kids encyclopedia robot

Water polo at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Water polo at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament
Tournament details
Host country  Japan
Dates 17–29 July
Teams 16 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s) Marine Messe, Fukuoka
Final positions
Champions  Hungary (4th title)
Runner-up  Greece
Third place  Spain
Fourth place  Serbia
Tournament statistics
Matches 48
Goals scored 1177 (24.52 per match)
Top scorer(s) Strahinja Rašović
(25 goals)
Best player Gergő Zalánki
← Previous
Next

The men's water polo tournament at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships was held from 17 to 29 July 2023. This was the 20th time that the men's water polo tournament has been played since the first edition in 1973.

Hungary claimed their fourth title by defeating Greece in the final.

Qualification

Event Dates Hosts Quota Qualifier(s)
Host nation N/A N/A 1  Japan
2022 World League 8 January – 27 July 2022 France Strasbourg 2  Italy
 United States
2022 World Championships 21 June – 3 July 2022 Hungary Budapest 4  Spain
 Greece
 Croatia
 Serbia
2022 European Championship 29 August – 10 September 2022 Croatia Split 3  Hungary
 France
 Montenegro
2022 Asian Championship 7–14 November 2022 Thailand Samut Prakan 2  China
 Kazakhstan
2023 Pan American Water Polo Championships 3–8 April 2023 Brazil Bauru 2  Canada
 Brazil
 Argentina
African Wildcard N/A N/A 1  South Africa
Oceanian Wildcard N/A N/A 1  Australia
Total 16

Due the limited budget and the proximity of the date of the championship with the 2023 Pan American Games, Brazil opted for the withdrawal before the tournament and was replaced by Argentina.


Draw

The draw was held on 18 April 2023.

Seeding

The pots were announced on 12 April 2023.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
 Spain
 Greece
 Croatia
 Italy
 Serbia
 United States
 Canada
 Hungary
 Argentina
 Montenegro
 France
 Australia
 South Africa
 Japan
 China
 Kazakhstan

The draw resulted in the following groups:

Group A Group B Group C Group D
 United States  China  Croatia  South Africa
 Australia  France  Hungary  Serbia
 Kazakhstan  Canada  Argentina  Montenegro
 Greece  Italy  Japan  Spain

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+9).

Group A

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts
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 July 2023
09:00
Kazakhstan  5–18  United States Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Chisato Kurosaki (JPN), David Gómez (ESP)
Score by quarters: 1–5, 4–4, 0–4, 0–5
Markovich 3 Goals Abramson 5
17 July 2023
10:30
Australia  9–13  Greece Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Adrian-Tiberiu Alexandrescu (ROU), Veselin Mišković (MNE)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 1–3, 3–3, 3–5
Power 4 Goals Argyropoulos 3

19 July 2023
17:30
Greece  18–2  Kazakhstan Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Raffaele Colombo (ITA), Germán Moller (ARG)
Score by quarters: 6–1, 5–0, 4–1, 3–0
three players 3 Goals Akhmetov, Ruday 1
19 July 2023
20:30
United States  16–8  Australia Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Boris Margeta (SLO), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
Score by quarters: 3–4, 3–2, 4–1, 6–1
Daube 5 Goals Pavillard, Power 3

21 July 2023
13:30
United States  14–15  Greece Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Boris Margeta (SLO), Frank Ohme (GER)
Score by quarters: 3–3, 6–1, 2–4, 3–7
Irving 6 Goals Genidounias, Papanastasiou 4
21 July 2023
16:00
Australia  22–6  Kazakhstan Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Tamás Kovács-Csatlós (HUN), David Gómez (ESP)
Score by quarters: 7–2, 3–0, 4–2, 8–2
Negus, Poot 4 Goals Artyukh 2

Group B

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts
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 July 2023
12:00
Canada  13–10  China Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Tamás Kovács-Csatlós (HUN), Nenad Peris (CRO)
Score by quarters: 4–0, 3–6, 4–4, 2–0
Constantin-Bicari, Gardijan 3 Goals Peng 4
17 July 2023
13:30
France  6–13  Italy Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Vojin Putniković (SRB), Michiel Zwartt (NED)
Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–3, 0–3, 1–5
Crousillat, Khasz 2 Goals Fondelli 4

