Water polo at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament

Water polo at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament

Tournament details
Venue(s)	South Korea (in Gwangju host cities)
Dates	15–27 July
Teams	16 (from 5 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	Italy (4th title)
Runner-up	Spain
Third place	Croatia
Fourth place	Hungary
Tournament statistics
Matches played	48
Goals scored	1,020 (21.25 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Aleksandar Ivović (21 goals)
Best player	Francesco Di Fulvio

The men's water polo tournament at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, organised by the FINA, was held in Gwangju, South Korea from 15 to 27 July. This was the eighteenth time that the men's water polo tournament has been played since the first edition in 1973.

Italy defeated Spain in the final to win their fourth title, while Croatia won against Hungary to capture the bronze medal.

Participating teams

For the complete team rosters, see Water polo at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships – Men's team rosters.

Africa	Americas	Asia	Europe	Oceania
South Africa	Brazil United States	Japan Kazakhstan South Korea	Croatia Germany Greece Hungary Italy Montenegro Serbia Spain	Australia New Zealand

Draw

The draw was held on 7 April 2019.

Seeding

The seedings were announced on 6 February 2019.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Serbia Australia Hungary Germany	Montenegro Spain Croatia Brazil	Greece United States Italy New Zealand	South Africa Kazakhstan Japan South Korea

Groups formed

The draw resulted in the following groups:

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Greece	Australia	Hungary	Brazil
Montenegro	Croatia	New Zealand	Germany
Serbia	Kazakhstan	South Africa	Italy
South Korea	United States	Spain	Japan

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+9).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Serbia	3	2	1	0	41	15	+26	5	Quarterfinals
2	Montenegro	3	1	2	0	44	26	+18	4	Playoffs
3	Greece	3	1	1	1	39	22	+17	3
4	South Korea (H)	3	0	0	3	11	72	−61	0

Source: Sportresult
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) Hosts

15 July 2019 08:30	Report	Serbia	10–10	Montenegro	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Arkadi Voevodin (RUS), Michiel Zwart (NED)
		Score by quarters: 4–3, 2–2, 2–4, 2–1
		S. Rašović 4	Goals	four players 2

15 July 2019 09:50	Report	South Korea	3–26	Greece	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Jeremy Cheng (SGP), Gabriella Várkonyi (HUN)
		Score by quarters: 0–7, 0–7, 1–3, 2–9
		Kim D. 2	Goals	three players 4

---

17 July 2019 19:10	Report	Greece	10–10	Montenegro	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU), Alessandro Severo (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 1–2, 4–4, 2–1
		three players 2	Goals	Janović 3

17 July 2019 20:30	Report	Serbia	22–2	South Korea	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Ni Shi Wei (CHN), John Waldow (NZL)
		Score by quarters: 6–1, 5–0, 4–1, 7–0
		Jakšić 5	Goals	Han H., Lee Seong. 1

---

19 July 2019 16:30	Report	Serbia	9–3	Greece	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Germán Moller (ARG)
		Score by quarters: 3–1, 3–2, 0–0, 3–0
		Mandić 4	Goals	three players 1

19 July 2019 17:50	Report	South Korea	6–24	Montenegro	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Alessandro Severo (ITA), Ni Shi Wei (CHN)
		Score by quarters: 1–6, 1–4, 1–8, 3–6
		Han H., Lee Seonu. 2	Goals	Ivović 6

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Croatia	3	3	0	0	52	16	+36	6	Quarterfinals
2	United States	3	2	0	1	35	35	0	4	Playoffs
3	Australia	3	1	0	2	32	34	−2	2
4	Kazakhstan	3	0	0	3	20	54	−34	0

Source: Sportresult
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.

15 July 2019 11:10	Report	United States	16–7	Kazakhstan	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Georgios Stavridis (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 4–2, 3–2, 5–2
		Bowen 4	Goals	seven players 1

15 July 2019 12:30	Report	Croatia	14–4	Australia	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Germán Moller (ARG), Alessandro Severo (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 2–1, 4–0, 4–2
		Vukičević 6	Goals	Younger 2

---

17 July 2019 08:30	Report	Australia	17–8	Kazakhstan	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Germán Moller (ARG), Dion Willis (RSA)
		Score by quarters: 4–1, 5–1, 3–4, 5–2
		Howden 4	Goals	Zhardan 3

17 July 2019 09:50	Report	United States	7–17	Croatia	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), Daniel Flahive (AUS)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 3–5, 2–4, 1–4
		Ramirez 2	Goals	four players 3

---

19 July 2019 19:10	Report	United States	12–11	Australia	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Adrian Alxandrescu (ROU), Arkadiy Voevodin (RUS)
		Score by quarters: 4–3, 3–3, 2–2, 3–3
		Cupido 3	Goals	four players 2

19 July 2019 20:30	Report	Croatia	21–5	Kazakhstan	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Sebastien Dervieux (FRA), Michiel Zwart (NED)
		Score by quarters: 6–1, 5–1, 5–1, 5–2
		Joković, Šetka 3	Goals	five players 1

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hungary	3	3	0	0	60	20	+40	6	Quarterfinals
2	Spain	3	2	0	1	57	19	+38	4	Playoffs
3	South Africa	3	0	1	2	16	54	−38	1
4	New Zealand	3	0	1	2	15	55	−40	1

Source: Sportresult
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.

