The Croatia men's national water polo team represents

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in international

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

competitions and is controlled by the

Croatian Water Polo Federation The Croatian Water Polo Federation (HVS) () is the governing body of water polo in Croatia. It is based in Zagreb. League system It also organizes the Croatian Cup of Water Polo as well as the Croatia national water polo team, Croatian nationa ...

. They have won gold medals in the Olympics, World and European Championships, FINA World League and Mediterranean Games, making them one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world. Overall Croatia won 33 medals at competitions. It was the first Croatian national team to win a gold medal at the Olympics or World Games, the World and European Championships. Croatia played their 800th game since gaining independence on 20 August 2022 and they won their 517th victory.

History

After the independence of Croatia the national water polo team competed at its first tournament and also its first finals at 1993 Mediterranean Games, followed by the 1993 European Championships where Croatia won 5th place. Croatia has since become Olympic champion (

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

), triple World champion (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

) and European champion (

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

). Croatia has also won eight other medals at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, World Championships and European Championships and was fourth on six occasions. The team holds a record streak of winning 7 medals in a row at World Championships and has reached semi-finals in over 60% of appearances at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships altogether since 2017. Since the formation of national team Croatia has qualified for every big tournament. It is the first Croatian national team in any Olympic team sport that has won gold medals at all three big competitions. Croatia has also won World League (

) and

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

(

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

). The only competition Croatia has yet to win is World Cup where the national team won silver medal in

. The team has been awarded with Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport in 1996. So far two International Swimming Hall of Fame inductees have been members of Croatia national team – Perica Bukić as a player and Ratko Rudić as a coach. Croatia played their 800 game since gaining independence on 20 August 2022. and they won their 517 victory which makes 64,62% of victories.

Results

Medals

Updated after 2024 World Championships Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

Summer Olympics

Record against other teams at the Summer Olympics

World Championships

Record against other teams at the World Championships

World Cup

Record against other teams at the World Cup

World League

''Wins/Defeats after penalty shootout counted as wins/defeats.''
''* marks instances of not qualifying for the super final due to "host rule".''

European Championships

Record against other teams at the European Championships

Europa Cup

Mediterranean Games

Team

Current squad

Roster for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Player statistics

Head coaches

* Duško Antunović (1991–1993) * Bruno Silić (1993–1998) * Neven Kovačević (1998–2001) * Veselin Đuho (2002–2003) * Zoran Roje (2003–2005) * Ratko Rudić (2005–2012) * Ivica Tucak (2012–)

Notable players

* Milivoj BebićFINA Water Polo Player of the Year in 1982, 1984 and 1985. Scored 28 goals in one game which is a world record for water polo game (''final score:'' Yugoslavia 62–0 Guatemala). First water polo player in history to sign a 6 digit contract. * Zdravko Ježić * Zdravko Kovačić * Renco Posinković * Karlo Stipanić

Naturalized players

Andrey Belofastov (Ukraine), Xavier García (Spain) Konstantin Kharkov (Russia), Nikolay Bonev (Bulgaria)

Statistics

Record against other teams

''As of 10 August 2024 after game against Hungary in Olympic Games 2024'' NO FRIENDLY fixtures.

Biggest wins

''double digit goal difference''

Biggest losses

Non-senior competitions

World Youth Championship

;U-18

World Junior Championship

;U-20

European Youth Championship

;U-17 ''* incorporated in the 1st European Games''

European Junior Championship

;U-19

Awards

* Croatian team of the year: 1999, 2017, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017

Notes

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , title = Men's water polo tournament winners , bg = gold , list1 = {{Summer Olympics men's water polo tournament winners {{World Aquatics Championships men's water polo tournament winners {{FINA Men's Water Polo World League winners {{Men's European Water Polo Championship winners Men's national water polo teams Men's sport in Croatia