19 July 2023
09:00
Italy  24–6  Canada Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Tamás Kovács-Csatlós (HUN), David Gómez (ESP)
Score by quarters: 6–0, 4–2, 8–4, 6–0
three players 4 Goals Constantin-Bicari 3
19 July 2023
10:30
China  8–17  France Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Michiel Zwartt (NED), Veselin Mišković (MNE)
Score by quarters: 1–4, 4–6, 0–4, 3–3
Chen R., Xie 2 Goals Marzouki 4

21 July 2023
17:30
China  5–18  Italy Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Veselin Mišković (MNE), Germán Moller (ARG)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 1–7, 2–6, 0–3
Chen Z. 2 Goals Condemi, Di Fulvio 4
21 July 2023
20:30
France  15–11  Canada Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Nenad Peris (CRO), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
Score by quarters: 5–4, 5–3, 3–2, 2–2
three players 3 Goals three players 3

Group C

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts
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 July 2023
16:00
Argentina  5–24  Croatia Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
David Couper (NZL), Jennifer McCall (USA)
Score by quarters: 2–8, 1–4, 0–7, 2–5
five players 1 Goals Marinić Kragić 5
17 July 2023
19:00
Hungary  16–8  Japan Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Zhang Liang (CHN), Nicola Johnson (AUS)
Score by quarters: 4–4, 3–2, 3–1, 6–1
Jansik, Zalánki 4 Goals Suzuki, Takata 2

19 July 2023
12:00
Croatia  10–12  Hungary Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Adrian-Tiberiu Alexandrescu (ROU), Frank Ohme (GER)
Score by quarters: 1–3, 2–2, 3–3, 4–4
three players 2 Goals Zalánki 3
19 July 2023
19:00
Japan  20–9  Argentina Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Zhang Liang (CHN), Darren Spiritsanto (USA)
Score by quarters: 6–1, 4–2, 4–2, 6–4
Watanabe 5 Goals Martino 3

21 July 2023
09:00
Hungary  21–13  Argentina Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Zhang Liang (CHN), Alessia Ferrari (ITA)
Score by quarters: 7–1, 5–4, 4–4, 5–4
Vigvári 4 Goals Camnasio, Corsi 3
21 July 2023
19:00
Croatia  17–12  Japan Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Michiel Zwartt (NED)
Score by quarters: 4–3, 3–3, 8–3, 2–3
Kharkov 4 Goals Adachi 4

Group D

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts
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 July 2023
17:30
Montenegro  35–10  South Africa Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Sebastien Dervieux (FRA), Georgios Stavridis (GRE)
Score by quarters: 6–1, 10–0, 9–5, 10–4
Radović 7 Goals four players 2
17 July 2023
20:30
Serbia  14–16  Spain Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Boris Margeta (SLO), Raffaele Colombo (ITA)
Score by quarters: 2–3, 3–5, 5–5, 4–3
Rašović 6 Goals Granados 5

19 July 2023
13:30
Spain  11–7  Montenegro Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Sebastien Dervieux (FRA)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–2, 4–2, 2–1
Perrone 5 Goals Đurđić 2
19 July 2023
16:00
South Africa  5–30  Serbia Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
David Couper (NZL), Chisato Kurosaki (JPN)
Score by quarters: 1–8, 1–9, 1–7, 2–6
Laurenson 2 Goals Jakšić, Rašović 6

21 July 2023
10:30
South Africa  6–27  Spain Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Sebastien Dervieux (FRA), Natalia Markopoulou (GRE)
Score by quarters: 2–8, 2–7, 2–8, 0–4
Badenhorst 2 Goals Valera 5
21 July 2023
12:00
Serbia  17–15  Montenegro Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Adrian-Tiberiu Alexandrescu (ROU), Darren Spiritsanto (USA)
Score by quarters: 3–6, 4–2, 2–3, 4–2  PSO: 4–2
Vučinić 5 Goals Matković 3

Knockout stage

Bracket

Championship bracket
 
Playoffs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
 
                           
 
 
 
 
25 July
 
 
 Greece 10
 
23 July
 
 Montenegro 9
 
 Croatia 12
 
27 July
 
 Montenegro 13
 
 Greece 13
 
 
 Serbia 7
 
 
25 July
 
 
 Italy 11 (3)
 
23 July
 
 Serbia (PSO) 11 (4)
 
 Japan 10
 
29 July
 
 Serbia 16
 
 Greece 10 (3)
 
 
 Hungary (PSO) 10 (4)
 
