Belgrade 2026: Argyropoulos inspires Greece to stunning victory against Croatia on day six of European Championships
Greece’s Stylianos Argyropoulos celebrates one of his four goals in his team’s thrilling victory against Croatia on Thursday. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi / European Aquatics
Stylianos Argyropoulos produced a spectacular attacking performance on Thursday night, as his four clinical goals – including a sensational backhander – helped Greece edge a fierce and explosive battle with Croatia at the Belgrade Arena. It was their defence, however, that got them over the line, as they held firm after being reduced to six men following captain Konstantinos Genidounias’ red card with 3:13 still left to play. Earlier, Italy powered past Romania, Türkiye stunned Slovakia to reach the next group phase, and Georgia’s second-half masterclass ended Slovenia’s early resistance.
Men’s 2026 European Water Polo Championships – Belgrade
Day 6, Thursday 15 January
Group B
Slovenia 11-22 Georgia
Greece 11-10 Croatia
Group D
Türkiye 17-16 Slovakia
Romania 6-20 Italy
Georgia’s Veljko Tankosic struck three times during his team’s victory over Slovenia. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi / European Aquatics
Group B
Slovenia 11-22 Georgia
(3-4, 5-4, 2-6, 1-8)
Slovenia put up a good fight and remained in the game until half-time as they managed to penetrate the Georgian defence from time to time – that was the only way to stay close, as they couldn’t really handle the pressure the Georgian offence created.
The scoreboard stood at 8-8 at the long break, but in the second half, Georgia totally outclassed the underdogs in all aspects with a 3-14 run.
The first period was almost even. A man-up goal with 1:13 to go gave Georgia a 3-4 lead, then Valiko Dadvani scored one from action 53 seconds into the second, which could have been the starting signal for his side, especially after a killed man-down.
Instead, the Slovenians found a way to hit back, putting away connecting extras while killing a man-down between the two to make it 5-5.
And it continued the same way – the Georgians took the lead three more times, but the replies came almost immediately as their defence didn’t really click during these minutes.
With 35 seconds to go, Aljaz Troppan hit another big one from the perimeter, and a block denied Dadvani in the last six-on-five, so it stood 8-8.
Georgia’s Saba Tkeshelashvili hammered in three goals against Slovenia on Thursday. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi / European Aquatics
Even though it wasn’t going perhaps according to their plans, the Georgians kept their calm and soon after the restart they delivered the first killer blow. It was a great 0-3 rush in less than two minutes, and that rocked the Slovenians’ confidence.
The physical differences also started to show, and the underdogs found it harder and harder to break the Georgian wall.
Their next goal came when only 1:40 remaining in the third, when Georgia were already up by four, and two more man-up goals came before the break; a converted penalty on the buzzer only narrowed the gap to four once more, at 10-14.
And the Georgians made sure there was no way back for their rivals. They staged a 0-6 rout while the Slovenians missed a man-up and, more painfully, two penalties.
They conceded eight more goals alone in the fourth as Georgia pulled off the expected win and advanced to Group Stage II.
Greece’s Stylianos Argyropoulos was sensational against Croatia. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi / European Aquatics
Group B
Greece 11-10 Croatia
(3-2, 2-1, 3-4, 3-3)
From the beginning, this clash was a true battle between two top-class sides. Especially in the first half, as no easy goals were allowed – only perfectly paced and placed shots could find the net.
The man-down defending was outstanding, it was hard to outplay the blocks or feed the ball to the two-metre line, only accurate assists worked.
And even when some clear chances were created, the two goalies were still there to be beaten, and both Panagiotis Tzortzatos and Marko Bijac did a good job.
Konstantin Kharkov kicked off the party at the end of a fine man-up play for Croatia, but the Greeks responded with three goals in a row.
Konstantinos Gkiouvetsis sent two fierce bouncers into the net from the left wing, one from a six-on-five and the other after a turnover foul, and Dimitrios Skoumpakis created enough space to add a third from their next man-up.
The Croats struggled to break down the Greeks’ zonal defence, but then managed to launch a counter after a turnover, and Josip Vrlic netted it for 3-2.
The Croatian backline did a tremendous job in the remaining two minutes; after the Greeks had put away two six-on-fives in a row, they were denied on the next three occasions.
