Spain won its second consecutive (and second in total) gold medal in the World Cup.
The Spaniards defeated Greece 16:14 in this evening’s final in Podgorica and retained the trophy won in Los Angeles two years ago. Greece won its second-ever medal in the World Cup (after silver in 1997).
Hungary won bronze, defeating Croatia in a very close contest after a penalty shootout (18:15).
After a slow start, Montenegro edged out the Netherlands in the fifth-place game (15:14). Germany finished in 7th place, with a 16:11 win over Japan.
Alvaro Granados was voted the MVP of the Final Eight Photo by Krsto Vulovic
World Cup Final Eight Podgorica, Day 3
Final
Greece – Spain 14:16 (4:2, 4:6, 2:4, 4:4)
Greece: Argyropoulos 5 , Genidounias 3, Gkillas 2, Kakaris 2, Kalogeropoulos 1, Giannatos 1.
Spain: Granados 4, Biel 3, Cabanas 2, Munarriz 1, Sanahuja 1, Valera 1, Valls 1, Daura 1, Bustos 1, Aguirre 1.
Spain took an early lead, going up 1:0 and then 2:1. However, Greece began to dictate the pace of the game and scored three consecutive goals, taking a 4:2 lead. For the first time in the tournament, Spain found itself in a deficit. Additionally, Greece had a great opportunity to extend its lead to three goals before the first break, but Unai Aguirre made an important save against Pouros’s extra-player shot in the dying seconds of the first quarter.
Spain struggled to find the back of the net for nearly seven minutes before scoring two quick goals within 40 seconds, thanks to Daura and Cabanas, leveling the score at 4:4 in the 10th minute. Greece regained the lead a minute later when Genidounias converted a penalty shot, making it 5:4. Greece went ahead again a minute later after Genidounias scored from a penalty shot for 5:4. The Spaniards replied with two goals – Granados gave them a 6:5 lead by scoring from the 5m line. Until the end of the first half, Spain went ahead twice – 7:6, 8:7, but Greece leveled on each occasion. Stylianos Argyropulos closed the first half with a long-distance goal with three seconds left on the clock – 8:8.
The second half kicked off with converted penalty shots at both ends of the pool. Genidounias put Greeece in front – 9:8, and Granados leveled. After the equalizer, Granados scored from a 6 on 5, while Unai Biel added two nice goals from 6m shots and the Spaniards earned a 12:9 lead. Argyropoulos ended Spain’s 4:0 run with a penalty shot goal. At the finish of the quarter, young Emmanouil Andreadis replaced Zerdevas between the posts of Greece’s goal. He posted a few nice saves and didn’t allow Spain to go to “+3” in the third quarter again.
Kakaris, Sanahuja and Aguirre Photo by K.Vulovic/WPF of Montenegro
Argyropoulos reduced the gap to one at the beginning of the fourth period (11:12). However, the Spaniards didn’t let the Greeks go further. Unai Aguirre was up to the task in front of Spain’s goal and boosted his team’s self-confidence. Sanahuja and Valera pulled Spain to 14:11. In the middle of the quarter, Spain was still three steps ahead of Greece (15:12).
Everything was decided a minute and a half before the end. Unai Aguirre saved a shot from Skoumpakis (his 14th save in the match). As he looked on, he noticed that the Greek goalkeeper had moved far away from his goal. Taking advantage of this, he sent the ball into the empty net from his own goal to make it 16:12. Emotions were running high. Following this goal, a confrontation erupted between Aguirre and Greece’s center-forward, Nikolaidis. Although a larger incident was avoided, both players received red cards. It wasn’t a pleasant way to end the game. Nonetheless, Aguirre was one of the heroes of the Spaniards’ victory.
Bronze-medal match
Hungary – Croatia 18:15 (3:4, 4:4, 4:2 3:4, PSO 4:1)
Hungary (regular time): Manhercz 3, Vismeg 2, Burian 2, Vin.Vigari 1, Ak.Nagy 1, Fekete 1, Tatrai 1, Ven. Vigvari 1, Bedo 1, Ad.Nagy 1.
Croatia (regular time): Fatovic 4, Loncar 3, Butic 2, Lazic 2, Pavlic 2, Pejkovic 1.
Penalty shootout: Manhercz 1:0, Fatovic 1:1; Ven. Vigvari 2:1, Pavlic – Csoma saved; Tatrai 3:1, Lazic – Csoma saved; Ad. Nagy 4:1.
Croatia and Hungary were neck and neck throughout the game, so the penalty shootout was the fairest outcome of a very good game. The score was tied at almost every number from 1 to 14, except at 7, 10 and 13.
Hungary led just once in the first half. Late into the first period, Vendel Vigvari converted a man-up for 2:1. Croatia quickly responded with two goals for 3:2. From that point until it reached 6:6, the teams exchanged goals back and forth. Then, Croatia scored two consecutive goals, one by Butic and another by Pavlic, giving them their first two-goal lead of the game at 8:6.
Burian equalized for Hungary with a goal on a counterattack, making it 8:8. Shortly after, Pavlic scored again for the Croats, giving them a new lead at 9:8, which ultimately turned out to be their last advantage. The Hungarians’ defense worked better and better. They produced a 3:0 run and earned their first 2-goal lead. Gergo Fekete found the net for 11:9 in the 22nd minute.
