2020 FINA Men's Water Polo World League

The 2020 FINA Men's Water Polo World League was the 19th edition of the annual men's international water polo tournament. It was played between November 2019 and July 2021 and open to all men's water polo national teams. After participating in a preliminary round, eight teams qualified to play in a final tournament, called the Super Final, originally scheduled from 23 to 28 June 2020.[1] The tournament was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2020, it was announced that it would be played in from January to July 2021.[2]

2020 FINA Men's Water Polo World League
LeagueFINA Water Polo World League
SportWater Polo
Duration12 November 2019 to
1 July 2021
Super Final
Finals champions Montenegro (3rd title)
  Runners-up United States
Finals MVPMontenegro Aleksandar Ivović
FINA Men's Water Polo World League seasons

Montenegro won their third overall title, after defeating the United States in the final.[3]

In the world league, there are specific rules that do not allow matches to end in a draw. If teams are level at the end of the 4th quarter of any world league match, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout. The following points will be awarded per match to each team:

  • Match won – 3 points
  • Match won by penalty – 2 points
  • Match lost by penalty – 1 point
  • Match lost or forfeited – 0 points

European qualification edit

Preliminary round edit

  • 12 November 2019 – 11 February 2020

The preliminary round was played in the Round-robin system.

Group A edit

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification      
1   Italy 2 2 0 0 0 23 9 +14 6 Final round 14–3
2   Greece 2 1 0 0 1 25 16 +9 3 6–9
3   Georgia 2 0 0 0 2 10 33 −23 0 7–19
Source: FINA

Group B edit

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification      
1   France 2 1 0 1 0 27 23 +4 4 Final round 15–10
2   Hungary 2 1 0 0 1 24 21 +3 3 14–6
3   Russia 2 0 1 0 1 19 26 −7 2 13–12 (p)
Source: FINA

Group C edit

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification      
1   Serbia 2 2 0 0 0 27 18 +9 6 Final round 15–11
2   Croatia 2 1 0 0 1 27 22 +5 3 16–7
3   Netherlands 2 0 0 0 2 14 28 −14 0 7–12
Source: FINA

Group D edit

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification      
1   Montenegro 2 2 0 0 0 34 9 +25 6 Final round 23–3
2   Spain 2 1 0 0 1 26 19 +7 3 6–11 20–8
3   Ukraine 2 0 0 0 2 11 43 −32 0
Source: FINA

Final round edit

Bracket edit

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
8 January 2021
 
 
  Montenegro (PSO)15
 
9 January 2021
 
  Croatia14
 
  Montenegro14
 
8 January 2021
 
  Italy10
 
  Italy9
 
10 January 2021
 
  Hungary8
 
  Montenegro7
 
10 March 2020
 
  Greece12
 
  Serbia11
 
9 January 2021
 
  Spain13
 
  Spain11
 
8 January 2021
 
  Greece12 Third place game
 
  France3
 
10 January 2021
 
  Greece12
 
  Italy9
 
 
  Spain8
 
5th–8th place bracket
 
5th–8th place semifinalsFifth place game
 
      
 
9 January 2021
 
 
  Croatia11
 
10 January 2021
 
  Hungary13
 
  Hungary7
 
9 January 2021
 
  Serbia9
 
  Serbia10
 
 
  France6
 
Seventh place game
 
 
10 January 2021
 
 
  Croatia17
 
 
  France5

Final ranking edit

Qualified to the Super Final
Rank Team
    Greece
    Montenegro
    Italy
4   Spain
5   Serbia
6   Hungary
7   Croatia
8   France

Inter-Continental Cup edit

Super final edit

Super final
Tournament details
Host country  Georgia
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Dates26 June – 1 July 2021
Teams8 (from 3 confederations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played24
Goals scored534 (22.25 per match)
Top scorer(s)  Yusuke Inaba
(21 goals)

As host country

Qualified teams

Invited teams

Preliminary round edit

All times are local (UTC+4).

