Croatia men's national water polo team

The Croatia men's national water polo team represents Croatia in international water polo competitions and is controlled by the Croatian Water Polo Federation. 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 31 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.^[1]

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), triple World champion (2007, 2017), 2024) and European champion (2010). Croatia has also won eight other medals at the Olympic Games, 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 (2012) and Mediterranean Games (2013). The only competition Croatia has yet to win is World Cup where the national team won silver medal in 2010.

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.^[1]

Results

Medals

Updated after 2024 World Championships

Competition				Total
Olympic Games	1	2	0	3
World Championship	3	1	4	8
World Cup	0	1	1	2
World League	1	3	3	7
European Championship	2	3	1	6
Europa Cup	1	1	0	2
Summer Universuade	0	1	0	1
Mediterranean Games	1	1	1	3
Total	9	13	10	32

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

Summer Olympics

Year^[2]	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1992	Couldn't participate in qualification
1996	Final		8	5	0	3	71	58	+13
2000	Quarterfinal	7th	8	5	1	2	68	56	+12
2004	Preliminary Round	10th	6	2	0	4	47	42	+5
2008	Quarterfinal	6th	7	4	0	3	71	49	+22
2012	Final		8	8	0	0	73	42	+31
2016	Final		8	5	0	3	66	62	+4
2020	Quarterfinal	5th	8	5	0	3	99	82	+17
2024	Qualified
Total	Qualified: 8/8		57	37	1	19	553	419	+124

Record against other teams at the Summer Olympics

National team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD
Australia	2	2	0	1	29	25	+4
China	1	1	0	0	16	4	+12
Egypt	1	1	0	0	12	1	+11
Germany	1	1	0	0	13	5	+8
Greece	3	3	0	0	25	16	+9
Hungary	2	1	0	1	16	17	−1
Italy	5	4	0	1	45	35	+10
Kazakhstan	2	2	0	0	40	15	+25
Montenegro	3	1	0	1	26	20	+6
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	11	7	+4
Romania	1	1	0	0	11	6	+5
Russia	1	0	0	1	8	9	−1
Serbia	3	2	0	1	32	31	+1
Serbia and Montenegro	3	1	1	1	20	21	−1
Spain	4	1	0	3	30	34	−4
Ukraine	1	1	0	0	16	8	+8
United States	6	2	0	4	45	42	+3
Total	17 teams

World Championships

Year^[2]	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1994	Semi-final	4th	7	4	0	3	87	57	+30
1998	Second Round	9th	8	4	2	2	94	46	+48
2001	Second Round	8th	8	4	0	4	70	52	+18
2003	Second Round	9th	6	3	1	2	49	39	+10
2005	Semi-final	4th	7	4	0	3	59	44	+15
2007	Final		6	6	0	0	62	40	+22
2009	Semi-final		6	5	0	1	63	35	+28
2011	Semi-final		6	5	0	1	72	42	+30
2013	Semi-final		7	6	0	1	89	44	+45
2015	Final		6	5	0	1	68	45	+23
2017	Final		6	6	0	0	70	47	+23
2019	Semi-final		6	5	0	1	77	37	+40
2022	Semi-final	4th	7	4	1	2	81	66	+15
2023	Classification round	9th	6	3	0	3	93	57	+36
2024	Final		7	4	2	1	107	63	+44
Total	Qualified: 15/15		99	68	6	27	1141	710	+431

Record against other teams at the World Championships

National team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD
Australia	6	5	0	1	49	43	+6
Brazil	4	4	0	0	52	22	+30
Canada	5	5	0	0	68	26	+42
China	3	3	0	0	49	7	+42
Germany	1	0	0	1	3	7	−4
Greece	4	2	0	2	51	49	+2
Hungary	5	2	1	3	50	56	−6
Italy	4	1	1	2	32	34	−2
Japan	2	2	0	0	26	9	+17
Kazakhstan	1	1	0	0	19	4	+15
Montenegro	4	4	0	0	40	21	+19
Netherlands	2	2	0	0	23	13	+10
New Zealand	3	3	0	0	75	8	+67
Romania	3	3	0	0	25	18	+7
Russia	6	3	0	3	51	38	+13
Serbia	4	2	0	2	37	41	−4
Serbia and Montenegro	2	0	1	1	10	11	−1
Slovakia	1	1	0	0	12	3	+9
South Africa	2	2	0	0	32	5	+27
Spain	2	0	0	2	10	17	−7
United States	6	5	0	1	56	43	+13
Total	21 teams

