Belgrade 2026: Day 1 Water Polo Match Previews & Predictions! (2026)

Belgrade 2026: Day 1 Match Previews

Men's European Water Polo Championships, Belgrade 2026

Match Previews, Day 1 - Saturday, January 10 (local times shown)

Hungary, the all-time medal leader with 13 titles and 26 medals (13-7-6), is celebrating the 100th anniversary of their first European title, won in 1926 in Budapest. Since 1993, they've only missed the semis once (2018) and have claimed 13 medals.
France, who won silver in 1927, has been consistently ranked in the top 8 until 1958. They achieved their best result in 2022, finishing 6th in Split, but dropped to 9th place two years prior.
The teams met twice in the recent prep season, with Hungary winning both: a tied game with a buzzer-beater shootout in Paris and a 20-7 victory in Trebinje.
Their last match at the Europeans was in 2014, with Hungary winning 12-7 in the group stage in Budapest.
Recent major tournament clashes saw Hungary win the Paris Olympics opener (13-12) and the World Cup Division I tournament (15-10), while France caused an upset at the Doha 2024 World Championships, beating Hungary 11-10 in the quarter-finals after trailing by four goals at halftime.
Fun fact: Coaches Zsolt Varga (Hungary) and Vjekoslav Kobescak (France) played together in Mladost Zagreb in the late 1990s and often shared hotel rooms on trips.

Group A

18.00 Malta vs Montenegro

Malta, making its sixth appearance, typically finishes 15th or 16th, with a best finish of 14th in 2022.
Montenegro, debuting in 2008, won the European title in Malaga. They've reached the semis four times, winning silver in 2012 and 2016 (in Belgrade Arena). In the last four editions, they've finished 6th in 2024.
Malta and Montenegro met in 2018, with Montenegro winning 17-5.
Fun fact: Montenegro's coach, Dejan Savic, led Serbia to European triumph in 2016 in Belgrade Arena, defeating Montenegro in the final before a record 18,473 spectators.

Group C

12.45 Israel vs Spain

Israel, making its fourth appearance, finished 12th in Split and 16th in Zagreb/Dubrovnik two years ago.
Spain, who won the European Championship in 2024, had three silver and four bronze medals before that, but no gold until 2024.
Spain has made the podium in 11 major events since 2018, except for the Olympics, where they've been empty-handed in the last seven editions since 1996.
Spain is the European title-holder, reigning world champion, and World Cup winner.
This is the first match between the two teams.
Fun fact: Spain has only one regular-time loss in the last four European Championship editions, to Hungary in the 2022 semi-finals. They lost shootouts to Serbia and Hungary in 2018 and 2020, respectively, and had a penalty loss to Croatia in 2024, but avenged that loss in the final.

Group C

20.30 Netherlands vs Serbia

The Netherlands, with a bronze medal in 1938, barely missed the top 8 until 1993. Their best finish was in 1950, and they've finished outside the top 8 only once (1991). Since 1995, they've had a 9th-place finish in 1997, their best in the last 12 appearances. In the last two editions, they finished 11th.
Serbia, the host nation, has five titles since independence and eight European golds since 2001. They had nine consecutive podium finishes from 2001 to 2018, with seven golds, including four straight titles between 2012 and 2018.
However, Serbia missed the semis in the last three editions, finishing 5th, 9th, and 7th. They have no medals from the last five World Champs and World Cups but won the Olympics in 2021 and 2024.
These teams met in three straight Europeans, with Serbia winning in 2018 (15-7) and 2020 (11-4), and a shootout win in 2022.
The Dutch caused an upset by beating Croatia 13-12 in Rotterdam, while Serbia struggled to win matches. After a series of defeats, they beat France in Trebinje on the last day.
Fun fact: Serbia's 2006 gold as hosts triggered a strong run by host nations in subsequent championships. In the last 10 editions, the home team has either won (5 times) or reached the final (3 times). Before 2006, hosts claimed gold only 3 times in the first 26 editions and silver once.