Group A edit

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts
1   Italy 3 3 0 0 0 42 26 +16 9
2   Greece 3 2 0 0 1 32 28 +4 6
3   France 3 1 0 0 2 27 35 −8 3
4   Kazakhstan 3 0 0 0 3 31 43 −12 0
Source: Microplustiming
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.
26 June 2021
18:15
Report Greece   10–8   France Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Frank Ohme (GER), Vakhtang Mebuke (GEO)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–1, 2–3, 3–2
Argyropoulos, Genidounias 3 Goals Bouët, Canonne 2
26 June 2021
20:00
Report Kazakhstan   11–17   Italy Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Stanko Ivanovski (MNE), Michael Goldenberg (USA)
Score by quarters: 1–3, 3–3, 3–6, 4–3
Vuksanovich 4 Goals Damonte, Fondelli 3

27 June 2021
14:45
Report Kazakhstan   11–12   France Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Dion Willis (RSA), Michael Goldenberg (USA)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 2–3, 3–6, 4–1
three players 3 Goals Vernoux 4
27 June 2021
18:15
Report Italy   11–8   Greece Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Frank Ohme (GER), Stanko Ivanovski (MNE)
Score by quarters: 1–1, 4–3, 4–3, 2–1
Di Fulvio 4 Goals three players 2

28 June 2021
14:45
Report Greece   14–9   Kazakhstan Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Dion Willis (RSA), Nenad Periš (CRO)
Score by quarters: 3–1, 5–3, 3–4, 3–1
Dervisis, Fountoulis 3 Goals Vuksanovic 4
28 June 2021
20:00
Report France   7–14   Italy Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Vakhtang Mebuke (GEO), Michael Goldenberg (USA)
Score by quarters: 1–4, 4–4, 0–3, 2–3
Bouët 3 Goals Velotto 3

Group B edit

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts
1   Montenegro 3 3 0 0 0 45 22 +23 9
2   United States 3 2 0 0 1 34 26 +8 6
3   Georgia (H) 3 1 0 0 2 30 44 −14 3
4   Japan 3 0 0 0 3 27 44 −17 0
Source: Microplustiming
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) Host
26 June 2021
14:45
Report Montenegro   10–6   United States Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Sébastien Dervieux (FRA), Adil Aimbetov (KAZ)
Score by quarters: 0–2, 5–2, 3–2, 2–0
Ivović 3 Goals Hooper 2
26 June 2021
16:30
Report Japan   12–13   Georgia Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Nenad Periš (CRO), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
Score by quarters: 3–3, 2–4, 6–5, 1–1
Inaba 5 Goals Baraldi 5

27 June 2021
16:30
Report Georgia   8–19   Montenegro Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Nenad Periš (CRO), Christos Kourtidis (GRE)
Score by quarters: 2–8, 4–6, 1–3, 1–2
Shushiashvili 3 Goals Ivović, Matković 4
27 June 2021
20:00
Report Japan   7–15   United States Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Sébastien Dervieux (FRA), Alessandro Severo (ITA)
Score by quarters: 2–3, 2–4, 2–3, 1–5
Inaba 3 Goals Hallock 4

28 June 2021
16:30
Report United States   13–9   Georgia Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Alessandro Severo (ITA), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
Score by quarters: 3–1, 5–2, 2–3, 3–3
Daube, Irving 3 Goals Jelača 3
28 June 2021
18:15
Report Montenegro   16–8   Japan Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Germán Moller (ARG), Frank Ohme (GER)
Score by quarters: 4–5, 4–1, 5–1, 3–1
Vidović 4 Goals Inaba 4

Knockout stage edit

Bracket edit

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
29 June
 
 
  Greece20
 
30 June
 
  Georgia8
 
  Greece4
 
29 June
 
  Montenegro8
 
  Kazakhstan6
 
1 July
 
  Montenegro18
 
  Montenegro9
 
29 June
 
  United States8
 
  France11
 
30 June
 
  United States12
 
  United States10
 
29 June
 
  Italy8 Third place game
 
  Italy15
 
1 July
 
  Japan12
 
  Greece10
 
 
  Italy8
 

5th–8th place bracket

 
5th–8th place semifinalsFifth place game
 
      
 
