Belgrade 2026: European Water Polo Championships Day 8 Match Previews
Men's European Water Polo Championships, Belgrade 2026
Match Previews, Day 8 - Saturday, January 17 (local times shown)
Group Stage II, Group F
15:30 Georgia vs Italy
Italy is poised to maintain its flawless record as it prepares to face its two formidable rivals, Greece and Croatia. Georgia, on the other hand, has consistently been drawn into the same group with Italy throughout its European Championship appearances, never managing to cause an upset.
Here's a look at the results since Georgia's debut in 2014:
- 2014: 15-5
- 2016: 21-1
- 2018: 14-3
- 2020: 18-6
- 2022: 18-8
- 2024: 22-5
The teams have played one close match, a World League qualifier in 2017, which Italy won 13-12. Overall, Italy leads 9-0.
Fun Fact: Italy dominated the group stage in terms of offence, scoring the most goals (56) and taking the most shots (117). However, their shooting percentage of 47.9% ranked only 5th (behind Hungary, Greece, Croatia, and Spain).
Group Stage II, Group F
18:00 Greece vs Türkiye
After a thrilling victory over Croatia, Greece may face a more manageable opponent in Türkiye, who have historically played in classification matches for lower ranks. The Greeks won their previous encounter with Türkiye in 2016 with ease, 21-6, and repeated the victory in 2018 in Barcelona, 27-1. Their head-to-head record stands at 7-0.
Fun Fact: This match will be a special occasion for the coaches, Theodoros Vlachos of Greece and Konstantinos Loudis of Türkiye. Both are fellow Greeks and were born in the same year (1969). They made their European Championship debut together in 1989 in Bonn. While Vlachos played in major tournaments for the national team only once, Loudis became a key player, continuing to play for Greece until 2003. As coaches, their roles have reversed, with Vlachos leading Greece for 14 seasons and Loudis recently joining the Turkish team, with his impact already evident.
Group Stage II, Group F
20:30 Croatia vs Romania
Croatia now faces pressure, needing to win all three matches in the second stage to secure a semi-final spot. Romania, while mathematically possible, would need to beat both Croatia and Greece, which is highly unlikely.
Despite Croatia's strong record at the Europeans, their head-to-head with Romania is surprisingly even, with 2 wins and 2 losses. The first encounter, in 1993, was an embarrassing loss for Croatia, but Romania achieved their best-ever finish (4th place) by beating them in the group stage. Romania also contributed to Croatia's worst-ever finish at the Europeans, beating them in a shootout (12-12, 4-3) after the favorites won 10-7 on the opening day.
Their most recent match was at the Paris Olympics, where Croatia won narrowly, 11-8. Three years earlier, Croatia defeated Romania 16-6 in a Qualification tournament.
Fun Fact: Both teams are built around their respective leading home clubs. Croatia has 9 players from Mladost Zagreb, while Romania has 9 players from Steaua Bucharest. Interestingly, Mladost is set to advance to the Quarter-final Round of the Champions League, while Steaua has no chance of reaching the eight-finals in the Euro Cup, having lost all five matches so far.
13th-16th Classification
10:15 Slovenia vs Israel
Slovenia's victory over Slovakia on Friday was a significant achievement, and they now face Israel, who have yet to secure any points in Belgrade after four straight defeats.
Israel is the only team in the entire field with zero points from four matches.
These two teams met four years ago, with Israel winning 9-5 in the group stage to advance to the top 12.
12:45 Slovakia vs Malta
Slovakia managed to tie the game against Slovenia on Friday but lost the shootout. They are yet to win a game in Belgrade but have secured at least one point. Now, they face Malta, who defeated Israel in the first round.
Slovakia has won all three matches at the Europeans, each in the crossovers for the 13-16th places. The first was in Belgrade in 2016, ending in a 17-9 rout. The following two matches were more balanced, with scores of 11-6 in 2018 and 8-4 in 2020.
Their most recent clash was in 2024 at the World Cup Division II, where Malta secured a victory over Slovakia for the first time, 15-14.
Watch all the action live from Belgrade on Eurovision Sport (https://eurovisionsport.com/)
For the full schedule, results, and tables from the European Championships, visit (https://europeanaquatics.org/ewpc-2026/belgrade/schedule-and-results/#/schedule-bydate/ASM)
For tickets to all the games at the men's European Water Polo Championships in Belgrade, click here (https://tickets.rs/tour/europeanaquaticswaterpolochampionshipmenbelgrade20262321)
Stay tuned to the European Aquatics Water Polo social media accounts for more news and live updates on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Euro.Waterpolo) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/euro.waterpolo/)
Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