World Cup

Year^[2]	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1993	Could not qualify^[3]
1995	Preliminary Round	6th	5	2	0	3	25	31	−6
1997	Preliminary Round	8th	5	1	0	4	30	40	−10
1999	did not qualify
2002	Preliminary Round	8th	4	0	1	3	26	32	−6
2006	Semi-final	4th	6	2	1	3	54	56	−2
2010	Final		6	5	0	1	74	43	+31
2014	Semi-final		6	4	0	2	43	37	+6
2018	Quarterfinal	5th	6	4	1	1	84	41	+43
2023	did not qualify
Total	Qualified: 6/8		38	18	3	17	336	280	+56

Record against other teams at the World Cup

National team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD
Australia	1	1	0	0	6	3	+3
China	1	1	0	0	14	4	+10
Greece	2	1	1	0	12	11	+1
Hungary	3	0	0	3	17	30	−13
Iran	1	1	0	0	23	2	+21
Italy	2	0	0	2	9	13	−4
Kazakhstan	1	1	0	0	14	7	+7
Montenegro	1	1	0	0	6	5	+1
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	9	7	+2
Romania	1	1	0	0	10	7	+3
Russia	2	1	0	1	17	19	−2
Serbia	3	1	0	2	21	28	−7
Serbia and Montenegro	3	1	0	2	18	18	0
Spain	5	0	1	4	33	45	−12
United States	5	3	0	2	43	40	+3
Total	15 teams

World League

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

Year^[2]	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L
2002	did not qualify for the Super Final		12	2	0	10
2003	did not compete
2004	did not compete
2005	Group Round	4th	14	8	0	6
2006 *	did not qualify for the Super Final		11	7	0	4
2007			8	3	0	5
2008 *			6	3	0	3
2009	Final		12	9	0	3
2010	Semi-final		12	8	0	4
2011	Semi-final		11	10	0	1
2012	Final		10	10	0	0
2013 *	did not qualify for the Super Final		6	4	0	2
2014	did not qualify for the Super Final		4	1	0	3
2015	Final		14	12	0	2
2016	did not qualify for the Super Final		6	4	0	2
2017	Semi-final		12	10	0	2
2018	Quarterfinal	5th	10	7	0	3
2019	Final		13	9	0	4
2020	did not qualify for the Super Final		5	2	0	3
2022	did not qualify for the Super Final		5	3	0	2
Total	Participated: 18/20 Qualified for the Super Final: 9/18		170	112	0	59

European Championships

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1993	Preliminary round	5th	7	5	0	2	72	58	+14
1995	Semi-final	4th	7	2	2	3	78	58	+20
1997	Semi-final	4th	8	5	1	2	60	44	+16
1999	Final		8	6	0	2	71	59	+12
2001	Semi-final	4th	8	3	2	3	63	57	+6
2003	Final		8	6	0	2	66	55	+11
2006	Preliminary round	7th	8	4	2	2	90	72	+18
2008	Semi-final	4th	8	4	1	3	81	69	+12
2010	Final		7	6	0	1	71	44	+27
2012	Preliminary round	9th	7	4	0	3	80	66	+14
2014	Quarterfinal	5th	7	3	2	2	64	54	+10
2016	Quarterfinal	7th	7	4	0	3	88	50	+38
2018	Semi-final		6	5	0	1	76	41	+35
2020	Semi-final	4th	6	4	0	2	75	53	+22
2022	Final		6	5	1	0	73	41	+42
2024	Final		6	4	0	2	66	54	+12
Total	Qualified: 16/16		108	70	11	33	1174	875	+310

