2026 Men's European Water Polo Championship

For the women's tournament, see 2026 Women's European Water Polo Championship.
2026 Men's European Water Polo Championship
Tournament details
Country Serbia
CityBelgrade
Dates10–25 January 2026
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
Official website
Belgrade 2026

The 2026 Men's European Water Polo Championship will be the 37th edition of the biannual continental tournament in men's national water polo teams, organised by Europe's governing aquatics body, European Aquatics. The tournament will take place from 10 to 25 January 2026. This edition will mark the 100 year anniversary of the championships.

The competition will be held in Serbia's capital, Belgrade, for the third time.[1] This will be the second edition to have different hosts for both genders after European Aquatics made the change permanent in March 2025. This edition will also witness a new format, introducing a second group stage as opposed to an extended knockout round.[2]

16 teams will take part for the sixth time. The top eight teams, including hosts Serbia, from the 2024 version qualified automatically, while the remaining eights teams progressed via qualification. Türkiye qualified after a 6-year drought, while Germany failed to qualify on merit for the first time.

This tournament will act as a qualifier for the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest and 2028 European Championship edition.

Spain are the defending champions, beating Croatia, 11–10, in the final in Zagreb.

Host selection

Belgrade was given the hosting rights on 13 May 2022.[1] This will be Serbia's third time hosting after 2006 and 2016. Serbia had originally been given the women's event as well, but decided not to host it in order to focus on the men's championship.[3]

Format

A new system will be used for this tournament. The new format was unveiled in March 2025. This is the third different format in three editions.[4] Despite some slight changes, the format is very adjacent to the format previously used for the European Handball Championship when the tournament still had 16 teams (the format has been discontinued due to the European Handball Championship expanding to 24 teams). Head coach of Croatia, Ivica Tucak, supports the format change, saying it gives teams a second chance to come back if they stumble earlier in the tournament.[5]

  • Group stage

In each group there will be two teams from the last tournament and two teams from the qualifiers. They will play a round-robin in their groups. The top three teams of each group will advance to the second group stage. The top three teams of each group will advance to the second group stage (Group A & Group C in Group E and Group B & Group D in Group F) with all results are carried over. The four-bottom ranked-teams will play in placement games.

  • Second group stage

The advancing teams will play the opponents from the other group in the second group stage. From the second group stage, the top-two ranked teams of each group advance to the semifinals, all other teams will play in placement games.

  • Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the four remaining teams progress to the knockout stage. Two semifinals and a final will determine who wins the championship.

Qualification

Main article: 2026 Men's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers

Sixteen teams will be able to compete at the main event. They are broken up as follows:

Regarding the teams, there is one change to the line-up, with Türkiye returning after a six year drought. The Turks replaced two-time champions, Germany, who missed out for the first time since 1962 and failed to qualify for the first time ever.[6]

Event Date Location Quotas Nation(s)
Host 13 May 2022 – 1  Serbia
2024 European Championship 4–16 January Croatia 7  Spain
 Croatia
 Italy
 Hungary
 Greece
 Montenegro
 Romania
Qualifiers 8–11 June 2025 Kranj 2  Netherlands
 Slovenia
Istanbul 2  Slovakia
 Türkiye
Tbilisi 2  Georgia
 Israel
Gzira 2  France
 Malta

Summary of qualified teams

Team Qualification method Date of qualification Appearance(s) Previous best performance[A] Rank[7]
Total First Last Streak
 Serbia Host nation 13 May 2022 31th 1927a 2024 16 Champions (Eight times)[B] TBD
 Croatia Top eight in 2024 8 January 2024 17th 1993 17 Champions (2010, 2022) TBD
 Hungary 36th 1926 30 Champions (Thirteen times)[C] TBD
 Italy 35th 1927 34 Champions (1947, 1993, 1995) TBD
 Spain 31st 27 Champions (2024) TBD
 Montenegro 10 January 2024 10th 2008 10 Champions (2008) TBD
 Greece 11 January 2024 21st 1970 19 Fourth place (1999, 2016) TBD
 Romania 27th 1954 14 Fourth place (1993, 2006) TBD
 Slovakia Top two in Group B 9 June 2025 12th 1993 6 Seventh place (2003) TBD
 Georgia Top two in Group C 10 June 2025 6th 2016 6 Eighth place (2022) TBD
 Israel 3rd 2022 3 Twelfth place (2022) TBD
 Netherlands Top two in Group A 31st 1927 6 Champions (1950) TBD
 Slovenia 6th 1999 3 Eleventh place (1999) TBD
 France Top two in Group D 20th 1927 7 Runners-up (1927) TBD
 Malta 6th 2016 6 Fourteenth place (2022) TBD
 Türkiye Top two in Group B 11 June 2025 8th 2016 2020 1 Twelfth place (2020) TBD
a Competed as SFR Yugoslavia from 1956 to 1970 and as Serbia and Montenegro from 1998 to 2006, 11 appearances as Serbia since 2006.