Greece captain Konstantinos Genidounias scored once and received a four-minute exclusion late in the fourth quarter. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi / European Aquatics
A fourth one was also killed early in the second period, followed by more robust defending. The Greeks were also up to it: they survived a six-on-four before Gkiouvetsis hit his third, this time sending the ball into the far corner from an extra for 4-2.
The Croats went on missing their man-ups, but their defence also stood firm in man-down – two extras were missed at both ends before the Croats earned a penalty in a six-on-five, and Kharkov converted it with 30 seconds remaining in the half.
However, as a notable exception, Evangelos Pouros managed to beat both the buzzer and Bijac in the remaining time – it looked like great defending, but Pouros somehow kept the ball and surprised the goalie with a fierce perimeter shot for 5-3, with 0:03 on the clock.
Just 20 seconds into the third, the Greeks earned a penalty; Alexandros Papanastasiou converted it and Greece led 6-3.
In a game like this, it looked substantial, but the Croats needed just 27 seconds to pull two back. Zvonimir Butic hit one from a fine action, then, after a steal, he also finished off a quick man-up.
After some tough defending, Loren Fatovic found a hole in the wall from six metres to tie the game. The Croats produced as many goals in two and a half minutes as they did in the entire first half.
Greece’s Alexandros Papanastasiou and Aristeidis Chalyvopoulos celebrate after a crucial win against Croatia. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi / European Aquatics
After another monster block denied the next Greek six-on-five, the Croats then had two shots to take the lead, but Tzortzatos made the saves, and at the other end, Stylianos Argyropoulos made the most of it, arriving unmarked in shooting range and finding a way past Bijac.
Now the Greeks had an extra after a time-out to double their lead, but Bijac this time came up with a pair of stops, and Fatovic scored with a brilliant one-timer in a great body-to-body move on the wing to tie it again (6-6).
Argyropoulos, while barely above water, managed an extraordinary shot to convert another six-on-five with 0:53 remaining, and that goal separated the sides after three breath-taking periods.
Pouros won the swim-off in the fourth, which had a double effect: it annulled the last-gasp exclusion of Argyropoulos in the third – and once the “monster” came back, he blasted the ball home at the dying second of the possession to make it 9-7.
The reply came fast, a quick man-up finish by Rino Buric, but Konstantinos Genidounias took his first clean shot of the evening in an extra and it also found the net.
Tzortzatos made a crucial stop in the next man-down from a close-range shot, but Gkiouvetsis then hit the post from the Greeks’ next six-on-five, and Genidounias’ next attempt ended in Bijac’s hands.
Tensions were running high, and that led to a decisive clash resulting in a four-minute ejection for the Greek captain Genidounias after a VAR review.
Greece had to play the remaining three minutes man-down and held only a one-goal advantage as Fatovic converted the resulting penalty.
However, the Greeks had Argyropoulos, who produced the goal of the tournament so far – a backhander from seven metres to double their lead once more.
Marko Zuvela buried Croatia’s next six-on-five, then the Greeks failed to capitalise on a forced five-on-four as some lazy passing ruined the chance.
With two minutes still to play, Ivica Tucak called a time-out, but the next finish lacked sharpness and Tzortzatos hunted it down.
The Greeks burned the clock, leaving one minute for the Croats, who missed back-to-back shots. With 31 seconds to go, Greece again ran down the possession, including a time-out, leaving Croatia six seconds at the end to create something.
Still playing six-on-five, they were not calm enough to find a clean shot; the ball travelled through the sea of arms but was easy prey for Tzortzatos, securing a huge win for the Greeks, who will carry all three vital points into the next phase.
Croatia, unable to score in the final 2:35 despite the man advantage, are now under real pressure as they will need a win against Italy – the only unbeaten team in the field across all matches since December.
Türkiye’s Mehmet Yutmaz scored three goals against Slovakia. Photo: Aniko Kovacs / European Aquatics
Group D
Türkiye 17-16 Slovakia
(4-2, 1-4, 7-3, 5-7)
Türkiye didn’t let their second chance go – after almost upsetting Romania in the previous round of games, they downed Slovakia, who were considered the favourites in this game.
However, a great spell – a 3-0 run late in the third – from the Turks put the Slovaks under real pressure, and they were unable to recover from that shock.