Record against other teams at the European Championships

National team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD
Austria	1	1	0	0	26	2	+24
France	3	3	0	0	38	21	+17
Germany	8	4	2	2	76	66	+10
Greece	10	7	3	0	91	73	+18
Hungary	12	2	1	9	108	128	−20
Italy	9	5	1	3	66	62	+4
Montenegro	5	2	0	3	46	49	−3
Netherlands	3	3	0	0	40	13	+27
Romania	4	2	0	2	43	35	+8
Russia	5	3	1	1	44	36	+8
Serbia	3	1	1	1	30	32	−2
Serbia and Montenegro	4	1	0	3	30	32	−2
Slovakia	6	5	0	1	64	37	+27
Slovenia	3	3	0	0	37	16	+21
Spain	9	6	1	2	80	73	+7
Turkey	1	1	0	0	16	3	+13
Ukraine	3	3	0	0	34	19	+15
Total	17 teams

Europa Cup

Year	Round	Pld	W	L
2018	Final	8	7	1
2019	Final	7	5	2
Total	Participated: 2/2 Qualified for the Super Final: 2/2	15	12	3

Mediterranean Games

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L
1993	Final
1997	Final
2001	Preliminary Round	5th
2005	Semi-final	4th	5	2	0	3
2009	Semi-final	4th	5	3	0	2
2013	Final		4	4	0	0
2018	did not participate
2022	did not participate
Total	Participated: 6/8		14	9	0	5

Team

Current squad

Roster for the 2024 World Championships.^[4]

Head coach: Ivica Tucak

1 Marko Bijač GK
2 Rino Burić FP
3 Loren Fatović FP
4 Luka Lončar FP
5 Franko Lazić FP
6 Matias Biljaka FP
7 Ante Vukičević FP
8 Marko Žuvela FP
9 Jerko Marinić Kragić FP
10 Josip Vrlić FP
11 Zvonimir Butić FP
12 Konstantin Harkov FP
13 Mate Anić GK
14 Ivan Krapić FP
15 Filip Kržić FP

Player statistics

Most appearances
Player	Matches	Position	Active on Nat'l Team?
Igor Hinić	417	C	No
Tomislav Paškvalin	285	C	No
Samir Barać	176	PP	No
Andro Bušlje	167	HG	No
Faris Okanovic	161		No
Teo Đogaš	148	PP	No
Frano Vićan	129	GK	No
Elvis Fatović	128	PP	No
Josip Pavić	120	GK	No
Damir Burić	117	HG	No
Miho Bošković	108	PP, HG	No
Sandro Sukno	97	PP	No
Petar Muslim	90	PP, SC	No
Maro Joković	89	PP	No
Nikša Dobud	83	C	No
Vjekoslav Kobešćak	86	PP	No
Ratko Štritof	80	HG	No
Ivan Buljubašić	79	HG	No
Paulo Obradović	68	PP, HG	No
Zdeslav Vrdoljak	58	PP	No
Anđelo Šetka	57	PP	No
Dubravko Šimenc	52	PP	No
Goran Volarević	52	GK	No
Frano Karač	37	PP	No
Tihomil Vranješ	35	PP	No
Pavo Marković	33	PP	No
Perica Bukić	30	PP	No
Antonio Petković	22	PP	No
Luka Lončar	20	C	Yes

Top scorers
Name	Goals	Average	Position
Miho Bošković	369	3.42	PP, HG
Paulo Obradović	197		PP, HG
Maro Joković	158		PP
Samir Barać	135	0.77	PP
Faris Okanovic	26	0.85	PP
Igor Hinić	113	0.27	C
Petar Muslim	100		PP, SC
Nikša Dobud	86	1.02	C

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

Naturalized players

Andrey Belofastov (Ukraine), Xavier García (Spain)^[5] Faris Okanovic (Sweden) Konstantin Kharkov (Russia)

Statistics

Record against other teams

As of 11 September 2022

NO FRIENDLY fixtures.

**Key**
	Positive total balance (more wins)
	Neutral total balance (equal W/L ratio)
	Negative total balance (more losses)

Wins/Defeats after penalty shootout counted as wins/defeats.