15 July 2019 16:30	Report	South Africa	3–23	Spain	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: John Waldow (NZL), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 1–6, 1–5, 1–4, 0–8
		Rodda 2	Goals	Mallarach 5

15 July 2019 17:50	Report	New Zealand	4–24	Hungary	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: An Jin-yong (KOR), Dion Willis (RSA)
		Score by quarters: 0–4, 1–7, 2–6, 1–7
		four players 1	Goals	Zalánki 4

---

17 July 2019 11:10	Report	Hungary	13–11	Spain	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Boris Margenta (SLO), Michael Goldenberg (USA)
		Score by quarters: 4–2, 5–4, 3–0, 1–5
		Zalánki 3	Goals	Granados 3

17 July 2019 12:30	Report	South Africa	8–8	New Zealand	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Stanko Ivanovski (MNE)
		Score by quarters: 2–0, 2–2, 2–4, 2–2
		three players 2	Goals	Small 2

---

19 July 2019 08:30	Report	South Africa	5–23	Hungary	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Michael Goldenberg (USA), An Jin-yong (KOR)
		Score by quarters: 1–5, 2–5, 0–8, 2–5
		Badenhorst 2	Goals	Zalánki 5

19 July 2019 09:50	Report	New Zealand	3–23	Spain	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Jeremy Cheng (SGP), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 0–8, 1–5, 1–7, 1–3
		three players 1	Goals	Barosso 6

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Italy	3	3	0	0	31	19	+12	6	Quarterfinals
2	Germany	3	1	1	1	31	25	+6	3	Playoffs
3	Japan	3	1	1	1	27	27	0	3
4	Brazil	3	0	0	3	22	40	−18	0

Source: Sportresult
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.

15 July 2019 19:10	Report	Brazil	5–14	Italy	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Stanko Ivanovski (MNE), Jaume Teixidó (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 3–5, 1–2, 0–5, 1–2
		Guimarães 2	Goals	Luongo 4

15 July 2019 20:30	Report	Germany	9–9	Japan	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Michael Goldenberg (USA), Daniel Flahive (AUS)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 4–3, 1–3, 1–1
		Stamm 3	Goals	Arai 3

---

17 July 2019 16:30	Report	Japan	7–9	Italy	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Sebastien Dervieux (FRA), Jaume Teixidó (ESP)
		Score by quarters: 0–2, 2–1, 4–4, 1–2
		Arai, Inaba 2	Goals	Figlioli 4

17 July 2019 17:50	Report	Brazil	8–15	Germany	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Nenad Periš (CRO), Arkadiy Voevodin (RUS)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 1–6, 2–2, 4–3
		Coutinho 3	Goals	Stamm 5

---

19 July 2019 11:10	Report	Brazil	9–11	Japan	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Nenad Periš (CRO), Viktor Salnichenko (KAZ)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 1–5, 3–3, 3–1
		Guimarães 3	Goals	Shiga, Yoshida 3

19 July 2019 12:30	Report	Germany	7–8	Italy	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Stanko Ivanovski (MNE), Daniel Flahive (AUS)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–3, 3–2, 0–2
		Eidner 3	Goals	Aicardi, Di Fulvio 2

Knockout stage

Bracket

Championship bracket

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

23 July

Serbia

9

21 July

Spain

12

Spain

15

25 July

Japan

7

Spain

6

Croatia

5

23 July

Croatia

10

21 July

Germany

8

South Africa

5

27 July

Germany

25

Spain

5

Italy

10

23 July

Hungary

10

21 July

Australia

9

Montenegro

11

25 July

Australia (PSO)

13

Hungary

10

Italy

12

Third place game

23 July

27 July

Italy

7

Croatia

10

21 July

Greece

6

Hungary

7

Greece

11

United States

9

5th place bracket

	5th–8th place semifinals				Fifth place game
	25 July
	Serbia (PSO)	17
					27 July
	Germany	16
					Serbia	13
	25 July
					Australia	9
	Australia	9
	Greece	8
					Seventh place game
					27 July
					Germany	6
					Greece	11

9th place bracket

	9th–12th place semifinals				Ninth place game
	23 July
	Montenegro	14
					25 July
	Japan	7
					Montenegro	14
	23 July
					United States	15
	United States	20
	South Africa	3
					Eleventh place game
					25 July
					Japan	15
					South Africa	5

