2025 Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championship Division I

2025 Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championship Division I

Tournament details
Host country	Portugal
City	Rio Maior
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	18–24 August 2025
Teams	14 (from 1 confederation)
Final positions
Champions	Israel (1st title)
Runners-up	Belgium
Third place	Bulgaria
Fourth place	Portugal
Official website
European Aquatics
Next  →

The 2025 Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championship Division I was the inaugural edition of the second tier of the Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championships, organized by the European Aquatics. The tournament was played in Rio Maior, Portugal from 18 to 24 August 2025. ^{[1] [2]}

Israel won the tournament and, along with second-placed Belgium, promoted to the 2027 Elite Division.

Host selection

Rio Maior was given the hosting rights on 13 November 2024. ^[1]

Participating teams

Teams that have registered their U18 national team but didn't compete in the 2023 U17 European Championship take part in the tournament. ^[3] After the draw, Finland withdrew.

Teams
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czechia
Denmark
Finland
Great Britain
Ireland
Israel
Lithuania
Moldova
Portugal
Slovakia
Switzerland

Venue

The venue is the Rio Maior Sports Centre in Rio Maior.

Rio Maior		Rio Maior
		Rio Maior Sports Centre
		Capacity:

Draw

The draw was held on 7 February 2025 at 10:30 CET in Zagreb, Croatia. The seeding was based off the European rankings. ^{[4] [5]}

Seeding

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Slovakia   Israel   Bulgaria   Lithuania	Switzerland   Great Britain   Czechia   Portugal	Finland   Ireland   Moldova   Belgium	Austria   Denmark

Preliminary round

The schedule was announced on 6 August 2025. ^[6]

All times are local (Western European Summer Time; UTC+1).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Moldova	2	2	0	0	0	35	20	+15	6	Quarterfinals
2	Slovakia	2	1	0	0	1	27	25	+2	3	Crossovers
3	Czechia	2	0	0	0	2	19	36	−17	0

Source: European U-18 Water Polo Division I
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.

18 August 2025 12:30	Report	Slovakia	11–15	Moldova	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Georg Schoen (AUT), Eurico Silva (POR)
		Score by quarters:4–3, 2–4, 0–4, 5–4
		Velsic, Luc 3	Goals	Mihaila 5

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19 August 2025 10:45	Report	Moldova	20–9	Czechia	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Georg Schoen (AUT), Martin Sand Kristensen (DEN)
		Score by quarters:5–1, 4–2, 6–3, 5–3
		Mihaila 5	Goals	Pashkovsky 3

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20 August 2025 19:00	Report	Czechia	10–16	Slovakia	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 4–2, 3–7, 1–4

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bulgaria	3	3	0	0	0	74	30	+44	9	Quarterfinals
2	Switzerland	3	1	0	0	2	39	44	−5	3 [a]	Crossovers
3	Denmark	3	1	0	0	2	28	45	−17	3 [a]
4	Ireland	3	1	0	0	2	33	55	−22	3 [a]	9th–13th place quarterfinal

Source: European U-18 Water Polo Division I
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.
Notes:

1. HTH: Switzerland 1–1, +4 GD; Denmark 1–1, −2 GD; Ireland 1–1, −2 GD. Denmark is ahead of Ireland due to their head to head result.

18 August 2025 17:15	Report	Bulgaria	28–8	Ireland	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Robert Prelovsky (SVK), Tomas Kaseta (LTU)
		Score by quarters:9–1, 9–1, 4–3, 6–3
		Ganchev 8	Goals	Byrne 3

19 August 2025 9:00	Report	Switzerland	12–6	Denmark	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Karel Dvoracek (CZE), Jonathan Richards (GBR)
		Score by quarters:5–3, 2–0, 2–1, 3–2
		Luthi 3	Goals	Deleuran, Rankovic 3

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19 August 2025 15:30	Report	Denmark	14–10	Ireland	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Tomas Kaseta (LTU), Alain D'hossche (BEL)
		Score by quarters:4–3, 4–2, 4–4, 2–1
		Deleuran 4	Goals	Byrne 3

19 August 2025 17:15	Report	Bulgaria	23–14	Switzerland	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Eurico Silva (POR), Tal Shildan (ISR)
		Score by quarters: 5–5, 4–3, 7–2, 7–4
		Ganchev, Venov 5	Goals	Bozzo 4