National team	Total				Olympic Games				World Championship				World Cup				World League				European Championship				Europa Cup				Mediterranean Games				Qualifications
National team	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L	Pld	W	D	L
Australia	21	16	0	5	3	2	0	2	7	6	0	1	2	1	0	1	8	7	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Austria	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Belarus	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Brazil	8	7	0	1	1	1	0	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Canada	7	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
China	6	6	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Egypt	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
France	11	10	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	0	0	4	4	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
Georgia	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Germany	27	21	2	4	1	1	0	0	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	12	11	0	1	9	5	2	2	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0
Great Britain	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Greece	40	24	6	10	3	2	0	1	5	1	1	3	2	1	1	0	14	9	0	5	12	8	4	0	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hungary	38	10	2	26	3	2	0	1	8	4	1	3	3	0	0	3	11	3	0	8	13	2	1	10	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Iran	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Italy	43	24	2	17	6	5	0	1	5	2	1	2	2	0	0	2	14	8	0	6	12	7	1	4	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	2	1	1	0	0
Japan	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Kazakhstan	11	11	0	0	4	4	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	4	4	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Macedonia	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Malta	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Moldova	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Montenegro	28	19	0	9	7	6	0	1	3	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	9	3	0	6	6	4	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
Netherlands	14	14	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	4	4	0	0	5	5	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
New Zealand	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Poland	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Puerto Rico	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Romania	17	14	0	3	1	1	0	0	3	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	4	3	0	1	4	2	0	2	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	3	3	0	0
Russia	35	23	1	11	1	1	0	0	7	4	0	3	2	1	0	1	18	13	0	5	6	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	0	0	1
Serbia *	46	16	4	26	7	4	1	2	7	3	1	3	7	2	1	4	11	2	0	9	9	2	1	6	3	3	0	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Slovakia	9	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Slovenia	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0
South Africa	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Spain	39	17	2	20	6	1	0	5	4	0	0	4	5	0	1	4	11	6	0	5	7	5	1	1	2	2	0	0	4	3	0	1	0	0	0	0
Turkey	10	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	6	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Switzerland	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0
Ukraine	4	4	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
United States	36	25	0	11	8	4	0	4	8	7	0	1	7	5	0	2	13	9	0	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	0
Total (36)	489	325	19	145

* includes games against Serbia and Montenegro / FR Yugoslavia

Biggest wins

double digit goal difference

Olympic Games	World Championship	World Cup	World League	European Championship	Europa Cup	Mediterranean Games	Qualifications
+12 vs. China (16–4) 2008 +11 vs. Egypt (12–1) 2004	+34 vs. New Zealand (35–1) 1994 +19 vs. South Africa (19–0) 2013 +17 vs. New Zealand (21–4) 2013 +16 vs. New Zealand (19–3) 1998 +15 vs. Canada (19–4) 2005 +15 vs. Kazakhstan (19–4) 1998 +11 vs. Brasil (17–6) 1998 +11 vs. Japan (18–7) 2011 +10 vs. Canada (13–3) 2003 +10 vs. China (15–5) 2009 +10 vs. Japan (16–6) 2017 +10 vs. Russia (13–3) 2007	+23 vs. South Africa (25–2) 2018 +21 vs. Iran (23–2) 2010 +13 vs. South Africa (16–3) 2018 +10 vs. China (14–4) 2010	+21 vs. South Africa (22–1) 2010 +19 vs. Turkey (20–1) 2013 +17 vs. Brasil (20–3) 2012 +16 vs. Kazakhstan (20–4) 2019 +16 vs. Kazakhstan (19–3) 2017 +14 vs. Turkey (17–3) 2013 +13 vs. Spain (19–6) 2006 +13 vs. Turkey (19–6) 2016 +13 vs. Turkey (16–3) 2016 +11 vs. Netherlands (18–7) 2017 +10 vs. Brasil (17–7) 2005 +10 vs. China (15–5) 2011 +10 vs. China (14–4) 2015 +10 vs. France (16–6) 2017 +10 vs. Kazakhstan (15–5) 2018 +10 vs. Netherlands (17–7) 2017 +10 vs. Russia (14–4) 2018 +10 vs. Turkey (13–3) 2015	+24 vs. Austria (26–2) 1995 +21 vs. Turkey (23–2) 2018 +20 vs. Malta (22–2) 2016 +15 vs. France (20–5) 2016 +13 vs. Turkey (16–3) 2010 +12 vs. Netherlands (16–4) 2012 +11 vs. Slovenia (19–8) 2006 +10 vs. Slovakia (15–5) 2008	+15 vs. France (20–5) 2018 +12 vs. Netherlands (16–4) 2018 +11 vs. Malta (16–5) 2018	+13 vs. Turkey (17–4) 2013 +11 vs. Greece (14–3) 2009	+20 vs. Georgia (23–3) 1999 +17 vs. Puerto Rico (18–1) 2004 +12 vs. Romania (12–0) 2004