13th place bracket

	13th–16th place semifinals				13th place game
	21 July
	South Korea	4
					23 July
	Kazakhstan	17
					Kazakhstan	8
	21 July
					Brazil	9
	New Zealand	8
	Brazil	12
					15th place game
					23 July
					South Korea (PSO)	17
					New Zealand	16

Playoffs

21 July 2019 14:00	Report	Montenegro	11–13	Australia	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Michael Goldenberg (USA), Viktor Salnichenko (KAZ)
		Score by quarters: 1–3, 3–2, 4–2, 1–2  PSO: 2–4
		Ivović 3	Goals	Kayes 4

---

21 July 2019 15:30	Report	Greece	11–9	United States	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Germán Moller (ARG), Sebastien Dervieux (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 3–4, 3–2, 2–2, 3–1
		Genidounias 4	Goals	three players 2

---

21 July 2019 17:00	Report	Spain	15–7	Japan	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Arkadiy Voevodin (RUS), Dion Willis (RSA)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 3–3, 4–2, 6–1
		Munarriz 6	Goals	Adachi 2

---

21 July 2019 18:30	Report	South Africa	5–25	Germany	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Jaume Teixidó (ESP), Juan Menéndez (CUB)
		Score by quarters: 2–5, 0–6, 1–9, 2–5
		five players 1	Goals	Gielen 6

Quarterfinals

23 July 2019 14:00	Report	Serbia	9–12	Spain	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Michiel Zwart (NED)
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 2–5, 4–3, 2–2
		S. Rašović 4	Goals	three players 2

---

23 July 2019 15:30	Report	Croatia	10–8	Germany	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Michael Goldenberg (USA), Stanko Ivanovski (MNE)
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 3–1, 3–3, 3–2
		Joković 3	Goals	Gielen 3

---

23 July 2019 17:00	Report	Hungary	10–9	Australia	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Arkadiy Voevodin (RUS), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 2–3, 3–1, 2–2
		Vámos, Zalánki 3	Goals	four players 2

---

23 July 2019 18:30	Report	Italy	7–6	Greece	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 2–1, 2–3, 1–0
		Di Fulvio, Luongo 2	Goals	Genidounias, Gounas 2

13th–16th place semifinals

21 July 2019 10:30	Report	South Korea	4–17	Kazakhstan	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
		Score by quarters: 1–4, 2–4, 0–7, 1–2
		four players 1	Goals	Aubakirov 4

---

21 July 2019 12:00	Report	New Zealand	8–12	Brazil	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Frank Ohme (GER), Kunihiro Sato (JPN)
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 4–6, 2–2, 1–2
		Small 3	Goals	P. Real, Guimarães 3

9th–12th place semifinals

23 July 2019 11:00	Report	Montenegro	14–7	Japan	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Germán Moller (ARG), Alessandro Severo (ITA)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 4–1, 4–3, 3–1
		Ivović, Murišić 3	Goals	Arai, Inaba 2

---

23 July 2019 12:30	Report	United States	20–3	South Africa	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Jeremy Cheng (SGP), Daniel Flahive (AUS)
		Score by quarters: 5–0, 8–1, 5–2, 2–0
		three players 4	Goals	three players 1

5th–8th place semifinals

25 July 2019 14:00	Report	Serbia	17–16	Germany	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Dion Willis (RSA), Sebastien Dervieux (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 3–3, 2–3, 4–3  PSO: 5–4
		Mandić 5	Goals	three players 2

---

25 July 2019 15:30	Report	Australia	9–8	Greece	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Michael Goldenberg (USA), Nenad Peris (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–3, 3–3, 1–0
		Kayes 3	Goals	Kapotsis, Kolomvos 2

Semifinals

25 July 2019 17:00	Report	Spain	6–5	Croatia	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–1, 2–0, 0–3
		Mallarach 2	Goals	Joković 3

---

25 July 2019 18:30	Report	Hungary	10–12	Italy	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Michiel Zwart (NED), Boris Margeta (SLO)
		Score by quarters: 4–2, 1-5, 2-2, 3-3
		three players 2	Goals	Echenique 4

15th place game

23 July 2019 08:00	Report	South Korea	17–16	New Zealand	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Jaume Teixidó (ESP), Sebastien Dervieux (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 2–2, 4–5, 3–2  PSO: 5–4
		Gwon Y-g 3	Goals	Lewis 4

13th place game

23 July 2019 09:30	Report	Kazakhstan	8–9	Brazil	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Nenad Peris (CRO), Frank Ohme (GER)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 2–2, 1–2, 2–2
		three players 2	Goals	Real 3

