Water polo at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament

Water polo at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament
Tournament details
Host country	Qatar
Venue(s)	Aspire Dome (in Doha host cities)
Dates	5–17 February
Teams	16 (from 5 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	Croatia (3rd title)
Runner-up	Italy
Third place	Spain
Fourth place	France
Tournament statistics
Matches played	48
Goals scored	1,163 (24.23 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Nikolay Bonev; (34 goals)
Best player	Nikolay Bonev
Best goalkeeper	Marco Del Lungo
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The men's water polo tournament at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships was held from 5 to 17 February 2024 in Doha. This was the 21st time that the men's water polo tournament has been played since the first edition in 1973.^[1]

Croatia won their third title after a win over Italy.^[2]

Qualification

Of the qualified teams, fourteen returned from 2023. Romania qualified for the first time in eleven years, while Brazil qualified after withdrawing from 2023. Canada and Argentina were the only teams that failed to make this edition but made 2023.

Event	Dates	Hosts	Quota	Qualifier(s)
2023 World Cup	8 March – 2 July 2023	Los Angeles	2	Spain Italy
2023 World Championships	17–29 July 2023	Fukuoka	4	Hungary Greece Serbia France
2022 Asian Games	2–7 October 2023	Hangzhou	3	Japan China Kazakhstan
2023 Pan American Games	30 October – 4 November 2023	Santiago	2	United States Brazil
2024 European Championship	4–16 January 2024	Dubrovnik/Zagreb	3	Croatia Montenegro Romania
African selection	—	—	1	South Africa
Oceanian selection	—	—	1	Australia
Total			16

Schedule

All times are local (UTC+3).^[3]

Date	Time	Round
5 February 2024	09:00	Preliminary round
7 February 2024
9 February 2024
11 February 2024	09:00	Play-offs/Placement matches
13 February 2024	09:00	Quarterfinals/Placement matches
15 February 2024	09:00	Semifinals/Placement matches
17 February 2024	10:00	Finals

Draw

The draw was held on 7 November 2023.^[4]^[5]

Seeding

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Hungary Greece Spain Serbia	Italy France Croatia^[A] United States	Montenegro^[B] Romania^[C] Brazil Australia	Japan China Kazakhstan South Africa

^ Team known as Europe 1 at the time of the draw.
^ Team known as Europe 2 at the time of the draw.
^ Team known as Europe 3 at the time of the draw.

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+3).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	3	3	0	46	20	+26	9	Quarterfinals
2	Croatia	3	2	1	48	24	+24	6	Playoffs
3	Australia	3	1	2	46	35	+11	3	Playoffs
4	South Africa	3	0	3	18	79	−61	0	13–16th place semifinals

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.

5 February 2024 09:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	South Africa	5–21	Spain	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Viktor Salnichenko (KAZ), Cheng Beng Guan (SGP)
		Score by quarters: 1–6, 0–7, 0–4, 4–4
		Van Zyl 3	Goals	Biel, Granados 4

5 February 2024 13:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Croatia	13–8	Australia	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), György Kun (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 5–1, 4–2, 2–2, 2–3
		six players 2	Goals	Berehulak, Pavillard 2

7 February 2024 13:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Australia	29–7	South Africa	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: David Couper (NZL), Cheng Beng Guan (SGP)
		Score by quarters: 6–2, 8–1, 7–1, 8–3
		Edwards 6	Goals	Stone 2

7 February 2024 19:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Spain	10–6	Croatia	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Darren Spiritosanto (USA)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 3–2, 1–0, 4–3
		Granados 3	Goals	Fatović 3

9 February 2024 13:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Australia	9–15	Spain	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: György Kun (HUN), Darren Spiritosanto (USA)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 3–2, 2–4, 2–5
		Mercep 3	Goals	three players 3

9 February 2024 16:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	South Africa	6–29	Croatia	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Ashleigh Kaeshler (AUS), Yuri Maciel (BRA)
		Score by quarters: 2–7, 1–7, 3–7, 0–8
		Tucker 2	Goals	Marinić Kragić 5

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Greece	3	3	0	60	22	+38	9	Quarterfinals
2	France	3	2	1	44	33	+11	6	Playoffs
3	China	3	1	2	25	48	−23	3	Playoffs
4	Brazil	3	0	3	23	49	−26	0	13–16th place semifinals

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.