Biggest losses

Olympic Games	World Championship	World Cup	World League	European Championship	Europa Cup	Mediterranean Games
-4 vs. Serbia (7–11) 2016 -4 vs. Italy (7–11) 2004	-7 vs. Serbia (4–11) 2015 -6 vs. Hungary (4–10) 2005 -5 vs. Spain (6–11) 1994	-6 vs. Serbia (7–13) 2010 -5 vs. Hungary (6–11) 1997 -5 vs. Russia (5–10) 1997 -5 vs. Spain (2–7) 1995	-9 vs. Hungary (6–15) 2007 -8 vs. Greece (5–13) 2008 -7 vs. Brasil (10–17) 2015	-7 vs. Serbia (6–13) 2016 -6 vs. Hungary (5–11) 1995 -5 vs. Hungary (11–16) 2006	-2 vs. Greece 2018 -2 vs. Hungary 2019	-9 vs. Italy (5–14) 2005 -6 vs. Serbia (8–14) 2009

Non-senior competitions

World Youth Championship

U-18

Year	Round	Position
2012	Semi-final	4th
2014	Quarterfinal	8th
2016	Champions	1st

World Junior Championship

U-20

Year	Round	Position
1991
1993
1995
1997	Final
1999
2001	Final
2003	Quarterfinal	7th
2005	Final
2007	Semi-final
2009	Final
2011	Quarterfinal	6th
2013	Final
2015

European Youth Championship

U-17

Year	Round	Position
2003	Semi-final
2005	Final
2007	Semi-final
2008	Semi-final
2009	Final
2011	Final
2013	Qualified
2015 *	Semi-final	4th

* incorporated in the 1st European Games

European Junior Championship

U-19

Year	Round	Position
2004	Final
2006	Semi-final	4th
2008	Quarterfinal	5th
2010	Semi-final
2012	Semi-final
2014	Semi-final

Awards

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

Notes

^ FINA 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.

References

^ ^a ^b "Pobjeda u jubilarnoj 800. utakmici Barakuda: Hrvatska trijumfom nad Francuzima otvorila turnir u Beogradu". sportske.jutarnji.hr. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. pp. 4, 14, 25, 40, 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
^ Qualification for the tournament was determined by placing in the 1992 Olympics tournament. Since the Croatian team couldn't had participated in the 1992 Olympic water polo tournament due to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, it couldn't qualify for the 1993 World Cup.
^ "21st World Aquatics World Championships Men's Water Polo Team Roster CRO" (PDF). Omega Timing. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
^ "Stigla potvrda iz MOO-a: Javier Garcia s Hrvatskom na Olimpijskim igrama u Riju".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Croatia men's national water polo team.

Official website (in Croatian)

Croatia squads

Croatia squads – Summer Olympics
v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 1996 Summer Olympics – Silver medal
1 Školneković (GK) 2 Vrdoljak 3 Kreković 4 Šimenc 5 Kržić 6 Štritof 7 Vrbičić 8 Glavan 9 Vegar 10 Bukić 11 Hinić 12 Balić (GK) 13 Kobešćak Coach: Silić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2000 Summer Olympics – 7th place
1 Školneković (GK) 2 Fatović 3 Sarić 4 Šimenc 5 Kržić 6 Štritof 7 Smodlaka 8 Ivaniš 9 Bošković 10 Barać 11 Hinić 12 Vićan (GK) 13 Kobešćak Coach: Kovačević

