Spain will continue its medal streak at the World Championships, having advanced to the final of the tournament in Singapore. This achievement secures its fifth consecutive medal at the Worlds.
In the first semifinal match of the Men’s World Championships, Spain faced Greece and won 11:9 in a penalty shootout. The Spaniards took advantage of a 4-minute power play after a violent foul committed by a Greek player and built a 6:2 lead in the first half. However, Greece managed to hold Spain scoreless for almost the entire second half and took a 7:6 advantage in the fourth quarter. In the dying seconds of the match, Spain scored its only goal of the second half, leveling the score at 7:7. Spain remained calm during the shootout, resulting in an 11:9 victory.
Montenegro beat Italy in the first semifinals of the 5th – 8th place, Japan clinched 9th place ahead of Romania, and Canada beat Brazil in the 11th-place match.
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.
- Final Day (July 24)
2025 World Men’s Water Polo Championships, Day 6
SF Semifinals
Greece – Spain 9:11 (2:3, 1:3, 1:0,3:1, PSO 2:4)
Greece: Genidounias 2, Gkillas 2, Gkiouvetsis 1, Argyropoulos 1, Pouros 1
Spain: Sanahuja 3, Granados 2, Munarriz 1, Bustos 1.
Penalty shootout – 0:1 Perrone, 1:1 Genidounias 1:1, Sanahuja 1:2, Kalogeropoulos 2:2, Munarriz 2:3, Skoumpakis – Aguirre saved, Larumbe 2:4, Kakaris – Aguirre saved
A violent foul committed by Matteo Iocchi Gratta was one of the factors that contributed to Greece’s win over Italy in the quarterfinals. Today, something similar happened, but in favor of Spain. In the second quarter, Chalyvopoulos committed a violent foul. Over the next four minutes, the Spaniards gained momentum and built a 4-goal lead. However, Greece produced a big comeback with five straight goals. It took the lead in the fourth quarter and was just two seconds away from the end of the game. However, Alberto Munarriz scored an equalizer at 00:02, beating the buzzer. Spain then won in a penalty shootout.
Spain established a 2:0 lead by the sixth minute with powerplay goals from Alejandro Bustos and Bernat Sanahuja. Genidounias opened the scoring for Greece from a penalty shot immediately after Sanahuja’s goal. By the end of the quarter, Sanahuja and Genidounias added one 6 on 6 goal each, and Spain had a 3:2 advantage at the first break.
Unai Aguirre of Spain . (Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo)
In the 11th minute, Chalyvopoulos punched Granados under the water, and after a VAR review, he was sent off due to brutality. Spain scored three goals in the following four minutes – Granados from a penalty shot and from a 6 on 5. Sanahuja added one powerplay goal and jumped to 6:2. Gkiouvietsis made it 3:6 after the four-minute suspension, but a 3-goal deficit at half against a strong team isn’t easy to erase in a game against a strong team like Spain is. But, Greece mounted a comeback.
Only Stylianos Argyropoulos scored in the third quarter, making it 4:6 in the 20th minute with a man-up. But, another significant event that could affect the outcome happened less than three minutes later. Alvaro Granados was red-carded due to a foul on Gkillas. It was an exclusion with substitution, and Greece didn’t have a man-up in the following four minutes. However, Spain left without its best player for the final quarter.
The Spaniards continued struggling in the attack, but they kept a good defense. Both goalkeepers, Aguirre and Tzortzatis, played excellently (they finished the match with 12 saves each). Greece missed many man-up opportunities during the game, but with three power-play goals in the fourth period, it managed to take the lead. Gkillas scored from a distance to make it 5:6. Pouros leveled at 6:6 in the 28th minute. Gkillas added another goal from the perimeter and put his team in front, 7:6, with 01:49 seconds left on the clock. Spain desperately attempted to equalize. One of the best opportunities was Perrone’s shot that hit the post at 00:35. Still, Greece didn’t keep a one-goal advantage. Spain had only six seconds for the last possession. Munarriz got the ball, he forced a foul, and scored from the 6m line four seconds later to prolong the match in a shootout.
Team of Spain celebrates during the water polo semifinal match (Photo by Albert ten Hove/MTB-Photo)
Unai Aguirre saved two shots in a penalty thriller to send Spain into the final.
CL 5th -8th place classification, semifinals
Italy – Montenegro 8:12 (0:3, 3:4, 1:2, 4:3)
Italy: Di Fulvio 2, Di Somma 2, Ferrero 1, Del Basso 1, Presciutti 1.
