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

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]

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)	Thomas Vernoux (26 goals)
Best player	Francesco Di Fulvio
Best goalkeeper	Marco Del Lungo
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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

1. Team known as Europe 1 at the time of the draw.
2. Team known as Europe 2 at the time of the draw.
3. 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	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	3	3	0	0	0	46	20	+26	9	Quarterfinals
2	Croatia	3	2	0	0	1	48	24	+24	6	Playoffs
3	Australia	3	1	0	0	2	46	35	+11	3
4	South Africa	3	0	0	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Greece	3	3	0	0	0	60	22	+38	9	Quarterfinals
2	France	3	2	0	0	1	44	33	+11	6	Playoffs
3	China	3	1	0	0	2	25	48	−23	3
4	Brazil	3	0	0	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	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	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	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	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	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	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
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	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	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	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	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	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	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
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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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

References

1. "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. p. 14. (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
2. "Croatia clinches third world crown in penalty-shootout thriller". worldaquatics.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
3. "Schedule" (pdf). Retrieved 6 November 2023.
4. "World Champs Water Polo Draw: All you need to know!". worldaquatics.com. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
5. "Clash between reigning Olympic and world champions opens World Championships in Doha". total-waterpolo.com. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
6. "World Aquatics Championships - Doha 2024-Final Standings". worldaquatics.com. from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
7. Top scorers

External links

• Official website
• Records and statistics (reports by Omega)
• Water polo at the 2024 World Championships – Men's tournament total-waterpolo.com
• Men Water Polo XXI World Championship 2024 Doha, Qatar todor66.com