Croatia No.1 on first official world water polo rankings

(Photo credit: HVS/Giorgio Scala/DBM)

Croatia has officially been named the number one men’s national water polo team in the world, according to the newly introduced World Aquatics rankings, unveiled for the first time in June 2025.

The announcement, while welcomed, comes as little surprise to those following the sport closely, particularly after an extraordinary run of form from the Croatian team, known as the Barakude (Barracudas).

New ranking system by World Aquatics

The International Aquatics Federation (World Aquatics) launched a comprehensive new global ranking system for men’s water polo teams at the start of 2025. This new system, much like FIFA’s football world rankings, is based on an extensive range of criteria.

Points are awarded based on the result (win or loss), the strength of the opponent at the time of the match, whether the game was played at home, away or on neutral ground, and the level of competition.

The highest weighting is given to matches played at the Olympic Games and World Championships, followed by continental championships, the World Cup, and down to friendly matches.

The ranking reflects performances from January 2024 onwards, including the European Championship hosted in Dubrovnik and Zagreb. The first edition of the rankings was officially published in early June 2025.

Thanks to a phenomenal year, Croatia has emerged at the top of the table with 1,275.80 points from 28 matches, ahead of Spain and Hungary.

Top 10 World Aquatics Men’s Water Polo Rankings:

1. Croatia – 1,275.80 pts (28 matches)
2. Spain – 1,265.40 pts (29 matches)
3. Hungary – 1,046.20 pts (28 matches)
4. Greece – 1,025.80 pts (29 matches)
5. Serbia – 992.40 pts (26 matches)
6. USA – 904.60 pts (27 matches)
7. Italy – 895.00 pts (21 matches)
8. Montenegro – 622.40 pts (28 matches)
9. France – 553.20 pts (23 matches)
10. Brazil – 517.85 pts (18 matches)

Croatia’s top position is backed by a stunning series of results in the past year. In January 2024, the team won silver at the European Championship on home soil.

A month later, they were crowned world champions in Doha, and in the summer, they reached the Olympic final in Paris, claiming another silver medal.

Remarkably, Croatia was the only national team to reach the finals of all three major competitions in such a short period—within just six months. Additionally, they secured 4th place at the 2025 World Cup.

Notably, Croatia leads the rankings despite having played one fewer match than second-placed Spain, yet they still managed to collect over 10 points more.

Brazil played the fewest matches (18) among the top 10 teams, while the rest competed in a similar number of fixtures. Italy, having played only 21 matches, was an exception due to a six-month suspension following the Paris Olympics.