5 February 2024 10:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	China	6–24	Greece	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Alessandro Severo (ITA), Stanko Ivanovski (MNE)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 0–6, 3–7, 2–7
		Xie 2	Goals	Genidounias 5

5 February 2024 12:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Brazil	11–16	France	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Darren Spiritosanto (USA), Andreia Stanojević (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 1–3, 4–5, 3–4, 3–4
		R. Real 5	Goals	Vernoux 6

7 February 2024 09:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	France	16–9	China	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Stanko Ivanovski (MNE), Andreia Stanojević (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 4–2, 2–1, 7–3
		Vernoux 6	Goals	Chen Z. 3

7 February 2024 10:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Greece	23–4	Brazil	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: György Kun (HUN), Alessandro Severo (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 6–3, 4–0, 6–0, 7–1
		Fountoulis 4	Goals	Pires 2

9 February 2024 19:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Greece	13–12	France	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Andrej Franulović (CRO), Zhang Liang (CHN)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 4–3, 3–2, 3–4
		four players 2	Goals	Marion-Vernoux 4

9 February 2024 20:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Brazil	8–10	China	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Alessandro Severo (ITA), David Couper (NZL)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–1, 1–3, 2–4
		Freitas 3	Goals	Chen Z. 3

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Serbia	3	3	0	0	0	45	28	+17	9	Quarterfinals
2	Montenegro	3	1	1	0	1	30	36	−6	5	Playoffs
3	United States	3	1	0	1	1	41	30	+11	4	Playoffs
4	Japan	3	0	0	0	3	26	48	−22	0	13–16th place semifinals

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.

5 February 2024 16:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Japan	10–17	Serbia	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Andrej Franulović (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 4–4, 1–5, 2–4
		three players 2	Goals	Jakšić 4

5 February 2024 17:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Montenegro	16–15	United States	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Frank Ohme (GER)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 2–3, 4–3, 2–4 PSO: 5–4
		three players 2	Goals	Bowen 5

7 February 2024 12:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	United States	18–5	Japan	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Xavi Buch (ESP), Sébastien Dervieux (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 4–0, 4–2, 6–2
		Hooper 6	Goals	Ogihara 2

7 February 2024 17:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Serbia	14–6	Montenegro	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), Andrej Franulović (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 2–2, 5–3, 3–0
		Mandić 4	Goals	six players 1

9 February 2024 09:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Montenegro	13–11	Japan	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), Frank Ohme (GER)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–3, 4–0, 4–6
		Matković 4	Goals	Watanabe 5

9 February 2024 17:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Serbia	14–12	United States	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Georgios Stavridis (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 3–4, 6–1, 3–4
		three players 3	Goals	Daube 4

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hungary	3	2	1	0	0	52	18	+34	8	Quarterfinals
2	Italy	3	2	0	1	0	58	22	+36	7	Playoffs
3	Romania	3	1	0	0	2	43	34	+9	3	Playoffs
4	Kazakhstan	3	0	0	0	3	7	86	−79	0	13–16th place semifinals

Source: World Aquatics
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.

5 February 2024 19:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Italy	33–3	Kazakhstan	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Zhang Liang (CHN), Matan Schwartz (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 6–1, 10–1, 8–1, 9–0
		Cannella, Fondelli 7	Goals	three players 1

5 February 2024 20:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Romania	8–15	Hungary	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Xavi Buch (ESP), Sébastien Dervieux (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 2–5, 2–5, 3–2, 1–3
		Fulea, Georgescu 2	Goals	Vámos, Zalánki 3

7 February 2024 16:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Kazakhstan	3–25	Romania	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Zhang Liang (CHN), Matan Schwartz (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 1–7, 1–6, 0–5, 1–7
		three players 1	Goals	Fulea, Prioteasa 5

7 February 2024 20:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Hungary	15–14	Italy	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Frank Ohme (GER)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 2–2, 3–3, 2–2 PSO: 6–5
		three players 2	Goals	Di Fulvio 3

9 February 2024 10:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Kazakhstan	1–28	Hungary	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Hélène Painchaud (CAN), Cheng Beng Guan (SGP)
		Score by quarters: 0–8, 0–5, 0–8, 1–7
		Yeremin 1	Goals	Vigvári 5

