The Men’s World Championships exploded into life in Singapore with a thrilling opening day that featured big wins, high drama, and a few early statements of intent.
Olympic champions Serbia and reigning world champions Croatia flexed their muscles with dominant victories, while Hungary delivered an emphatic response to last year’s Olympic loss to Australia, winning 18–6. Spain and Japan served up a goal-laden spectacle, with the Europeans edging a frantic 22–16 contest.
Elsewhere, Montenegro held off Greece in a nail-biting 10–9 finish, and the USA looked sharp in an 18–9 win over Canada. Hosts Singapore made their World Championship debut but were outclassed by a strong Brazilian side, while Italy recovered from an early scare to beat Romania convincingly.
From lopsided scorelines to end-to-end thrillers, Day 1 had it all. Here’s how it unfolded across all four groups.
Group A
Olympic champions Serbia made an emphatic start to their campaign with a dominant 27–3 victory over South Africa. Dusan Mandic starred with six goals, while Nikola Jaksic and Nikola Murisic added four and five respectively. Serbia surged to an 8–0 lead in the opening quarter and were rarely troubled thereafter. South Africa, fielding a relatively inexperienced squad, managed three well-earned goals in the second period, including a sharp finish by Brett Sneddon. But Serbia’s power, precision and defensive discipline proved far too much. By the final period, Serbia had tightened their grip even further, adding nine unanswered goals to close out the contest.
Later in the group, Italy also got off to a winning start with a 17–5 victory over Romania, but it wasn’t as straightforward as the final score suggests. Romania briefly led 2–1 in the first quarter and looked poised to shock the Italians, but Italy regrouped and scored seven unanswered goals, flipping the game on its head. Francesco Condemi led the scoring with four goals and Lorenzo Bruni added three, while the Azzurri’s extra-player efficiency and suffocating press defence helped them take control in the middle periods. Romania’s Marius-Florin Tic made 12 saves, but the relentless Italian attack eventually wore them down.
Group A
Serbia 27–3 South Africa
Italy 17–5 Romania
- Serbia – 3pts
- Italy – 3pts
- Romania – 0pts
- South Africa – 0pts
Group B
Spain and Japan delivered the most entertaining game of the day, a high-octane clash that finished 22–16 in favour of the Europeans. With both teams embracing the sport’s new tempo-focused rules, the game was played at breakneck speed. Alvaro Granados scored five goals for Spain, while Bernat Sanahuja and Unai Biel each added four. Japan were led by Yusuke Inaba, who also netted five, and Taiyo Watanabe, who scored four. Spain took a 5–1 lead early and, despite repeated Japanese counterattacks, maintained their advantage throughout. The game was a true showcase for water polo’s evolving style: rapid transitions, creative finishes, and no shortage of spectacular saves.
Hungary, meanwhile, produced a statement performance of their own by comfortably beating Australia 18–6. The Magyars raced to an 8–1 lead in just 11 minutes, completely reversing the result of their previous meeting with the Australians at the Paris Olympics, where Hungary lost 9–8. Marton Vamos scored three times, and Hungary’s collective energy on both ends of the pool made the difference. Australia struggled to find rhythm in attack and were outplayed in every quarter, though debutant Andrej Grgurevic provided some optimism for the Sharks with a second-half hat-trick.
Group B
Spain 22–16 Japan
Hungary 18–6 Australia
- Spain – 3pts
- Hungary – 3pts
- Japan – 0pts
- Australia – 0pts
Group C
The United States began their campaign with a confident 18–9 win over Canada. Max Irving led the Americans with four goals, while Ryder Dodd, Hannes Daube, and Nikola Saveljic offered additional offensive threat. The USA stormed to a 4–0 lead and extended their cushion throughout the match with composed play and clinical finishing. Canada responded in the final quarter with four straight goals, including two from Ali Oussadou, but the gap was already too wide. Despite the loss, Canada showed flashes of potential and will look to regroup in their upcoming matches.
Host nation Singapore made their men’s world championship debut but were outclassed by Brazil, who won 19–8. The Brazilians started strongly, going 8–0 up before Singapore found the net through Wai Fong late in the second quarter. Pedro Real and Gustavo Guimaraes were among the standout performers for Brazil, while Singapore’s Sanjiv Rajandra scored three goals and gave the home crowd plenty to cheer for. The second half was more evenly matched, but Brazil’s early lead proved decisive. For Singapore, the match was an important first step on the world stage, greeted with enthusiastic support from the local fans.
Group C
USA 18–9 Canada
Brazil 19–8 Singapore
- USA – 3pts
- Brazil – 3pts
- Canada – 0pts
- Singapore – 0pts
Group D
World champions Croatia cruised to a 25–6 victory over China, controlling the game from start to finish. Luka Bukic scored six goals, and Marko Zuvela added four in a dominant team display. Croatia led 13–1 by halftime, having prevented China from scoring for more than 13 minutes. In the third quarter, China responded with four goals—including efforts from Xie Zekai and Peng Jiahao—but Croatia’s attack kept coming. With 41 shots and 13 steals, Croatia looked every bit the title holders, while China will take heart from their improved second-half showing.
In the closest game of the day, Montenegro edged Greece 10–9 in a gripping tactical contest. Montenegro led from the opening moments and were never behind, although Greece fought back to level the score three times. Filip Gardasevic and Duro Radovic both scored hat-tricks for Montenegro, while Petar Tesanovic was excellent in goal, including a key penalty save. Greece’s final push saw their goalkeeper join the attack in the last seconds, but a composed Montenegrin defence held on. For Greece, it was a missed opportunity. For Montenegro, it was a crucial win that puts them in strong position ahead of their group decider against Croatia.
Group D
Croatia 25–6 China
Montenegro 10–9 Greece
- Croatia – 3pts
- Montenegro – 3pts
- Greece – 0pts
- China – 0pts
Day 2 Schedule (All Times CEST)
- 03:00 – USA vs Brazil
- 04:35 – South Africa vs Romania
- 06:10 – Greece vs China
- 07:45 – Japan vs Hungary
- 09:00 – Australia vs Spain
- 10:35 – Croatia vs Montenegro
- 12:10 – Singapore vs Canada
- 13:45 – Italy vs Serbia
See Waterpolo 360’s Singapore 2025 World Championship Page
Follow Waterpolo 360 on Facebook, Instagram and X