Montenegro: Vuckovic 4, Macic 2, Cetkovic , Gardasevic 2, Kholod 1, Obradovic 1,
Montenegro successfully prevented Italy from scoring in the first quarter, a crucial factor in their victory. The Montenegrins clearly found more motivation for the semifinals in 5th-8th place compared to Italy. The Montenegrins aimed to improve their reputation after a disappointing quarterfinal performance against Spain. In contrast, Italy, which had a 13-player roster because Iocchi Gratta was shown a red card in the match against Greece, resulting in a four-game suspension, never came close to overcoming an early deficit.
Petar Tesanovic of Montenegro Photo: MTB-Photo
In the first quarter, Macic scored two goals, and Kholod added one, giving Montenegro a 3:0 lead that set the tone for the match. Italy finally got on the scoreboard in the 9th minute when Ferrero converted a 6-on-5 opportunity. By two minutes before halftime, Italy was trailing 3:5 and had a chance to come back, but a power-play goal from Gardasevic and a backhand strike from Cetkovic propelled Montenegro to a 7:3 lead at the half.
Early in the third period, Obradovic extended Montenegro’s lead to 8:3. Throughout the rest of the game, Italy managed to reduce the gap to four goals on a few occasions, but Montenegro, led by 20-year-old Balsa Vuckovic, maintained a safe advantage until the final whistle.
9 9th place match
Japan – Romania 20:19 (8:1, 4:3, 2:8, 2:4, PSO 4:3)
Japan: Inaba 6, Date 4, Ogihara 3, Adachi 2, Watanabe 2, Takata 1, Suzuki 1, Araki 1.
Romania: Georgescu 4, Neamtu 3, Gheorghe 2, Belenyesi 2, Iudean 2, Bota 1, Prioteasa 1, Teeplus 1, Oanta 1, Oltean 1, Vancsik 1.
Japan finished in 9th place, matching its best-ever result at the World Championships, which was achieved in Budapest in 2022. They secured this position by defeating Romania in an exciting match. Both teams experienced significant ups and downs throughout the game but demonstrated a strong desire to win.
Japan quickly took control, racing to an 8:1 lead in the first quarter, leaving many to doubt Romania’s chances of coming back. However, the Europeans regrouped during the first break, managing to slow down the Japanese players. Despite this, Japan maintained control and extended their lead to eight goals (12:4) by the middle of the game. In a surprising turn, Romania launched a 5:0 run at the start of the second half, narrowing the gap to 9:12. Japan responded by converting two man-up opportunities, increasing their lead to 13:9 and 14:10. However, they missed a chance to convert a 6 on 4 opportunity during this stretch. The latter part of the quarter belonged to Romania, who scored two consecutive goals, closing the gap to 12:14.
Seiya Adachi of Japan
The teams traded goals in the fourth quarter. Romania managed to cut the deficit to 13:14 and 14:15, but Japan quickly restored its advantage each time. Nevertheless, the Asians couldn’t respond after Oltean brought the score to 15:16 in the 30th minute. Georgescu then leveled the score at 16:16 with just 34 seconds remaining on the clock. Japan had two attempts to score in the remaining time but failed to capitalize. The match went to penalty shots, and the decisive moment came in the 6th round when Nishimura made a crucial save against Oltean. This was his second save in the shootout, and he ultimately became Japan’s hero in a thrilling finish.
11 11th place match
Brazil – Canada 11:16 (3:1, 2:4, 1:5, 5:6)
Brazil: Guimaraes 5, Andrade 2, Da Silva 1, Pedroso 1, Farias 1, Real 1.
Canada: D’Souza 7, Djerkovic 2, Gerakoudis 2, Pozaric 2, O’Donnell 2, Oussadou 1.
The two American teams met for the second time in Singapore. Brazil earned two points after a penalty shootout in the group stage.
Reuel D’Souza of Canada Photo: MTB-Photo
Today, the North Americans recorded a convincing victory even though the Brazilians started quite well.
In the middle of the second quarter, Brazil had a 4:1 and a 5:2 lead. Shortly after, the Canadians left without one of their most experienced players, Gardijan, who was excluded with the substitution. But, they caught up with the Brazilians before the middle break – 5:5, and added four straight goals in the third period to go to 9:5. Brazil couldn’t recover from a 0:7 shock.
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