A highlight of the first phase of the 2026 Men’s European Championships will be a matchup between champions. On Day 2 in Group C, the Olympic champion and host nation, Serbia, will face Spain, the most successful male water polo team in recent years. Spain holds all the major titles — European Championships, World Championships, and World Cup — except for the Olympic gold.
Alongside Serbia and Spain, the Netherlands and Israel are also drawn into this group.
As previously published, the competition format is new. Three teams will advance to the second stage, and it is widely expected that both Spain and Serbia will do so without significant difficulty. In the next stage, they will play against the top three teams from Group D, which includes Hungary, Montenegro, France, and Malta. The results of the matches between the top three teams in each group will carry over into the second stage.
Total Waterpolo spoke with the head coaches of the champions, David Martin and Uros Stevanovic
The new competition format requires a different approach to the preparations for the tournament, David Martin said.
Teams must be ready for a full two weeks, as the Group Stage I games can significantly impact the chances of advancing to the semifinals. The former format, which is still used in the World Championships, sometimes may allow a team to spend the entire first week preparing for the quarterfinals, depending on the draw. However, in this new circumstances, teams need to be prepared for two weeks of intense competition. We will only be able to evaluate whether this format is better than the previous one after the Championships conclude.
Commenting on the rivals, Martin added:
“Serbia is an excellent team, the Olympic champion. The Serbs are very dangerous in front of their supporters. On the other hand, I am happy that we will have an opportunity to play in an amazing atmosphere in the Belgrade Arena. After the first stage, we will face very strong opponents again, such as Hungary and Montenegro. But we are Spain, and we come to Belgrade to win a gold medal. If we want to win the gold, we have to be prepared to play and beat the best teams in the world. I believe we will be ready for the Championships.
Photo by WPF of Serbia/S.Sandic
Uros Stevanovic, Serbia’s head coach, underlines that there is no easy way to the medals:
“You have to face strong teams if you want to go high. If you avoid favorites in the group stage, you will meet them in a later phase of the tournament. Serbia will have a lot of excellent rivals in both stages. The two teams that showcased the most this year – Spain and Hungary, the finalists of both World Championships and World Cup, are undoubtedly our biggest rivals. Besides them, there is Montenegro, an excellent team, and our traditional rival. We mustn’t underestimate the Netherlands, and France.
A tournament is long. Until now, a team could win the gold medal by playing six games. Now, we will play six games before the semifinals. Because of that, it isn’t easy to predict anything. We will go step by step and match by match. Our preparations for the European Championships begin right now.
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