Croatia leads in new World Aquatics men rankings

June 13, 2025

Croatia Photo: Total Waterpolo

This year, World Aquatics introduced a new scoring and ranking system for water polo national teams, effective January 2025.

This updated system determines how points are awarded for each match based on several criteria: the result (win or loss), the opponent’s ranking at the time of the match, the match location (home, away, or neutral ground), the level of the competition, the stage of the tournament, the goal difference in each match, etc.

For instance, Serbia earned 195 points for a 13:11 win over Croatia in the Olympic final, while Croatia was awarded 105 points in that game. Spain’s 16:14 victory over Greece in the World Cup final was worth 65 points.

Italy, which was suspended for six months due to the team’s protest and behaviour after a loss to Hungary in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games (10:12), received 72 points for that loss, double the amount it was awarded for an 11:9 victory over Montenegro in the group stage in Paris. Both games were decided in penalty shootouts.

The first new rankings were published, including all results from January 2024, starting with the European Championships in Croatia, up to June 2025.

Currently, Croatia holds the top position in the men’s rankings, which is not surprising, as the Croatian team reached the finals of all major competitions in 2024, winning gold at the World Championships and silver at the Olympic Games and the European Championships.

Spain, the European champion and 2025 World Cup winner, is in second place. Serbia, the Olympic champion, is ranked fifth. The Serbs earned a small number of points in the 2025 World Cup, where they finished ninth in Division 1 and didn’t qualify for the Final Eight.

Alongside Croatia and Spain, Hungary and Greece are also ranked higher than Serbia. Although Hungary and Greece did not win any medals in 2024, they accumulated significant points by reaching the semifinals in major competitions, beating strong teams and securing medals in the 2025 World Cup.

Two non-European teams are among the top 10 in the men’s rankings: the USA, which won the Olympic bronze medal, is in sixth place, while Brazil holds the tenth position. The Brazilian team did not compete in the Olympic Games but showed dominance in the Pan American competitions in 2024 and 2025.

As for the women, Spain is at the top of the rankings at the moment.