9 February 2024 12:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Romania	10–16	Italy	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Sébastien Dervieux (FRA), Lucas Letshabo (RSA)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 4–4, 2–5, 1–3
		Georgescu 3	Goals	Di Fulvio 5

Knockout stage

Bracket

Championship bracket

Playoffs

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

13 February

Spain

15

11 February

Montenegro

12

Montenegro

12

15 February

Romania

9

Spain

6

Italy

8

13 February

Greece

10

11 February

Italy

11

United States

12

17 February

Italy

13

Italy

11 (2)

Croatia (PSO)

11 (4)

13 February

Serbia

13

11 February

Croatia

15

Croatia

22

15 February

China

4

Croatia

11 (6)

France

11 (5)

Third place

13 February

17 February

Hungary

10

Spain

14

11 February

France

11

France

10

Australia

8

France

11

5th place bracket

5th–8th place semifinals		Fifth place game

15 February

Montenegro	10 (3)
		17 February
Greece (PSO)	10 (4)
		Greece	15
15 February
		Serbia	11
Serbia	11

Hungary	10
		Seventh place game

		17 February

		Montenegro	14 (2)

		Hungary (PSO)	14 (4)

9th place bracket

9th–12th place semifinals		Ninth place game

13 February

China	7
		15 February
Romania	9
		Romania	9
13 February
		United States	13
Australia	10

United States	16
		Eleventh place game

		15 February

		China	7

		Australia	17

13th place bracket

13th–16th place semifinals		13th place game

11 February

South Africa	5
		13 February
Brazil	18
		Brazil	11
11 February
		Japan	22
Japan	17

Kazakhstan	4
		15th place game

		13 February

		South Africa	11

		Kazakhstan	10

Playoffs

11 February 2024 12:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Croatia	22–4	China	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Sébastien Dervieux (FRA), Stanko Ivanovski (MNE)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 5–1, 6–1, 6–0
		Kharkov 4	Goals	four players 1

11 February 2024 16:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Australia	8–11	France	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Frank Ohme (GER), Andreia Stanojević (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 3–4, 1–2, 1–3
		Maksimović 2	Goals	Bouet 4

11 February 2024 17:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Montenegro	12–9	Romania	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: György Kun (HUN), Alessandro Severo (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 3–5, 4–1, 2–2, 3–1
		Averka, Perković 3	Goals	Fulea 3

11 February 2024 19:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	United States	12–13	Italy	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Xavi Buch (ESP), Michiel Zwart (NED)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 1–3, 4–4, 4–3
		Daube 4	Goals	Di Fulvio, Fondelli 3

Quarterfinals

13 February 2024 16:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Spain	15–12	Montenegro	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), Andrej Franulović (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 3–5, 5–0, 2–5
		Perrone 5	Goals	Mršić 4

13 February 2024 17:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Greece	10–11	Italy	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Sébastien Dervieux (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 2–5, 3–2, 2–3
		Genidounias 3	Goals	three players 2

13 February 2024 19:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Serbia	13–15	Croatia	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Frank Ohme (GER)
		Score by quarters: 4–4, 5–5, 1–2, 3–4
		S. Rašović 3	Goals	Fatović 4

13 February 2024 20:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Hungary	10–11	France	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Xavi Buch (ESP), Darren Spiritosanto (USA)
		Score by quarters: 4–2, 3–1, 1–3, 2–5
		Zalánki 3	Goals	Vernoux 5

13–16th place semifinals

11 February 2024 09:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	South Africa	5–18	Brazil	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Matan Schwartz (ISR), Giuliana Nicolosi (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 4–5, 0–4, 0–3, 1–6
		Howard 2	Goals	Freitas, R. Real 4

11 February 2024 10:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Japan	17–4	Kazakhstan	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Natalia Markopoulou (GRE), Jennifer McCall (USA)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 5–0, 5–2, 4–0
		Inaba 3	Goals	four players 1

9–12th place semifinals

13 February 2024 12:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	China	7–9	Romania	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: György Kun (HUN), Andreia Stanojević (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–2, 1–4, 2–2
		Chen Z., Zhang C. 3	Goals	Georgescu 3

13 February 2024 13:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Australia	10–16	United States	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Alessandro Severo (ITA), Stanko Ivanovski (MNE)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 4–5, 1–3, 2–4
		Pavillard 6	Goals	Bowen, Woodhead 3