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2004 Summer Olympics – 10th place
1 Vićan (GK) 2 Burić 3 Vranješ 4 Šimenc 5 Volarević (GK) 6 Štritof (C) 7 Smodlaka 8 Premuš 9 Franković 10 Barać 11 Hinić 12 Fatović 13 Kobešćak Coach: Roje

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2008 Summer Olympics – 6th place
1 Vićan (GK) 2 Burić 3 Bušlje 4 Vrdoljak (C) 5 Kunac 6 Joković 7 Smodlaka 8 Đogaš 9 Marković 10 Barać 11 Hinić 12 Bošković 13 Pavić (GK) Coach: Rudić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2012 Summer Olympics – Gold medal (1st title)
1 Pavić (GK) 2 Burić 3 Bošković 4 Dobud 5 Joković (LH) 6 Buljubašić 7 Muslim 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Barać (C) 11 Hinić 12 Obradović 13 Vićan (GK) Coach: Rudić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2016 Summer Olympics – Silver medal
1 Pavić (C, GK) 2 Burić 3 Petković 4 Lončar 5 Joković (LH) 6 Bukić 7 Macan 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Krapić 11 Šetka 12 García (LH) 13 Bijač (GK) Coach: Tucak

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2020 Summer Olympics – 5th place
1 Bijač (GK) 2 Macan 3 Fatović 4 Lončar 5 Joković (LH) 6 Bukić 7 Vukičević 8 Bušlje (C) 9 Miloš 10 Vrlić 11 Obradović 12 García (LH) 13 Marcelić (GK) Coach: Tucak

Croatia squads – World Aquatics Championships

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 1994 World Aquatics Championships – 4th place
1 Posinković 2 Vrdoljak 3 Kreković 4 Šimenc 5 Školneković (GK) 6 Bezmalinović 7 Štritof 8 Savičević 9 Vrbičić 10 Bukić 11 Kržić 12 D. Kobešćak 13 V. Kobešćak Coach: Silić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 1998 World Aquatics Championships – 9th place
1 Školneković (GK) 2 Vrdoljak 3 Barać 4 Herceg 5 Kržić 6 Štritof 7 Vrbičić 8 Glavan 9 Perinčić 10 Bukić 11 Hinić 12 Ivaniš 13 Kobešćak Coach: Silić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2001 World Aquatics Championships – 8th place
1 Volarević (GK) 2 Kunac 3 Oreb 4 Letica 5 Đogaš 6 Sarić 7 Smodlaka 8 Ivaniš 9 Benić 10 Barać 11 Hinić 12 Pavić (GK) 13 Kobešćak Coach: Kovačević

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2003 World Aquatics Championships – 9th place
1 Vićan (GK) 2 Burić 3 Volarević (GK) 4 Šimenc 5 Vranješ 6 Štritof 7 Smodlaka 8 Đogaš 9 Franković 10 Barać 11 Hinić 12 Fatović 13 Kobešćak Coach: Roje

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2005 World Aquatics Championships – 4th place
1 Pavić (GK) 2 Burić 3 Pavlovic 4 Antonnevic 5 Vranješ 6 Franković 7 Primorac 8 Đogaš (C) 9 Bušlje 10 Komadina 11 Hinić 12 Bošković 13 Volarević (GK) Coach: Rudić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2007 World Aquatics Championships – Gold medal (1st title)
1 Vićan (GK) 2 Burić 3 Bušlje 4 Vrdoljak (C) 5 Kunac 6 Joković 7 Smodlaka 8 Đogaš 9 Marković 10 Barać 11 Hinić 12 Bošković 13 Pavić (GK) Coach: Rudić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Bronze medal
1 Brzica (GK) 2 Burić 3 Bošković 4 Dobud 5 Buljubašić 6 Antonijević 7 Karač 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Barać (C) 11 Hinić 12 Obradović 13 Pavić (GK) Coach: Rudić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2011 World Aquatics Championships – Bronze medal
1 Pavić (GK) 2 Burić 3 Bošković 4 Dobud 5 Joković 6 Muslim 7 Karač 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Barać (C) 11 Paškvalin 12 Obradović 13 Buljubašić Coach: Rudić