 
25 July
 
 
 Hungary 13
 
23 July
 
 United States 12
 
 United States 13
 
27 July
 
 Canada 10
 
 Hungary 12
 
 
 Spain 11 Third place
 
 
25 July 29 July
 
 
 Spain 7  Serbia 6
 
23 July
 
 France 6  Spain 9
 
 Australia 8
 
 
 France 11
 
5th place bracket
 
5th–8th place semifinals Fifth place game
 
           
 
27 July
 
 
 Montenegro 6
 
29 July
 
 Italy 10
 
 Italy 16
 
27 July
 
 France 9
 
 United States 13 (3)
 
 
 France (PSO) 13 (5)
 
Seventh place game
 
 
29 July
 
 
 Montenegro 12 (3)
 
 
 United States (PSO) 12 (5)
9th place bracket
 
9th–12th place semifinals Ninth place game
 
           
 
25 July
 
 
 Canada 5
 
27 July
 
 Croatia 13
 
 Croatia 17
 
25 July
 
 Australia 10
 
 Australia 16
 
 
 Japan 15
 
Eleventh place game
 
 
27 July
 
 
 Canada 11
 
 
 Japan 23
13th place bracket
 
13th–16th place semifinals 13th place game
 
           
 
23 July
 
 
 Kazakhstan 12
 
25 July
 
 China 5
 
 Kazakhstan 7
 
23 July
 
 Argentina 11
 
 Argentina 15
 
 
 South Africa 6
 
15th place game
 
 
25 July
 
 
 China 16
 
 
 South Africa 8

Playoffs

23 July 2023
14:00
United States  13–10  Canada Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Sebastien Dervieux (FRA), David Gómez (ESP)
Score by quarters: 3–1, 3–4, 2–1, 5–4
Daube 7 Goals Constantin-Bicari 4

23 July 2023
15:30
Australia  8–11  France Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Adrian-Tiberiu Alexandrescu (ROU), Darren Spiritsanto (USA)
Score by quarters: 0–4, 5–2, 2–4, 1–1
Negus, Pavillard 2 Goals Vernoux 4

23 July 2023
17:00
Croatia  12–13  Montenegro Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Boris Margeta (SLO), Michiel Zwartt (NED)
Score by quarters: 3–2, 0–3, 5–4, 4–4
Marinić Kragić 4 Goals Matković, Radović 4

23 July 2023
18:30
Japan  10–16  Serbia Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Tamás Kovács-Csatlós (HUN), Veselin Mišković (MNE)
Score by quarters: 3–3, 2–3, 2–7, 3–3
Inaba 4 Goals Radulović, Rašović 3

Quarterfinals

25 July 2023
15:00
Greece  10–9  Montenegro Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Boris Margeta (SLO), Tamás Kovács-Csatlós (HUN)
Score by quarters: 2–1, 4–3, 1–3, 3–2
Genidounias 5 Goals Radović 3

25 July 2023
16:30
Italy  14–15  Serbia Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Michiel Zwartt (NED), Frank Ohme (GER)
Score by quarters: 3–3, 2–2, 4–4, 2–2  PSO: 3–4
Di Fulvio 3 Goals Rašović 4

25 July 2023
18:00
Hungary  13–12  United States Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Adrian-Tiberiu Alexandrescu (ROU), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
Score by quarters: 4–4, 3–1, 3–2, 3–5
Zalánki 6 Goals Bowen 4

25 July 2023
19:30
Spain  7–6  France Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Raffaele Colombo (ITA)
Score by quarters: 1–2, 1–2, 2–1, 3–1
Tahull 2 Goals Bouet, Crousillat 2

13–16th place semifinals

23 July 2023
09:00
Kazakhstan  12–5  China Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Chisato Kurosaki (JPN), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
Score by quarters: 1–1, 4–0, 3–1, 4–3
Markovich 4 Goals Xie Z. 3

23 July 2023
10:30
Argentina  15–6  South Africa Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Nóra Debreceni (HUN), David Couper (NZL)
Score by quarters: 3–0, 4–2, 5–1, 3–3
Camnasio 4 Goals Wheeler 2

9–12th place semifinals

25 July 2023
12:00
Canada  5–13  Croatia Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Veselin Mišković (MNE), Zhang Liang (CHN)
Score by quarters: 2–3, 1–3, 1–5, 1–2
five players 1 Goals Butić, Lazić 3

