Belgrade 2026: Highlights from the men’s European Water Polo Championships

After a hugely successful and entertaining 2026 men’s European Water Polo Championships, here are the most memorable moments from Belgrade, Serbia.

• Serbia did it again. The hosts claimed their eighth European title. Even more impressively, they stayed perfect on home soil, winning gold for the third straight time in Belgrade after their triumphs in 2006 and 2016 – and now again in 2026. You can watch the highlights from the final below, or on the European Aquatics YouTube channel.

• Hungary marked a special milestone with silver. Exactly 100 years after winning the very first European title in Budapest in 1926, the Magyars reached another final.

It was their third final in the last four editions and, after winning in 2020, they finished runners-up once again following 2022.

This silver was their 27th European medal overall (13 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze), extending their lead at the top of the all-time medal table.

• Greece finally made history. After decades of waiting, they stepped onto the podium at the European Championships for the very first time.

Despite recent success on the world stage – including three medals at the last four World Championships and Olympic silver in 2021 – continental glory had always slipped through their fingers.

In Belgrade, where they last reached the semi-finals 10 years ago but finished fourth, they beat Italy in the bronze medal match to celebrate a long-awaited breakthrough.

• Italy’s rejuvenated squad once again made the semi-finals, their fourth appearance at this stage in the last five editions.

However, the semi-final barrier proved too tough once more, and after similar losses in 2018, 2022 and 2024, they had to settle for fourth place again (though they did recover to win the bronze in 2024 ahead of Hungary).

• Spain’s remarkable European Championships run came to an end in Belgrade. The world champions and defending title-holders had taken home a medal from four straight Europeans – including three finals – but this time they failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2016 (which was obviously also held in Belgrade).

Narrow defeats to Serbia and Hungary, the latter in a shootout, ended their campaign.

• Croatia, finalists in both 2022 and 2024, finished sixth this time around. Belgrade continues to be an unlucky venue for them, as they also missed the semi-finals there in 2006 and 2016.

• The Championships were played under a new format, featuring a second group stage after the preliminaries, with two groups of six teams and only the top two advancing to the semi-finals.

The draw resulted in slightly uneven groups, which showed clearly in the classification matches, as teams from Group E swept their Group F opponents 6-0.

Beyond the semi-finals – where Hungary beat Greece and Serbia overcame Italy – Spain comfortably defeated Croatia for fifth place, Montenegro edged Romania for seventh, France beat Georgia for ninth, and the Netherlands, who came within milliseconds of upsetting eventual champions Serbia on the opening day, powered past Türkiye to finish 11th.

In the 13th-16th place games, Malta impressed with three straight wins to record their best-ever finish in a 16-team tournament. Slovakia placed 14th, Slovenia 15th and Israel 16th.

Notably, every team left Belgrade with at least one point, as several of these matches went to a shootout.

For the first time, an MVP Team was named to recognise the standout performers of the tournament. The Best Seven of Belgrade 2026 were:

• Milan Glusac (Serbia) – the young goalkeeper starred in the semi-final against Italy and could easily have taken MVP honours in the final as well, after another top-class display.

• Dusan Mandic (Serbia) – Serbia’s world-class left-hander was central to their title run, finishing with four goals in the final and earning MVP of the gold medal match.

• Strahinja Rasovic (Serbia) – the go-to man in the biggest moments, scoring the decisive goals against both Spain and Hungary to push the hosts into the semi-finals.

• Krisztian Manhercz (Hungary) – Hungary’s captain and driving force, he led the all-in win over Spain to reach the top four and then added an MVP performance against Greece in the semi-final with four goals.

• Akos Nagy (Hungary) – a European Championships debutant and the only left-hander on the Hungarian roster, the 22-year-old delivered standout performances when it mattered most.

• Stylianos Argyropoulos (Greece) – the tournament’s top scorer and a key figure in Greece’s historic medal run.

• Konstantinos Kakaris (Greece) – the other Greek powerhouse and arguably the best centre-forward in today’s game, he was relentless throughout the tournament, playing a major role in Greece’s success.

Watch all the highlights from Belgrade on Eurovision Sport

For the full results/tables/stats from the men’s European Championships, click here

Stay tuned to the European Aquatics Water Polo social media accounts for more news and live updates on Facebook and Instagram

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

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