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2013 World Aquatics Championships – Bronze medal
1 Pavić (C, GK) 2 Lončar 3 Milaković 4 Paškvalin 5 Joković 6 Bukić 7 Muslim 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Dobud 11 Šetka 12 Obradović 13 Bijač (GK) Coach: Tucak

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2015 World Aquatics Championships – Silver medal
1 Pavić (C, GK) 2 Burić 3 Petković 4 Lončar 5 Joković 6 Bukić 7 Muslim 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Paškvalin 11 Šetka 12 Obradović 13 Bijač (GK) Coach: Tucak

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2017 World Aquatics Championships – Gold medal (2nd title)
1 Bijač (GK) 2 Macan 3 Fatović 4 Lončar 5 Joković 6 Buljubašić 7 Vukičević 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno (C) 10 Krapić 11 Šetka 12 García 13 Marcelić (GK) Coach: Tucak

v t e Croatia men's water polo squad – 2019 World Aquatics Championships – Bronze medal
1 Bijač (GK) 2 Macan 3 Fatović 4 Lončar 5 Joković 6 Benić 7 Vukičević 8 Bušlje (C) 9 Miloš 10 Vrlić 11 Šetka 12 García 13 Marcelić (GK) Coach: Tucak

v t e Croatia squad – 2014 FINA Water Polo World Cup - 3rd place
1 Bijač 2 Bukić 3 I.Milaković 4 Divković 5 Vukičević 6 Buljubašić 7 Muslim 8 K.Milaković 9 Visković 10 Živković 11 Šetka 12 Macan 13 Marcelić Coach: Tucak

Croatia squads – European Championship

v t e Croatia squad – 1999 European Championship Runners-up
1 Školneković 2 Padovan 3 Đogaš 4 Šimenc 5 Sarić 6 Štritof 7 Smodlaka 8 Ivaniš 9 Bošković 10 Barač 11 Hinić 12 Vićan 13 Kobešćak 14 Letica 15 Jerković Coach: Kovačević

v t e Croatia squad – 2001 European Championship Fourth Place
1 Vićan 2 Kunac 3 Oreb 4 Letica 5 Đogaš 6 Štritof 7 Smodlaka 8 Ivaniš 9 Benić 10 Barač 11 Hinić 12 Primorac 13 Kobešćak 14 Sarić 15 Volarević Coach: Kovačević

v t e Croatia squad – 2003 European Championship Runners-up
1 Vićan 2 Burić 3 Herceg 4 Šimenc 5 Vranješ 6 Štritof 7 Smodlaka 8 Đogaš 9 Franković 10 Barač 11 Hinić 12 Fatović 13 Kobešćak 14 Ivaniš 15 Volarević Coach: Roje

v t e Croatia squad – 2010 European Championship Winners (1st Title)
1 Pavić 2 Burić 3 Bošković 4 Dobud 5 Joković 6 Muslim 7 Karač 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Barač 11 Hinić 12 Obradović 13 Buljubašić Coach: Rudić

v t e Croatia squad – 2012 European Championship Ninth Place
1 Pavić 2 Burić 3 Bošković 4 Dobud 5 Joković 6 Muslim 7 Karač 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Barač 11 Paškvalin 12 Obradović 13 Buljubašić Coach: Rudić

v t e Croatia squad – 2014 European Championship Fifth Place
1 Pavić 2 Bukić 3 Milaković 4 Lončar 5 Joković 6 Buljubašić 7 Muslim 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Dobud 11 Šetka 12 Živković 13 Bijač Coach: Tucak

v t e Croatia squad – 2016 European Championship Seventh Place
1 Pavić 2 Burić 3 Petković 4 Lončar 5 Joković 6 Bukić 7 Vukičević 8 Bušlje 9 Sukno 10 Pavlović 11 Šetka 12 Macan 13 Bijač Coach: Tucak

v t e Croatia squad – 2018 European Championship Third Place
1 Bijač 2 Macan 3 Fatović 4 Lončar 5 Joković 6 Buljubašić 7 Vukičević 8 Bušlje 9 Miloš 10 Pavlović 11 Šetka 12 García 13 Marcelić Coach: Tucak