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20 August 2025 09:00	Report	Bulgaria	23–8	Denmark	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Georg Schoen (AUT), Jonathan Richards (GBR)
		Score by quarters: 3–3, 8–1, 7–3, 5–1
		Venov 7	Goals	Deleuran, Kok 2

20 August 2025 10:45	Report	Switzerland	13–15	Ireland	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Alain D'hossche (BEL), Tal Shildan (ISR)
		Score by quarters:7–4, 1–4, 2–4, 3–3
		Ribatti, Rutz 4	Goals	Byrne 7

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Israel	3	3	0	0	0	55	32	+23	9	Quarterfinals
2	Belgium	3	2	0	0	1	52	35	+17	6
3	Great Britain	3	1	0	0	2	40	41	−1	3	Crossovers
4	Austria	3	0	0	0	3	33	72	−39	0	9th–13th place quarterfinal

Source: European U-18 Water Polo Division I
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.

18 August 2025 09:00	Report	Israel	14–12	Belgium	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Declan McKerr (IRL), Martin Sand Kristensen (DEN)
		Score by quarters:3–0, 5–3, 3–3, 3–6
		Dercksen, Gal-on 3	Goals	Sergeant 4

18 August 2025 10:45	Report	Great Britain	20–12	Austria	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Ruben Garcia (SUI), Alexandru-Andrei Mustata (ROU)
		Score by quarters:4–2, 5–3, 6–5, 5–2
		Mathieson 6	Goals	Hagljan, Pourazim 3

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19 August 2025 12:30	Report	Austria	9–26	Belgium	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Robert Prelovsky (SVK), Ruben Garcia (SUI)
		Score by quarters: 2–5, 2–6, 3–8, 2–7
		Hagljan, Vranjes 2	Goals	Viaene 5

19 August 2025 14:00	Report	Israel	15–8	Great Britain	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Karel Dvoracek (CZE), Risto Damchevski (MKD)
		Score by quarters:3–2, 6–4, 1–0, 5–2
		Goshen 4	Goals	Mathieson, Bamborough 2

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20 August 2025 12:30	Report	Israel	26–12	Austria	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Risto Damchevski (MKD), Martin Sand Kristensen (DEN)
		Score by quarters:6–3, 8–1, 6–3, 6–5
		Mordechalevitch 6	Goals	four players 2

20 August 2025 17:15	Report	Great Britain	12–14	Belgium	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 2–3, 2–4, 6–4

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal (H)	1	0	1	0	0	13	13	0	2	Quarterfinals
2	Lithuania	1	0	0	1	0	13	13	0	1	Crossovers
3	Finland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Withdrew

Source: European U-18 Water Polo Division I
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

19 August 2025 19:00	Report	Portugal	16–14 (PSO)	Lithuania	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior Referees: Alexandru-Andrei Mustata (ROU), Declan McKerr (IRL)
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 4–2, 2–4, 5–3   PSO:3–1
		Pereira 4	Goals	Pasuk 6

Brackets

Main bracket

Crossovers

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

22 August

A1   Moldova

8

C2   Belgium

9

23 August

C2   Belgium

16

B1   Bulgaria

15

22 August

B1   Bulgaria

21

21 August

D2   Lithuania

9

D2   Lithuania

19

24 August

C3   Great Britain

14

C2   Belgium

9

C1   Israel

12

22 August

C1   Israel

15

21 August

A2   Slovakia

3

A2   Slovakia

21

23 August

B3   Denmark

4

C1   Israel

13

D1   Portugal

8

Third place game

22 August

24 August

D1   Portugal

9

B1   Bulgaria

22

21 August

B2    Switzerland

8

D1   Portugal

13

B2    Switzerland

9

A3   Czech Republic

8

5th place bracket

	5th–8th place semifinals				Fifth place game
	23 August
	A1   Moldova	18
					24 August
	A2   Slovakia	13
					A1   Moldova	18
	23 August
					B2    Switzerland	8
	D2   Lithuania	8
	B2    Switzerland	9
					Seventh place game
					24 August
					A2   Slovakia	8
					D2   Lithuania	12

9th place bracket

	9th–13th place quarterfinal				9th–12th place semifinals				Ninth place game
					22 August
					B3   Denmark	9
	21 August
					C4   Austria	12
	B4   Ireland	12
									23 August
	C4   Austria	15
									C4   Austria	12
									C3   Great Britain	14
					22 August
					A3   Czech Republic	9
					C3   Great Britain	12			Eleventh place game
									23 August
									B3   Denmark	8
									A3   Czech Republic	9