Gergo Fekete and Zvonimir Butic Photo by Krsto Vulovic/WPF of Montenegro
Still, the Croats were able to equalize. Early in the fourth, Loren Fatovic made it 11:11 from a counterattack. A quick exchange of goals followed that, and then, Hungary rebuilt a 2-goal advantage, with goals from Tatrai with an extra player and Vince Vigvari, who escaped Croatia’s defense and scored for 14:12 from a nice counterattack.. Hungary’s goalkeeper, Kristof Csoma, helped his team keep a 2-goal advantage in those moments by saving two shots in power-play attacks. But Hungary didn’t score a single goal in the last 05:34 minutes. Croatia leveled again in the 31st minute, when Loncar scored from a 6-on-5 after a nice assist from Fatovic.
Sixty-five seconds before the end, Hungary earned a man-up. Adam Nagy attempted well, but he hit the post. However, Hungary battled out for a new attack. Still, it failed to score again, as Marko Bijac saved another shot from Adam Nagy. The ball went to the corner, and Hungary got a new opportunity to decide the match – Akos Nagy shot, but Bijac posted a new save. Croatia had 20 seconds for the last attack. Lazic had his shot blocked in the dying seconds.
Kristof Csoma emerged as a hero during the penalty shootout, saving two shots, which secured Hungary’s victory after four rounds, as the Hungarian scorers did not miss a single opportunity.
5th-place match
Netherlands – Montenegro 14:15 (3:1, 3:4, 4:5, 4:5)
Netherlands: Van der Weijden 5, Te Riele 5, S.Hassels 2, Gbadamassi 1, De Weerd 1.
Montenegro: Dj.Radovic 3, Moskov 2, Macic 2, Da. Radovic 2, Matkovic 2, Vuckovic 1, Gardasevic 1, Gojkovic 1, Spaic 1.
Montenegro trailed for most of the match, but managed to avoid a surprise and defeated the Dutch, scoring a winner just seven seconds before the end.
The hosts had a poor start, wasting several man-up opportunities—four in the first quarter alone—and making too many mistakes, which cost them. A motivated Dutch team, led by Mart van der Weijden and Kast te Riele, took control early in the game, earning a 2:0 lead. The Netherlands maintained a two-goal advantage during a long exchange of goals, until 6:4. Montenegro’s left-hander, Djuro Radovic, scored the final goal of the first half from a counterattack, bringing the score to 5:6.
Nikola Moskov Photo by Krsto Vulovic/Water Polo Federation of Montenegro
Montenegro finally equalized in its first possession in the second half, when Matkovic converted a man-up chance, making it 6:6. However, the Netherlands quickly rebuilt a two-goal lead (8:6). The Montenegrns, who improved their extra player shot percentage, managed to level the score again at 8:8. Yet, by the middle of the final period, the Dutch were still controlling the game. In the 28th minute, Montenegro took the lead for the first time when Djuro Radovic scored from a man-up situation, making it 12:11. The Netherlands then found themselves chasing their opponents, successfully leveling the score at 12:12, 13:13, and finally 14:14. Bilal Gbadamassi scored from a six-on-five situation to tie the game at 14:14 with 22 seconds remaining. But, Montenegro had the last word. With only seven seconds left on the clock, Nikola Moskov scored from a six-meter shot, sealing the final score.
7th-place match
Japan – Germany 11:16 (2:4, 2:5, 4:3, 3:4)
Japan: Inaba 3, Watanabe 2, Takata 2, Moriya 2, Adachi 1, Date 1.
Germany: Bozic 5, Strelezkij 3, Schipper 3, Sekulic 2, Chiru 2, Gansen 1.
Both teams had ups and downs. Still, the Germans made a crucial difference in the first half and, afterward, held back all Japan’s comeback attempts. The Japanese led 2:1 in the 5th minute. But the Germans started dictating the pace then, scored four consecutive goals, and went to 5:2 early in the second period. Japan reduced the gap to two twice (3:5, 4:6). In the last two minutes of the first half, the Germans scored three unanswered goals. Zoran Bozic, the best scorer of the match, prolonged the Germans’ series with a goal for 10:4 in Germany’s first possession in the second half.
After finding themselves six goals down, Japan responded strongly. However, it wasn’t enough to catch up with the rival. They scored four goals in a row. In the 14th minute, Takata made it 8:10. Germany doubled its lead by the end of the third period (12:8). Japan reduced the gap to two twice during the fourth quarter (10:12 and 11:13). Still, the finish belonged to the Europeans, who kept Japan scoreless in the final four minutes, while netting three goals.
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All winners
1979 (Belgrade and Rijeka, Yugoslavia): Hungary, 1981 (Long Beach, USA): USSR, 1983 (Malibu, USA): USSR, 1985 (Duisburg, FR Germany): West Germany, 1987 (Thessaloniki, Greece): Yugoslavia, 1989 (West Berlin, FR Germany): Yugoslavia, 1991 (Barcelona, Spain): USA, 1993 (Athens, Greece): Italy, 1995 (Atlanta, USA): Hungary, 1997 (Athens, Greece): USA, 1999 (Sydney, Australia): Hungary, 2002 (Belgrade. Yugoslavia): Russia, 2006 (Budapest, Hungary): Serbia and Montenegro, 2010 (Oradea, Romania): Serbia, 2014 (Almaty, Kazakhstan): Serbia, 2018 (Berlin, Germany): Hungary; 2023 (Los Angeles, USA): Spain; 2025 (Podgorica, Montenegro): Spain.
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