5–8th place semifinals

15 February 2024 12:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Montenegro	13–14	Greece	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Alessandro Severo (ITA), Xavi Buch (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–4, 1–2, 4–2 PSO: 3–4
		Đ. Radović 3	Goals	Kakaris 3

15 February 2024 14:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Serbia	11–10	Hungary	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Andrei Franulovic (CRO), Darren Spiritosanto (USA)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 2–5, 2–1, 2–2
		S. Rašović 3	Goals	Zalánki 3

Semifinals

15 February 2024 16:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Spain	6–8	Italy	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), György Kun (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 1–1, 1–3, 1–2, 3–2
		Larumbe, Munárriz 2	Goals	three players 2

15 February 2024 17:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Croatia	17–16	France	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), Zhang Liang (CHN)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 3–3, 3–1, 2–5 PSO: 6–5
		Fatović 3	Goals	Bouet 3

15th place game

13 February 2024 09:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	South Africa	11–10	Kazakhstan	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: David Couper (NZL), Asumi Tsuzaki (JPN)
		Score by quarters: 3–0, 4–3, 1–4, 3–3
		Swanepoel 4	Goals	Akhmetov 3

13th place game

13 February 2024 10:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Brazil	11–22	Japan	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Zhang Liang (CHN), Nóra Debreceni (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 4–6, 2–5, 3–5, 2–6
		R. Real 3	Goals	Inaba 7

Eleventh place game

15 February 2024 09:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	China	7–17	Australia	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Andreia Stanojević (SRB), Hélène Painchaud (CAN)
		Score by quarters: 2–8, 0–4, 1–4, 4–1
		Chen Z. 3	Goals	Maksimović, Mercep 4

Ninth place game

15 February 2024 10:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Romania	9–13	United States	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Stanko Ivanovski (MNE), David Couper (NZL)
		Score by quarters: 2–5, 2–2, 4–3, 1–3
		Georgescu 4	Goals	Bowen, Irving 3

Seventh place game

17 February 2024 10:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Montenegro	16–18	Hungary	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Alessandro Severo (ITA), Andreia Stanojević (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 3–2, 3–3, 5–5 PSO: 2–4
		Vujović 4	Goals	Zalánki 4

Fifth place game

17 February 2024 16:00	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Greece	15–11	Serbia	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Andrei Franulovic (CRO), Matan Schwartz (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 3–3, 2–4, 5–2
		Gkiouvetsis, Kakaris 3	Goals	Drašović 3

Third place game

17 February 2024 11:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Spain	14–10	France	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: György Kun (HUN), Darren Spiritosanto (USA)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 5–3, 2–2, 3–4
		Granados, Sanahuja 4	Goals	three players 2

Final

17 February 2024 17:30	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Italy	13–15	Croatia	Aspire Dome, Doha Referees: Frank Ohme (GER), Sébastien Dervieux (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–3, 2–3, 4–3 PSO: 2–4
		Fondelli 5	Goals	Kharkov 4

Final ranking

Rank^[6]	Team
	Croatia
	Italy
	Spain
4	France
5	Greece
6	Serbia
7	Hungary
8	Montenegro
9	United States
10	Romania
11	Australia
12	China
13	Japan
14	Brazil
15	South Africa
16	Kazakhstan

	Qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics

2024 Men's Water Polo World Champions Croatia Third title

Statistics and awards

Top goalscorers


Rank	Name	Goals^[7]	Shots	%
1	Thomas Vernoux	26	40	65
2	Andrea Fondelli	20	32	63
3	Francesco Di Fulvio	18	44	41
	Loren Fatović		36	50
	Gergő Zalánki		35	51
6	Vlad-Luca Georgescu	17	40	43
7	Álvaro Granados	16	34	47
8	Alexandre Bouet	15	31	48
	Yusuke Inaba		31	48
	Jerko Marinić Kragić		33	45

Awards

The awards were announced on 17 February 2024.^[2]

All-star team
Goalkeeper	Marco Del Lungo
Centre Forward	Konstantinos Kakaris
Field player	Francesco Di Fulvio
	Álvaro Granados
	Konstantin Kharkov
	Thomas Vernoux
	Gergő Zalánki
Other awards
Most Valuable Player	Francesco Di Fulvio
Best Goalkeeper	Marco Del Lungo