30 June
 
 
  Georgia15
 
1 July
 
  Kazakhstan (PSO) 16
 
  Kazakhstan10
 
30 June
 
  Japan17
 
  France10
 
 
  Japan 16
 
Seventh place game
 
 
1 July
 
 
  Georgia5
 
 
  France10

Quarterfinals edit

29 June 2021
14:45
Report France   11–12   United States Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Stanko Ivanovski (MNE), Adil Aimbetov (KAZ)
Score by quarters: 5–2, 0–5, 4–4, 2–1
Crousillat 4 Goals Daube 3

29 June 2021
16:30
Report Greece   20–8   Georgia Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Dion Willis (RSA), Sébastien Dervieux (FRA)
Score by quarters: 5–1, 5–2, 6–1, 4–4
Fountoulis 6 Goals three players 2

29 June 2021
18:15
Report Italy   15–12   Japan Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Vakhtang Mebuke (GEO), Christos Kourtidis (GRE)
Score by quarters: 4–1, 5–4, 3–2, 3–5
Alesiani, Echenique 3 Goals four players 2

29 June 2021
20:00
Report Kazakhstan   6–18   Montenegro Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Germán Moller (ARG), Vojin Putniković (SRB)
Score by quarters: 2–6, 0–6, 3–3, 1–3
six players 1 Goals Ivović 4

5–8th place semifinals edit

30 June 2021
14:45
Report France   10–16   Japan Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Germán Moller (ARG), Alessandro Severo (ITA)
Score by quarters: 4–3, 1–4, 5–2, 0–7
Crousillat, Vernoux 4 Goals Inaba 5

30 June 2021
16:30
Report Georgia   15–16   Kazakhstan Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Michael Goldenberg (USA), Christos Kourtidis (GRE)
Score by quarters: 2–3, 5–0, 3–4, 1–4  PSO: 4–5
Shushiashvili, Vapenski 3 Goals Vuksanovic 4

Semifinals edit

30 June 2021
18:15
Report Greece   4–8   Montenegro Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Nenad Periš (CRO), Sébastien Dervieux (FRA)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 1–0, 0–4, 1–2
four players 1 Goals Matković 2

30 June 2021
20:00
Report United States   10–8   Italy Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Dion Willis (RSA), Stanko Ivanovski (MNE)
Score by quarters: 4–4, 2–3, 3–0, 1–1
Daube 3 Goals three players 2

Seventh place game edit

1 July 2021
16:15
Report Georgia   5–10   France Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Vojin Putniković (SRB), Adil Aimbetov (KAZ)
Score by quarters: 1–3, 1–3, 1–3, 2–2
five players 1 Goals Vernoux 3

Fifth place game edit

1 July 2021
14:30
Report Kazakhstan   10–17   Japan Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Frank Ohme (GER), Vakhtang Mebuke (GEO)
Score by quarters: 2–3, 5–5, 2–2, 1–7
Ruday 4 Goals Arai, Koppu 3

Third place game edit

1 July 2021
18:00
Report Greece   10–8   Italy Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Sébastien Dervieux (FRA), Michael Goldenberg (USA)
Score by quarters: 3–4, 2–1, 4–1, 1–2
Genidounias 3 Goals Bodegas 4

Final edit

1 July 2021
19:45
Report Montenegro   9–8   United States Tbilisi Olympic Pool, Tbilisi
Referees:
Nenad Periš (CRO), Alessandro Severo (ITA)
Score by quarters: 2–0, 2–2, 3–2, 2–3
Ivović 5 Goals Daube 3

Final ranking edit

Rank Team
    Montenegro
    United States
    Greece
4   Italy
5   Japan
6   Kazakhstan
7   France
8   Georgia

Awards edit

The awards were announced on 1 July 2021.[3]

Award Player
MVP   Aleksandar Ivović
Best goalkeeper   Drew Holland
Topscorer   Yusuke Inaba

References edit

  1. ^ "Rules & Regulations and Event Guide" (PDF). www.fina.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  2. ^ "New calendar of FINA World League, next games in January". total-waterpolo.com. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Montenegro's third crown; Greece steals bronze". fina.org. July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.

External links edit