2026 World Aquatics Men's U16 Water Polo Championships

Zagreb in Croatia was given the hosting rights on 7 January 2026.^[5]

The tournament consisted of two phases:

Group stage

All 36 participating teams played in one common group. Each team played four matches. The first 32 teams advanced to the knockout stage.

Knockout stage / Consolation

Based on their group placement, each team was placed in one of four playoff sections: 1st–8th place, 9th–16th place, 17th–24th place and 25th–32nd place; all of which were played as a series of playoffs, consolation playoffs and final classification matches. The teams from 33rd to 36th place were dropped to the consolation group, which was played in a round-robin format.

Positions in the table are determined by the Tournament Performance Index (TPI) rather than total points. The TPI is calculated as the arithmetic average of match performance scores, factoring in the match outcome, goal difference, and the opponent's strength (Elo rating).

More information Pos, Team ...

Pos	Team	Pld	W	PSW	PSL	L	GF	GA	GD	TPI	Qualification
1	Russia	4	3	1	0	0	50	18	32	94.5	Quarterfinals
2	Brazil	4	4	0	0	0	51	27	24	91.5
3	Croatia (H)	4	4	0	0	0	66	23	43	91.2
4	Italy	4	3	0	0	1	73	23	50	88.7
5	Spain	4	3	0	0	1	69	25	44	88.1
6	Egypt	4	4	0	0	0	68	20	48	87.8
7	Serbia	4	4	0	0	0	76	24	52	86.3
8	United States	4	4	0	0	0	65	17	48	86.3
9	Turkey	4	3	0	0	1	52	25	27	85.3	9th–16th place playoffs
10	Malta	4	2	1	0	1	37	37	0	84.1
11	Hungary	4	3	0	0	1	54	25	29	83.8
12	Romania	4	3	0	0	1	43	24	19	79.9
13	Greece	4	3	0	0	1	48	26	22	79.2
14	Germany	4	2	0	0	2	62	24	38	77.8
15	New Zealand	4	3	0	0	1	46	40	6	77.7
16	Australia	4	2	0	0	2	34	44	−10	74.5
17	Montenegro	4	3	0	1	0	65	30	35	74.3	17th–24th place playoffs
18	Singapore	4	2	0	1	1	45	50	−5	73.3
19	Georgia	4	2	0	0	2	34	44	−10	73
20	Netherlands	4	2	0	0	2	48	34	14	71.8
21	Poland	4	2	0	0	2	28	49	−21	71.1
22	Kazakhstan	4	1	1	0	2	51	46	5	64.8
23	Canada	4	1	0	0	3	34	50	−16	62.8
24	Peru	4	1	0	0	3	27	46	−19	62.5
25	Ukraine	4	1	0	0	3	42	44	−2	59.9	25th–32nd place playoffs
26	Slovenia	4	1	0	0	3	39	36	3	57.5
27	Portugal	4	1	0	0	3	34	47	−13	54
28	South Africa	4	0	0	0	4	26	46	−20	53.8
29	Israel	4	1	0	0	3	25	40	−15	51.3
30	China	4	0	0	1	3	25	53	−28	51.1
31	Zimbabwe	4	0	0	0	4	10	93	−83	50.6
32	Czech Republic	4	1	0	0	3	14	71	−57	49.4
33	Mexico	4	0	0	0	4	23	55	−32	48.1	33rd–36th place classification
34	Puerto Rico	4	0	0	0	4	11	86	−75	46.9
35	Malaysia	4	0	0	0	4	13	78	−65	42.7
36	Uruguay	4	0	0	0	4	15	83	−68	38.5

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•  Croatia (champions)^[4]

Luko Vezilić (captain), Roko Koncul, Toma Bošnjak, Petar Lončarić, Patrik Kundid, Bartol Smoje, Toni Cvitan, Deni Sappe, Vlaho Rajčević, Duje Srzić, Vito Lokas, Andrija Bujas, Karlo Gale, Ante Domazet, Luka Terzić. Coach: Bruno Sabioni.