Venue

Similar to 2016, the Belgrade Arena will be used for the entire competition.[8][9][10] Built in 2004, it is the biggest indoor arena in the Balkans. notable events at the arena include:

Belgrade
Belgrade Arena
Capacity: 18,386

Draw

The draw was held at 19:00 CET on 13 September 2025 at the Beli dvor in Belgrade, Serbia.[11][12] Serbian journalist, Marija Kilibarda, was the host for the draw. Before the draw began, speeches were done by Serbian water polo federation president and local organising committee chair, Viktor Jelenic, and European Aquatics president, Antonio Silva. The guests were Serbian Olympic water polo players, Filip Filipović and Milan Aleksić, who assisted with the draw. The draw started with, in order, pots 1, 2, 3 and 4 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically. The position for the team within the group would then be drawn (for the purpose of the schedule).

Seeding

The pots were decided by the rankings of the 2024 European Championship and also of the 2026 Qualifiers.

Pot 1
Team Rank
 Spain 1
 Croatia 2
 Italy 3
 Hungary 4
Pot 2
Team Rank
 Greece 5
 Montenegro 6
 Serbia (H) 7
 Romania 8
Pot 3
Team Group
 Netherlands A
 Slovakia B
 Georgia C
 France D
Pot 4
Team Group
 Slovenia A
 Türkiye B
 Israel C
 Malta D
2026 Men's European Water Polo Championship – Draw
Draw Live Streaming

Draw results

Group A
Pos Team
A1  Malta
A2  France
A3  Montenegro
A4  Hungary
Group B
Pos Team
B1  Slovenia
B2  Greece
B3  Croatia
B4  Georgia
Group C
Pos Team
C1  Netherlands
C2  Israel
C3  Serbia (H)
C4  Spain
Group D
Pos Team
D1  Türkiye
D2  Romania
D3  Italy
D4  Slovakia

Schedule

Schedule[13]
Round Matchday Date
Group stage Matchday 1 10–11 January 2026
Matchday 2 12–13 January 2026
Matchday 3 14–15 January 2026
Second group stage Matchday 4 16–17 January 2026
Matchday 5 18–19 January 2026
Matchday 6 20–21 January 2026
Knockout stage Semi-finals 23 January 2026
Final 25 January 2026

Referees

On 24 November, the following 18 referees were selected for the tournament.[14][15] The referees represent 18 countries, including the 16 participating teams alongside match officials from Germany and Portugal.

Preliminary round

Tiebreakers

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. Goal difference in all group matches;
  5. Goals scored in all group matches.

If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a drawing of lots will decide the outcome.

All times are local (UTC+1).

Group A

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Malta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Classification round
First match(es) will be played: 10 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
10 January 2026
15:15 		France  –  Hungary Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
10 January 2026
18:00 		Malta  –  Montenegro Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
12 January 2026
12:45 		Malta  –  France Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
12 January 2026
15:15 		Hungary  –  Montenegro Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
14 January 2026
12:30 		Malta  –  Hungary Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
14 January 2026
18:00 		France  –  Montenegro Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Group B

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Classification round
First match(es) will be played: 11 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
11 January 2026
18:00 		Slovenia  –  Croatia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
11 January 2026
20:30 		Greece  –  Georgia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
13 January 2026
12:45 		Georgia  –  Croatia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
13 January 2026
15:15 		Slovenia  –  Greece Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
15 January 2026
18:00 		Slovenia  –  Georgia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
15 January 2026
20:30 		Greece  –  Croatia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Group C

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Israel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Serbia (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Classification round
First match(es) will be played: 10 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
(H) Host
10 January 2026
12:45 		Israel  –  Spain Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
10 January 2026
20:30 		Netherlands  –  Serbia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
12 January 2026
18:00 		Netherlands  –  Israel Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
12 January 2026
20:30 		Spain  –  Serbia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
14 January 2026
15:15 		Netherlands  –  Spain Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
14 January 2026
20:30 		Israel  –  Serbia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Group D

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Classification round
First match(es) will be played: 11 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
11 January 2026
12:45 		Turkey  –  Italy Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
11 January 2026
15:15 		Romania  –  Slovakia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
13 January 2026
18:00 		Slovakia  –  Italy Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
13 January 2026
20:30 		Romania  –  Turkey Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
15 January 2026
12:45 		Turkey  –  Slovakia Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
15 January 2026
15:15 		Romania  –  Italy Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Classification round

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts
1 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 16 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
16 January 2026
10:15 		A4 – C4 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
16 January 2026
12:45 		B4 – D4 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
17 January 2026
10:15 		B4 – C4 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
17 January 2026
12:45 		D4 – A4 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
18 January 2026
10:15 		A4 – B4 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
18 January 2026
12:45 		D4 – C4 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Main round

All points obtained in the preliminary round against teams that advance as well are carried over.