The second half, especially the last period, saw a tremendous shooting contest – 22 goals were scored in the last 16 minutes – but the Slovaks’ surge came too late.
Türkiye had the better start and led 4-2 after the first period, but Samuel Balaz and Lukas Durik quickly brought the Slovaks back to even, and they added two more to take the lead shortly before half-time at 5-6.
Efe Naipoglu kicked off the third with a great action shot and added another two minutes later for 7-6.
Balaz put away a man-up, but Naipoglu’s 6m blast came as an immediate reply.
Slovakia captain Samuel Balaz played all but two seconds of the whole game and was unstoppable at times, scoring six and keeping his team fighting until the very end. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi / European Aquatic
Again, Balaz equalised from a penalty, called in a six-on-five – and unsuccessfully challenged by Türkiye – but Selcuk Caner put his side ahead once more from the next possession.
And the game went on in a similar fashion: Balaz hit his third in a row, this time with a fierce action shot from the wing to make it 9-9.
The Turks forced a man-up and Yusa Dunezli buried it after a time-out. Next came a series of crucial moments – the Slovaks couldn’t score from their next two possessions, then, despite defending well in a six-on-four, they were unable to prevent Naipoglu from sending the ball into the net from the perimeter, already at equal strength, with 49 seconds remaining.
And it went from bad to worse in the remaining time – an erroneous pass up front, some erroneous defending at the back, and Mehmet Yutmaz scored once more from the centre, with 0:01 on the clock.
The Slovaks also lost defender Adam Furman, who received a red card after the VAR review confirmed he had hit Yutmaz in the face during a desperate defensive move.
Türkiye’s Kaan Oguzcan roars with delight after scoring one of his three goals against Slovakia. Photo: Aniko Kovacs / European Aquatics
This 3-0 run – and the seven goals conceded in the third period – proved decisive. Though the Slovaks found a way to score, their defence never regained its composure. Lukas Kozmer, who had produced tremendous saves against Italy, was unable to repeat that performance in goal.
The first four minutes of the last period followed a simple script – the Slovaks scored, but the Turks replied immediately.
Practically, Slovakia never had the ball in this phase to cut the gap to a single goal; they always had to restart from three down again and again.
After 15-12, Kaan Oguzcan finished off a counter with 3:05 remaining, and at that point the Slovaks faced a kind of mission impossible.
Still, they went all in. Matej Caraj struck from the centre, then Lukas Durik converted an extra after a fine steal – in 32 seconds they had halved the deficit.
However, despite scoring back-to-back goals for the first time in a while, they were unable to kill Türkiye’s next six-on-five. Yutmaz sent the ball home for 17-14 with 1:44 on the clock.
Pro Recco’s giant, Durik, stepped up and netted another extra with 1:16 to go.
After some fine defending, the Slovaks earned another possession, but a turnover foul with 44 seconds remaining dashed their final hopes.
Durik scored his sixth when only four seconds remained, but the Turks could already launch wild celebrations.
Shaping into a disciplined and well-prepared team under the guidance of former Greek legend Konstantinos Loudis, Türkiye have posted outstanding results – ousting Germany in the qualifiers and now reaching the next phase to take a seat at the big boys’ table.
Italy’s Francesco Condemi hit three goals against Romania. Photo: Aniko Kovacs / European Aquatics
Group D
Romania 6-20 Italy
(1-5, 3-4, 0-4, 2-7)
The Italians learned their lesson from two days ago and this time they didn’t let their rivals back into the game.
Against Slovakia, after their dream start, they kind of laid back and struggled to dominate the way many had expected, conceded 12 goals and won by five at the end (after going 0-4 up in four minutes).
This time they built a massive lead in the opening eight minutes, 1-5, and never looked back.
The Romanians – who also won their first two matches – had a better spell in the second as they could add three goals.
Still, the Italians stayed focused and, before this match could get similar to the previous one at 4-6, they responded with a 0-3 rush which broke the Romanians definitively.
The second half saw total dominance by the Italians, who ultimately staged a 0-9 run after 4-6 while shutting out their rivals for 13:10 minutes and won by 14 at the end.
This secured the Italians six points for the next phase and a massive goal difference of +25, since their ‘worst’ result had been dropped, as the Turks sank the Slovaks.
Italy’s Jacopo Alesiani scored once in his team’s dominant win against Romania. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi / European Aquatics
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
