Hungary and Greece will contest the 2026 World Aquatics Men’s World Cup final after both survived dramatic semi-finals in Sydney on Saturday.
Hungary denied hosts Australia a second successive upset with a tense 13-12 victory, while Greece held off Italy 10-9 in another defensive battle to book their place in Sunday’s final.
Greece will now chase the first major senior men’s gold medal in their history, while Hungary are aiming to lift the trophy for the first time since the World Cup adopted its current format in 2023.
Australia and Italy will meet in the bronze medal match.
Australia once again proved they belong among the world’s elite after their remarkable quarter-final victory over Spain, but Hungary found just enough quality in the decisive moments to end the Sharks’ dream run.
The opening half was closely contested. Australia twice moved ahead before Edwards converted a man-up opportunity to give the hosts a 5-4 advantage midway through the second quarter.
Hungary responded with their strongest spell of the contest, scoring four unanswered goals in six minutes to turn a one-goal deficit into an 8-5 lead.
Australia refused to let the game get away from them. Nic Constantin-Bicari and Jacob Mercep struck twice in just 35 seconds to cut the gap to one, while the hosts also successfully defended a two-man disadvantage to remain firmly in contention.
Gergo Zalanki restored Hungary’s two-goal cushion before Mercep replied immediately, but Krisztian Manhercz scored late in the third quarter to send Hungary into the final period with a 10-8 lead.
Australia erased that deficit almost immediately. Byrnes converted from the penalty spot before Constantin-Bicari levelled the contest at 10-10 with an extra-player goal.
Hungary regained the lead through Zalanki, only for Australia to equalise again at both 11-11 and 12-12 as the match moved towards a dramatic finish.
The decisive moment arrived with 80 seconds remaining. Zalanki converted another man-up opportunity to complete his hat-trick and put Hungary ahead 13-12.
Australia still had chances to force penalties. Hungary’s second goalkeeper, Viktor Gyapjas, denied Constantin-Bicari before Australia challenged for a possible penalty foul, but the decision was rejected following a VAR review.
The Sharks then earned one final man-up opportunity with nine seconds remaining. Max Negus took the final shot, but Gyapjas was well positioned to make the save and secure Hungary’s place in the final.
Zalanki and Adam Nagy both scored three goals for Hungary, while Byrnes finished with four for Australia and Constantin-Bicari added three.
Although Australia missed out on a home final, reaching the last four secured their qualification for the 2027 World Championships in Budapest.
The second semi-final was another contest dominated by defensive intensity and outstanding goalkeeping as Greece edged Italy by the narrowest possible margin.
Italy struck first before Konstantinos Skoumpakis levelled late in the opening quarter. Goals remained difficult to find, with Panagiotis Tzortzatos producing an exceptional performance in the Greek goal.
A major turning point arrived midway through the second period when Italy’s Mario Del Basso received a red card for a violent foul.
Gianmarco Nicosia saved the resulting penalty from Stylianos Argyropoulos, but the Greek captain immediately responded by scoring twice in quick succession to help Greece establish a 5-3 advantage.
Italy reduced the deficit before half-time and remained within touching distance throughout the third quarter despite Greece twice threatening to pull away.
Konstantinos Gkiouvetsis struck twice early in the second half to make it 7-4, but Francesco Cannella and Jacopo Condemi responded to bring Italy back within one goal heading into the final period.
Greece again appeared to create some breathing room when Gkiouvetsis and Skoumpakis extended the lead to 9-6.
Italy, however, refused to surrender. Alessandro Carnesecchi scored twice on the power play to reduce the deficit to 9-8 with just over a minute remaining.
Argyropoulos calmly converted a penalty with 55 seconds left to restore Greece’s two-goal advantage, but Carnesecchi answered immediately to keep Italy’s hopes alive.
Italy earned one final extra-player opportunity in the closing seconds, but Tzortzatos produced another save to protect Greece’s 10-9 lead and seal their place in the final.
The Greek goalkeeper finished with a remarkable 23 saves, while Nicosia also impressed with 12 stops for Italy.
Earlier in the day, Spain recovered from four goals down in the fourth quarter to defeat Montenegro 17-16 after a penalty shootout and claim fifth place.
Montenegro led 11-7 early in the final period, but Spain fought back and forced the shootout when Daura scored the equaliser with 20 seconds remaining.
Unai Aguirre then saved attempts from Aljosa Macic and Aleksa Matkovic before Sanahuja converted the decisive penalty.
Croatia finished seventh after an 18-12 victory over Georgia. The young Croatian side took control in the third quarter and briefly opened up a 10-goal advantage, with Vlaho Pavlic and Marko Brubnjak scoring four times each.
Results
Semi-finals
Hungary 13-12 Australia
(3-2, 2-4, 3-4, 4-3)
Greece 10-9 Italy
(2-1, 2-4, 2-2, 3-3)
Fifth-place match
Spain 17-16 Montenegro
(2-3, 2-3, 3-4, 5-2, PSO 5-4)
Seventh-place match
Croatia 18-12 Georgia
(5-3, 4-3, 6-1, 3-5)
Follow Waterpolo 360 on Facebook, Instagram and X