Eleventh place game

25 July 2019 09:30	Report	Japan	15–5	South Africa	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Viktor Salnichenko (KAZ), Juan Menéndez (CUB)
		Score by quarters: 5–1, 4–1, 3–2, 3–1
		Inaba, Shimizu 3	Goals	Evezard 2

Ninth place game

25 July 2019 11:00	Report	Montenegro	14–15	United States	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Frank Ohme (GER), Daniel Flahive (AUS)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 6–4, 4–4, 2–3
		Ivović 6	Goals	Hooper 4

Seventh place game

27 July 2019 14:00	Report	Germany	6–11	Greece	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Stanko Ivanovski (MNE), Nenad Peris (CRO)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–3, 0–2, 2–5
		Stamm 2	Goals	Dervisis 3

Fifth place game

27 July 2019 15:30	Report	Serbia	13–9	Australia	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Dion Willis (RSA), Sebastien Dervieux (FRA)
		Score by quarters: 6–1, 3–2, 1–2, 3–4
		Ćuk, Rašović 4	Goals	Ford, Younger 2

Third place game

27 July 2019 17:00	Report	Croatia	10–7	Hungary	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Adrian Alexandrescu (ROU), Georgios Stavridis (GRE)
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 2–2, 2–2, 4–2
		Joković 6	Goals	Hárai, Manhercz 2

Final

27 July 2019 18:30	Report	Spain	5–10	Italy	Nambu University Aquatics Center, Gwangju Referees: Boris Margeta (SLO), Michael Goldenberg (USA)
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 1–3, 1–3, 1–2
		Perrone 2	Goals	Dolce 2

Final ranking

	Qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games
	Qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games as winner of 2019 World League

Rank	Team
	Italy
	Spain
	Croatia
4	Hungary
5	Serbia
6	Australia
7	Greece
8	Germany
9	United States
10	Montenegro
11	Japan
12	South Africa
13	Brazil
14	Kazakhstan
15	South Korea
16	New Zealand

2019 Men's Water Polo World Champions Italy Fourth title Team roster: Marco Del Lungo, Francesco Di Fulvio, Stefano Luongo, Pietro Figlioli (C), Edoardo Di Somma, Alessandro Velotto, Vincenzo Renzuto, Gonzalo Echenique, Niccolò Figari, Michaël Bodegas, Matteo Aicardi, Vincenzo Dolce, Gianmarco Nicosia Head coach: Sandro Campagna

Medalists

Gold	Silver	Bronze
Italy Marco Del Lungo Francesco Di Fulvio Stefano Luongo Pietro Figlioli (c) Edoardo Di Somma Alessandro Velotto Vincenzo Renzuto Gonzalo Echenique Niccolò Figari Michaël Bodegas Matteo Aicardi Vincenzo Dolce Gianmarco Nicosia Head coach: Alessandro Campagna	Spain Daniel López Alberto Munarriz Álvaro Granados Miguel de Toro Sergi Cabanas Marc Larumbe Alberto Barroso Macarro Francisco Fernández Miranda Roger Tahull Felipe Perrone (c) Blai Mallarach Alejandro Bustos Eduardo Lorrio Head coach: David Lozano	Croatia Marko Bijač Marko Macan Loren Fatović Luka Lončar Maro Joković Hrvoje Benić Ante Vukičević Andro Bušlje (c) Lovre Miloš Josip Vrlić Anđelo Šetka Xavier García Ivan Marcelić Head coach: Ivica Tucak

Awards and statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Shots	%
1	Aleksandar Ivović	Montenegro	21	35	60
2	Maro Joković	Croatia	19	30	63
3	Gergő Zalánki	Hungary	18	39	46
4	Strahinja Rašović	Serbia	16	29	55
5	Joe Kayes	Australia	15	29	52
	Luuk Gielen	Germany		34	44
	Álvaro Granados	Spain		38	39
	Blai Mallarach	Spain		40	38
	Alberto Munarriz	Spain		34	44
10	Marko Stamm	Germany	14	33	42
	Dušan Mandić	Serbia		31	45
	Johnny Hooper	United States		20	70

Awards

The awards and all-star team were announced on 26 July 2019.

Most Valuable Player

• Francesco Di Fulvio

Most Valuable Goalkeeper

• Daniel López

Highest Goalscorer

• Aleksandar Ivović – 21 goals

Media All-Star Team

• Daniel López – Goalkeeper
• Roger Tahull – Centre forward
• Francesco Di Fulvio
• Aleksandar Ivović
• Maro Joković
• Dušan Mandić
• Gergő Zalánki

External links

• 18th FINA World Championships 2019 FINA Water Polo website
• Records and statistics (reports by Omega) Archived 2019-08-08 at the Wayback Machine
• Men Water Polo XVIII World Championship 2019 Gwuangju, South Korea www.todor66.com