Group E

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Semifinals
2 C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 16 January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
16 January 2026
15:30 		A3 – C1 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
16 January 2026
18:00 		A1 – C3 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
16 January 2026
20:30 		A2 – C2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
18 January 2026
15:30 		A3 – C2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
18 January 2026
18:00 		A2 – C3 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
18 January 2026
20:30 		A1 – C1 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
20 January 2026
15:30 		C3 – A3 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
20 January 2026
18:00 		C2 – A1 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
20 January 2026
20:30 		C1 – A2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Group F

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Semifinals
2 D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: January 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
17 January 2026
15:30 		B3 – D1 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
17 January 2026
18:00 		B1 – D3 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
17 January 2026
20:30 		B2 – D2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
19 January 2026
15:30 		B3 – D2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
19 January 2026
18:00 		B2 – D3 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
19 January 2026
20:30 		B1 – D1 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
21 January 2026
15:30 		D3 – B3 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
20 January 2026
18:00 		D2 – B1 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
20 January 2026
20:30 		D1 – B2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Knockout stage

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
23 January
 
 
 
 
25 January
 
 
 
 
 
23 January
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Third place
 
 
25 January
 
 
 
 
 
 

Semifinals

23 January 2026
17:00 		E1 – F2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade
23 January 2026
20:30 		F1 – E2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Eleventh place game

22 January 2026
12:45 		E6 – F6 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Ninth place game

22 January 2026
15:15 		E5 – F5 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Seventh place game

22 January 2026
18:00 		E3 – F3 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Fifth place game

22 January 2026
20:30 		E3 – F3 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Third place game

25 January 2026
17:00 		LSF1 – LSF2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Final

25 January 2026
20:30 		WSF1 – WSF2 Belgrade Arena, Belgrade

Final standings

Rank Team
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Preparations

A dedicated website was created on 25 August 2025.[16] During the 14th Great Sports Fair of Serbia from September 26 to 28, 2025, at Ada Ciganlija, the slogan for the tournament was unveiled, being the phrase Power that unites.[17]

Tickets

Tickets went on sale on 2 October 2025.[18][19]

Notes

  1. ^ bold text indicates they hosted that edition.
  2. ^ Serbia and Montenegro and  Serbia have won in 1991, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018
  3. ^  Hungary have won in 1926, 1927, 1931, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1977, 1997, 1999 and 2020.

References

  1. ^ a b "Tel Aviv, Belgrade To Host Next Two European Water Polo Championships". swimswam.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Two host cities and new format for 2026 European Water Polo Championships - European Aquatics®". March 31, 2025.
  3. ^ "Alaposan felforgatják a vízilabda-Eb-k eddig ismert rendszerét". ORIGO. April 1, 2025.
  4. ^ "2026 Men's European Championships in Belgrade by new format; women won't play in Serbia". total-waterpolo.com. 31 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Continent's top coaches discuss European Championships format and draw in new episode of Water Polo World - European Aquatics®". October 20, 2025.
  6. ^ Curcic, Ivan (June 11, 2025). "Historic shock: Germany fails to qualify for European Championships for first time".
  7. ^ "Men Country Ranking - European Aquatics®". February 20, 2023.
  8. ^ "Београд домаћин Европског првенства у ватерполу 2026. године". РТС.
  9. ^ https://asrbija.com/vest-vat%D0%95rp%D0%9El%D0%9E-srbija-d%D0%9Emacin-%D0%95vr%D0%9Epsk%D0%9Eg-prv%D0%95nstva-u-vat%D0%95rp%D0%9Elu-za-muskarc%D0%95%C2%A02026--294882
  10. ^ "ЕВРОПСКО ПРВЕНСТВО У ВАТЕРПОЛУ ЗА МУШКАРЦЕ - Туристичка организација Србије". www.serbia.travel.
  11. ^ "Watch the 2026 Men's European Water Polo Championships draw live from Belgrade". europeanaquatics.org. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  12. ^ "2026 Men's European Water Polo Championships draw sets up a thrilling tournament". europeanaquatics.org. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  13. ^ "Regulations" (PDF).
  14. ^ https://wwpra.org/2025/11/24/men-european-water-polo-championship-2026/
  15. ^ https://europeanaquatics.org/european-water-polo-championships-technical-officials-ea-committees-and-bureau-representatives-announced-for-belgrade-and-funchal/
  16. ^ Almeida, Luciano (August 25, 2025). "New website for 2026 Men's European Water Polo Championships goes live".
  17. ^ "EWPC 2026". belgrade2026.rs.
  18. ^ "ПОЧЕЛА ПРОДАЈА УЛАЗНИЦА ЗА ЕП У БЕОГРАДУ: Подршка „делфинима" у Aрени - Dnevnik". www.dnevnik.rs. October 2, 2025.
  19. ^ Rolle, Andy (October 12, 2025). "Tickets on sale for men's 2026 European Water Polo Championships in Belgrade".
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