The FINA Men’s Water Polo World Cup started back in October 2024, when the initial groups were drawn. Here’s a quick breakdown of what led up to last weekend’s tournament.
- Format consisted of 2 divisions that would play in separate initial tournaments, with winners advancing to the Super Finals tournament on April 11–13, 2025
- Both divisions were divided into 4 groups
- Division 1 had 11 teams*, 6 of which would advance to the super finals
- Division 2 had 12 teams, 2 of which would advance to the super finals
- *Italy was suspended and therefore excluded from playing in the World Cup after protesting a brutality call that happened at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Spain, Hungary, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, and Japan moved on from division 1
- Netherlands and Germany moved on from division 2
The 2025 FINA Women’s Water Polo World Cup ran a similar format, with 2 divisions leading up to a super final.
Here are the results from the 2025 Men’s Super Finals tournament.
Spain won in the finals against Greece 16-14. Hungary came out ahead of Croatia for 3rd place in a tight shootout. By finishing in the top 3, Spain, Greece, and Hungary all qualified for the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore this July.
Here are the results from the 2025 Women’s Super Finals tournament.
Greece won their first World Cup gold by taking down Hungary in the final game 13-9.
Source: Wikipedia
The games are available to stream through a paywalled credit system implemented by World Aquatics.
Storylines from The Water Polo World Cup
Where was Team USA?
Team USA (men) lost at the division 1 tournament to Montenegro in the quarter-finals after winning their group. The roster looked a bit different from the Paris 2024 squad, missing stars like hole set Ben Hallock, but adding many new names and even a lefty. Team USA (women) went winless in the division 1 tournament and consequently did not make the super final.
New Rules Impact
The latest rule changes reduce the pool size and shorten the shot clock. Presumably, the intended effect is to increase the amount of goals scored in an effort to make the game more exciting to watch.
In 2023, the average goals scored per match was 21.83* compared to 30.27** in 2025.
