leveled at 11:11 with 03:44 minutes to go. The Americans lost the ball in their next attack and, while retreating to defense, committed a personal foul. Mart van der Weijden scored with an extra player, adding the fifth goal to his tally, for 12:11. There were no further goals; the Dutch, playing strong defense, managed to keep the slim lead and three points.
Standings: 5. Croatia 9, 6. Serbia 3 (-3 goal difference), 7. USA 3 (-5), 8. Netherlands 3 (-7).
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
