Greece won a bronze medal at the Men’s World Championships, completely outplaying Serbia in the 3rd-place match in Singapore.
Greece thoroughly dominated the Olympic champions in every aspect of water polo, and recorded a 16:7 win. This is probably Serbia’s biggest loss ever at major competitions.
The Greeks made a crucial advantage with an 8:0 series in the second and third quarters.
Stylianos Argyropoulos Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
In the group stage, Greece secured 3rd place in Group D, behind Croatia and Montenegro (which will battle for 5th place later today), but it showed its best when it mattered most. The Greeks bounced back after a disappointing loss to Spain in the semifinals. Serbia’s defense was very weak, as it was in the match against Hungary. Unlike the game against Hungary, the Serbs’ attack was harmless for most of the bronze-medal match.
Greece will return home with two medals, as the ladies became the world champions yesterday.
Italy finished in 7th place, beating Team USA 9:8.
Road to medals
- Crossover round (July 18): Serbia– Japan 21:14, Romania– Hungary 11:15, Brazil– Greece 5:17, Canada– Montenegro 10:22
- Quarterfinals (July 20): Italy– Greece 11:17, Spain– Montenegro 14:5, USA– Serbia 9:14, Croatia– Hungary 12:18.
- Semifinals (July 22): Greece – Spain 9:11 (PSO), Serbia – Hungary 18:19.
- Medal matches (July 24) – Final: Spain – Hungary at 15.35 CET– Follow live, Bronze medal game: Greece – Serbia 16:7
2025 World Men’s Water Polo Championships, Day 7
BM Bronze medal match
Greece – Serbia 16:7 (2:2, 6:0, 3:3 5:2)
Greece: Kalogeropoulos 3, Pouros 3,Papanikolaou 2, Skoumpakis 2, Argyropoulos 2,Genidounias 1, Gkiouvetsis 1, Alafragkis 1, Kakaris 1.
Serbia: Martinovic 4, Mandic 1, Murisic 1, Vico 1
Eight years ago, Serbia beat Greece in the bronze medal match at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest – 11:8. Since then, Serbia hasn’t won a medal at the World Championships and that series will last for at least 10 years.
Meanwhile, Greece won bronze in 2022 and silver in 2023, and today added its fifth medal at the WCH (one silver and four bronze).
Both teams have changed since 2017, particularly Serbia.
Panagiotis Tzortzatos (Greece) Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
Today, Greece avenged its defeat in Budapest and a loss in the Olympic final in Tokyo. However, few could have expected a one-sided contest. Greece approached the match very well, unlike Serbia, and deserved a convincing victory.
Greece played significantly better than Serbia in the attack during the first eight minutes but could not build a big lead, despite recording double the scoring attempts (10 compared to Serbia’s 5). The Greeks led 1:0 and 2:1. However, no team held the advantage before the second period, as Vasilije Martinovic equalized at 2:2 with a counterattack just before the buzzer.
In the second quarter, Serbia became more aggressive in its attacks, but Greece’s defense, led by goalkeeper Panagiotios Tzortzatos, held firm. At the opposite end of the pool, Greece scored four goals from distance—one from Papanikolaou, and one from Argyropoulos, and two from Skoumpakis—bringing the score to 6:2. In the 15th minute, Pouros made it 7:2 with a lob shot. Serbia then squandered a double man-up opportunity. Nineteen seconds before the middle break, Kakaris converted a 6 on 5 and the Greeks entered the second half with a commanding lead of 8:2.
Dimitrios Skoumpakis Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
The rhythm of the game didn’t change after the middle break. The Greeks opened the second half with two goals, increasing the margin to eight (10:2) and the contest was over with more than 13 minutes remaining. Murisic ended Serbia’s long goalless phase with a power-play goal in the 20th minute, but there was no way back for the Olympic champions. In the second half, their attack became more dangerous for the opponent’s defense, but they couldn’t overcome a big deficit.
The Greeks reached a double-digit margin at the finish (16:6), and Dusan Mandic narrowed the gap with their only goal in the game.
Shocked Serbian players Photo: MTB-Photo
Greece’s percentage of shots was 42% (16/38), and Serbia’s 22% (7/32). Greece scored five powerplay goals from 12 attempts, while Serbia’s conversion was 3/7. There was a significant difference in turnovers – Greece 4 and Serbia even 11.
7 7th place match
Italy – USA 9:8 (3:3, 2:2, 2:2, 2:2)
Italy: Ferrero 2, Di Somma 2, Condemi 1, Cannella 1, Bruni 1, Velotto 1, Cassia 1.
USA: R. Dodd 3, Daube 2, Woodhead 1, Brown 1, C. Dodd 1.
Team USA initially took the lead twice in the first period with scores of 1:0 and 2:1, but Italy managed to turn the game around. By the end of the first period, the teams were tied at 3:3. In the second period, Filippo Ferrero scored two early goals, giving Italy a 5:3 advantage. Chase Dodd then narrowed the Americans’ deficit in the 12th minute, marking the final goal of the first half.
In the second half, the teams exchanged goals, with Italy keeping a slim advantage. The Italians established a 2-goal lead twice in the third period (6:4 and 7:5), but the Americans replied both times with nice goals in extra-player attacks. Team USA scored five of its six goals in the first three quarters (conversion 5/9), while the Italians had significantly fewer opportunities with an extra player, with a conversion of 1/3 in the first 24 minutes.
Italy didn’t convert their first 6 on 5 in the fourth period – Weinberg saved a shot from Cassia. Still, “Settebello” forced a penalty shot shortly after. Edoardo Di Somma was successful from the 5m line and made it 8:6. Daube scored from a distance (7:8). Two minutes and 18 seconds before the end, Giacomo Cannella improved Italy’s percentage of powerplay shots (which was 2/6 at the end of the match) – 9:7. But, Ryder Dodd replied immediately, also with a man-up.
Gianmarco Nicosia Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
In the final minute, Team USA had an excellent opportunity to level the score. The Americans forced two exclusions in the same attack, but Giacomo Nicosia saved a 6 on 4 shot from his future teammate in Pro Recco, Max Irving, with 22 seconds remaining. After a corner, the USA gained possession and still had a man-up advantage. But, 16 seconds from the end, Daube had his shot blocked and Italy secured 7th place. During the fourth quarter, the USA’s extra player conversion dropped under 50% (at the end of the game, it was 6/13).
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