25 July 2023
13:30
Australia  16–15  Japan Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
David Gómez (ESP), Darren Spiritsanto (USA)
Score by quarters: 5–3, 4–7, 4–3, 3–2
Pavillard 4 Goals Adachi, Takata 4

5–8th place semifinals

27 July 2023
14:00
Montenegro  6–10  Italy Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Adrian-Tiberiu Alexandrescu (ROU), Tamás Kovács-Csatlós (HUN)
Score by quarters: 1–1, 1–3, 2–3, 2–3
Perković 3 Goals Damonte 3

27 July 2023
15:30
United States  16–18  France Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Michiel Zwartt (NED), David Gómez (ESP)
Score by quarters: 3–1, 3–3, 5–4, 2–5  PSO: 3–5
Bowen 5 Goals Crousillat, Vernoux 3

Semifinals

27 July 2023
17:00
Greece  13–7  Serbia Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Nenad Peris (CRO), Raffaele Colombo (ITA)
Score by quarters: 3–2, 3–0, 3–3, 4–2
Argyropoulos, Kakaris 3 Goals Jakšić, Rašović 2

27 July 2023
18:30
Hungary  12–11  Spain Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Boris Margeta (SLO), Frank Ohme (GER)
Score by quarters: 3–3, 1–3, 3–2, 5–3
Manhercz 3 Goals three players 2

15th place game

25 July 2023
09:00
China  16–8  South Africa Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Germán Moller (ARG), Hélène Painchaud (CAN)
Score by quarters: 3–2, 4–2, 4–1, 5–3
Chen Z. 7 Goals Badenhorst, Howard 2

13th place game

25 July 2023
10:30
Kazakhstan  7–11  Argentina Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Marta Cabanas (ESP), Lee-Anne Stewart (RSA)
Score by quarters: 1–5, 1–1, 3–3, 2–2
Markovich, Vuksanovich 2 Goals Corsi 4

Eleventh place game

27 July 2023
09:00
Canada  11–23  Japan Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Vojin Putniković (SRB), Darren Spiritosanto (USA)
Score by quarters: 3–6, 3–6, 2–8, 3–3
Djerkovic 3 Goals Inaba 5

Ninth place game

27 July 2023
10:30
Croatia  17–10  Australia Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Georgios Stavridis (GRE), Veselin Mišković (MNE)
Score by quarters: 3–2, 5–4, 6–2, 3–2
Vukičević 5 Goals Poot 3

Seventh place game

29 July 2023
11:30
Montenegro  15–17  United States Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Matan Schwartz (ISR), Zhang Liang (CHN)
Score by quarters: 3–3, 4–4, 3–3, 2–2  PSO: 3–5
three players 2 Goals Hallock 4

Fifth place game

29 July 2023
16:30
Italy  16–9  France Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Tamás Kovács-Csatlós (HUN), Veselin Mišković (MNE)
Score by quarters: 1–2, 3–2, 7–3, 5–2
Di Fulvio 5 Goals Crousillat 3

Third place game

29 July 2023
13:00
Serbia  6–9  Spain Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Frank Ohme (GER), Raffaele Colombo (ITA)
Score by quarters: 3–3, 2–3, 0–2, 1–1
Rašović 3 Goals Granados 3

Final

29 July 2023
18:00
Greece  13–14  Hungary Marine Messe Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Referees:
Michiel Zwartt (NED), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
Score by quarters: 2–4, 2–1, 3–2, 3–3  PSO: 3–4
Genidounias 4 Goals Manhercz, Zalánki 3

Final ranking

Statistics and awards

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Goals Shots %
1 Strahinja Rašović 25 45 56
2 Hannes Daube 22 48 46
3 Nikola Jakšić 20 43 47
4 Gergő Zalánki 19 36 53
5 Konstantinos Genidounias 18 39 46
Đuro Radović 35 51
7 Francesco Di Fulvio 17 34 50
Yusuke Inaba 45 38
9 Ugo Crousillat 16 34 47
Taiyo Watanabe 33 48

Awards

The awards were announced on 29 July 2023.

All-star team
Goalkeeper Emmanouil Zerdevas
Field player Hannes Daube
Krisztián Manhercz
Alexandros Papanastasiou
Felipe Perrone
Strahinja Rašović
Gergő Zalánki
Other awards
MVP Gergő Zalánki
Best goalkeeper Emmanouil Zerdevas
kids search engine
Water polo at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.