Knockout stage

Crossovers

21 August 2025 12:30	Report	Slovakia	21–4	Denmark	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:6–1, 8–1, 3–1, 4–1

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21 August 2025 17:15	Report	Switzerland	9–8	Czech Republic	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:4–2, 2–1, 3–2, 0–3

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21 August 2025 19:00	Report	Lithuania	19–14	Great Britain	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 3–5, 8–4, 6–1, 2–4

9th–13th place quarterfinal

21 August 2025 10:45	Report	Ireland	12–15	Austria	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 5–4, 2–3, 4–6

9th–12th place semifinals

22 August 2025 9:00	Report	Denmark	9–12 (PSO)	Austria	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:3–2, 4–1, 0–2, 4–4   PSO: 0–3

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22 August 2025 10:45	Report	Czech Republic	9–12	Great Britain	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 1–5, 4–2, 2–2, 2–3

Eleventh place game

23 August 2025 9:00	Report	Denmark	8–9	Czech Republic	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:3–1, 4–2, 0–5, 1–1

Ninth place game

23 August 2025 10:45	Report	Austria	12–14	Great Britain	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 1–3, 3–3, 5–4, 3–4

Quarterfinals

22 August 2025 12:30	Report	Moldova	8–9	Belgium	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 2–2, 2–3, 2–2

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22 August 2025 15:30	Report	Bulgaria	21–9	Lithuania	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:3–1, 6–0, 6–4, 6–4

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22 August 2025 17:15	Report	Israel	15–3	Slovakia	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:3–0, 6–1, 2–1, 4–1

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22 August 2025 19:00	Report	Portugal	9–8	Switzerland	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 1–2, 3–1, 1–3, 4–2

5th–8th place semifinals

23 August 2025 12:30	Report	Moldova	18–13	Slovakia	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:5–2, 6–1, 3–3, 4–7

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23 August 2025 15:30	Report	Lithuania	8–9	Switzerland	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 3–1, 2–4, 1–2

Seventh place game

24 August 2025 9:00	Report	Slovakia	8–12	Lithuania	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 2–2, 1–4, 1–2, 4–4

Fifth place game

24 August 2025 10:45	Report	Moldova	18–8	Switzerland	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 4–5, 4–0, 5–0, 5–3

Semifinals

23 August 2025 17:15	Report	Belgium	16–15 (PSO)	Bulgaria	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:4–3, 2–1, 2–3, 3–4  PSO:5–4

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23 August 2025 19:00	Report	Israel	13–8	Portugal	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:3–1, 4–5, 3–2, 3–0

Third place game

24 August 2025 12:30	Report	Bulgaria	22–13	Portugal	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters:3–1, 7–1, 7–6, 5–5

Final

24 August 2025 15:30	Report	Belgium	9–12	Israel	Rio Maior Sports Centre, Rio Maior
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 3–0, 2–5, 2–4

Final standings

Rank	Team
	Israel
	Belgium
	Bulgaria
4	Portugal
5	Moldova
6	Switzerland
7	Lithuania
8	Slovakia
9	Great Britain
10	Austria
11	Czech Republic
12	Denmark
13	Ireland
WD	Finland

Promoted to the 2027 Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championship (Elite)

See also

• 2025 Men's European U-18 Water Polo Championship
• 2025 Women's European U-18 Water Polo Championship

References

1. LEN, Juliana (November 13, 2024). "European Aquatics Announces Dates and Locations for 2025 Men's and Women's U16 and U18 European Water Polo Championships - European Aquatics®".
2. https://europeanaquatics.org/mens-u18-water-polo-championships-schedules-for-oradea-and-rio-maior/
3. "Full line-ups for 2025 Men's and Women's U16 and U18 European Water Polo Championships confirmed - European Aquatics®". January 22, 2025.
4. "U16 & U18 European Championships draws set up thrilling summer - European Aquatics®". February 7, 2025.
5. Curcic, Ivan (February 7, 2025). "New format of European cadet and youth Championships; groups determined".
6. https://europeanaquatics.org/mens-u18-water-polo-championships-schedules-for-oradea-and-rio-maior/

External links

• Official website