Hungary, the 2023 world champion, returns to the World Championships final after a one-year absence.
In the second semifinal of the men’s tournament in Singapore, Hungary narrowly defeated Serbia in a high-scoring match, 19:18. Hungary began the game strongly and led for most of the time. But Serbia was able to come back. At halftime, the sides were tied at 8:8. However, Hungary built a 5-goal lead in the first nine minutes of the second half (18:13). Although the Olympic champions mounted another comeback attempt, the Hungarians managed to hold them off and advance to the final, where they will face Spain, which beat Greece after a penalty shootout (11:9).
Serbia and Greece will battle for the bronze medal.
Croatia defeated the USA in the second semifinals in the 5th-8th place classification, 14:9, and will face Montenegro in the 5th-place match. Earlier today, Montenegro defeated Italy 12:8.
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.
- Final Day (July 24)
2025 World Men’s Water Polo Championships, Day 6
SF Semifinals
Serbia – Hungary 18:19 (3:6, 5:2, 4:8, 6:3)
Serbia: Mandic 6, N. Jaksic 3, Cuk 2, Lazic 2, Martinovic 2, Vico 1, V.Rasovic 1, S. Rasovic 1.
Hungary:Manhercz 4, Fekete 4, Ak. Nagy 3, Angyal 2, Burian 2, Kovacs 1, Ven. VIgvari 1, Cin. Vigvari 1
Hungary started the match in a manner similar to how they began the game against Croatia in the quarterfinals. They were very aggressive in their attack, creating numerous scoring opportunities and achieving a strong conversion rate on man-up shots, successfully scoring three out of four in the first eight minutes. Their defense, however, was much improved compared to the opening minutes of the quarterfinal game, effectively shutting down Serbia’s top goal scorers. After an initial tie at 2:2, Hungary launched a 3:0 run, taking a 5:2 lead and maintaining a three-goal advantage until the first break. Serbia also demonstrated excellent performance with their extra player shots, converting 3 out of 4 attempts, which helped keep the Olympic champions in the game.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Serbs converted two more 6-on-5s and closed the gap to 5:6. Two and a half minutes before the middle break, Djordje Lazic leveled at 7:7. It was Serbia’s sixth goal with an extra player (the previous one was from a penalty). Then, Hungary missed a man-up, while Serbia forced two exclusions in the next attack. Captain Nikola Jaksic scored from a 6 on 4 to give Serbia the first lead in the match – 7:6. But, immediately after Manhercz equalized from a distance and the teams were at the same starting point at the beginning of the second half – 8:8.
Krisztian Manhercz (HUN) Photo: Orange Pictures
In the third period, the teams traded the goals until 10:10. Hungary soon refound its scoring rhythm from the first quarter and built a 4-goal lead before the end of the period. Akos Nagy converted a man-up with four seconds to go and gave his team a 16:12 advantage. Angyal stretched the margin to five in Hungary’s first possession in the fourth quarter – 17:12. Five and a half minutes before the end, Hungary had an 18:13 advantage. It seemed that the contest was over. But, the Serbs started coming back again, scoring four goals in a row. At 01:50, Milos Cuk fired the ball from a distance to narrow the gap to 17:18. Immediately after, Vendel Vigvari ended Hungary’s scoring silence with an extra player – 19:17. The Olympic champions didn’t surrender. Still, they couldn’t catch up with the Hungarians. Milos Cuk scored from a 7 on 6 with 25 seconds left on the clock. In the remaining time, the Hungarians kept the ball and booked a ticket to the final.
Both teams had an excellent percentage of extra player shots (Serbia 9/14 and Hungary 10/15)—the direct shots from 6 meters after a foul made the difference in a high-scoring encounter. Hungary scored four goals from this situation, Serbia none.
CL 5th -8th place classification, semifinals
USA – Croatia 9:14 (1:2, 1:5, 5:3, 2:4)
USA: C.Dodd 2, Vavic 2, R. Dodd 1, Irving 1, Brown 1, Daube 1, Ehrhardt 1,
Croatia: Buric 3, Fatovic 2, Zuvela 2, Kharkov 2, Lazic 2, Bukic 1, Vrlic 1, Butic 1.
Croatia, one of the most experienced and oldest teams in the tournament, has traditionally played in medal matches in recent years. However, after failing to reach the semifinals, the Croats approached the consolation semifinal very well; they didn’t make many mistakes and advanced to the 5th-place game.
The Americans kept up with the Croats for a quarter and a half. In the 12th minute, the Olympic bronze medalists trailed by one goal (2:3). Still, by the end of the first half, the outgoing world champions scored five unanswered goals and headed into the third quarter leading 7:2.
Rino Buric (Croatia) Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo
The Americans attempted to stage a comeback, successfully converting several man-up opportunities. They closed the gap to three goals and entered the final quarter trailing 7:10. Chase Dodd kicked off the fourth period with a goal, making the score 8:10. In the 27th minute, Team USA had a very nice opportunity to cut the deficit to one goal, as it forced a penalty shot. However, Marko Bijac saved Hannes Daube’s shot from the 5m line. The Americans paid for that missed chance. In the next possession, Lazic scored from a 6 on 5 and Croatia’s new series of goals started. In the following several minutes, the Europeans added three goals to earn a comfortable 14:8 advantage before the final minute.
Report of the first semifinal in the 5th-8th place classification, Italy – Montenegro 8:12, find HERE
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