Hungary, the title holder, and Croatia, the European junior champion, both secured convincing victories on the opening day of the World U20 Men’s Championships in Zagreb. The remaining two games in Round 1 of Division 1 were exciting, with Greece and Spain emerging as the winning teams.
2025 World U20 Championships, Day 1
Division 1
Group A
Hungary – Montenegro 18:10 (4:3, 7:2, 4:3, 3:2)
USA – Croatia 10:19 (4:6, 2:2, 1:6, 3:5)
The 2023 champion, Hungary, opened the tournament with a convincing win over Montenegro. The Montenegrins had an opening 1:0 and 2:1. However, the Hungarians, led by Oliver Leinweber (5 goals), built an 11:5 lead by halftime. Early in the third period, they added two goals, stretched the margin to eight – 13:5 and maintained the difference until the end – 18:10.
European junior champion Croatia defeated Team USA 19:10. The Croatian team controlled the match from the start, while the Americans managed to keep pace for nearly two quarters. Midway through the second period, the teams were tied at 6:6. However, Croatia scored two power-play goals in the final 128 seconds of the first half, ending it with an 8:6 lead as they entered the third period. The hosts dominated the second half, with Ante Jerkovic scoring five goals to secure the victory.
Group B
Greece – Italy 19:18 (4:4, 5:2, 6:4, 4:8)
Serbia – Spain 13:14 (3:2, 3:4, 5:3, 2:5)
The encounter between Greece and Italy illustrated that a five-goal lead isn’t a big advantage when both teams are of similar strength in water polo with new rules. Greece led 15:10 before the final eight minutes. However, the Italians staged a comeback, scoring four goals in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter to narrow the gap to 14:15. With two minutes left in the match, they managed to tie the score at 17:17. But, they couldn’t go further. Greece responded with two extra-player goals within 45 seconds, retaking the lead (19:17). The Italians scored the last goal in the game. Still, it served as a slim consolation.
Serbia and Spain were tied at 6:6 after the first 16 minutes. Spain took a 7:6 lead in the third quarter. Serbia went on a 3:0 run and earned a 9:7 lead. Two goals separated the rivals for the first time in the match. Serbia kept a 2-goal lead until the end of the third quarter (11:9). However, the Spaniards tightened their defense after the last break. They scored four straight goals and went ahead – 13:11 with 01:33 minutes left on the clock. In the rest of the match, Serbia narrowed the gap, but it didn’t have an attack for an equalizer. Sabadell and Gomilla netted three goals each for Spain, while the best scorer of the game was Serbia’s Strahinja Krstic (five goals).
Division 2
Group C: Brazil – South Africa 25:6 (7:2, 4:3, 7:1, 7:0). Germany bye.
Group D: Kazakhstan – New Zealand 12:11 (1:0, 3:2, 4:5, 4:4). Iran bye.
Group E: Colombia – Australia 11:16 (2:1, 2:6, 3:6, 4:3). Argentina bye.
Group F: Canada – Singapore 20:6 (5:2, 4:0, 4:1, 7:3). China bye.
