The Hungary men's national water polo team represents Hungary in international men's water polo competitions and is controlled by the Hungarian Water Polo Association. It is considered the world's top power in the history of water polo, having won 16 Olympic, 12 World Championship, 10 FINA World Cup, eight FINA World League, 26 European Championship and 17 Summer Universiade medals for a total of 91.
Competitive record Medals Updated after 2023 World Championships Competition TotalOlympic Games 9 3 4 16Friendship Games 0 1 0 1World Championship 4 7 1 12World Cup 4 5 2 11World League 2 5 1 8European Championship 13 7 6 26Europa Cup 1 0 0 1Mediterranean Games 0 0 0 0Summer Universiade 5 6 6 17 Total 38 34 20 92 Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Olympic Games
Hungary missed five Olympics, but they have won the title nine times, which is a record. As of today, there are only seven tournaments in which Hungary participated but did not receive a medal.
GamesRoundPosition 1900 Parisdid not participate 1904 St. Louis 1908 London 1912 StockholmFirst round5th of 62002911 −2 1920 Antwerpdid not participate 1924 ParisQuarter-finals5th of 1342021717 0 1928 AmsterdamRunners-up2nd of 144301268 +18 1932 Los AngelesChampions1st of 53300312 +29 1936 BerlinChampions1st of 167610444 +40 1948 LondonRunners-up2nd of 1875113417 +17 1952 HelsinkiChampions1st of 2186205316 +37 1956 MelbourneChampions1st of 106600264 +22 1960 RomeThird place3rd of 1674213718 +19 1964 TokyoChampions1st of 1365103413 +21 1968 Mexico CityThird place3rd of 1587015426 +28 1972 MunichRunners-up2nd of 1686204221 +21 1976 MontrealChampions1st of 1287104532 +13 1980 MoscowThird place3rd of 1285125144 +7 1984 Los Angelesdid not participate 1988 Seoul5th–8th placement5th of 1273227257 +15 1992 Barcelona5th–8th placement6th of 1273226562 +3 1996 AtlantaFourth place4th of 1286028373 +10 2000 SydneyChampions1st of 1286027857 +21 2004 AthensChampions1st of 1277005939 +20 2008 BeijingChampions1st of 1276108555 +30 2012 LondonMatch for 5th place5th of 1285039880 +18 2016 Rio de JaneiroMatch for 5th place5th of 1284409166 +25 2020 TokyoThird place3rd of 1285129460 +34 2024 ParisFourth place4th of 1283238780 +7Total24/299 Titles16211323261,315862+453
World Championships Hungary has taken part in every World Championships. They have won this championship four times: in 1973, 2003, 2013 and 2023.
YearPosition 1973 8 71 0 58 24 +34 1975 8 7 0 1 62 42 +20 1978 8 5 3 049 33 +16 1982 7 5 2 0 70 49 +21 1986 9th6 4 0 2 58 43 +15 1991 75 1 1 83 62 +21 1994 5th7 4 1 2 79 54 +25 1998 86 0 2 85 48 +37 2001 5th8 6 0 2 67 51 +16 2003 6 51 0 62 37 +25 2005 65 0 1 57 29 +28 2007 6 5 0 1 84 43 +41 2009 5th6 4 1 1 68 42 +26 2011 4th6 4 0 2 73 60 +13 2013 7 5 1 1 76 54 +22 2015 6th 6 4 0 2 81 40 +41 2017 6 4 1 1 62 37 +25 2019 4th 6 4 0 2 87 51 +36 2022 7th 6 4 1 1 79 56 +23 2023 6 5 1 0 84 64 +20 2024 7th 6 2 2 2 86 54 +32 2025 7 5 0 2 115 90 +25Total22/22147 105 16 26 1625 1063 +562
World Cup The Hungarian national team missed three editions of the World Cup, but they won it four times: in 1979, 1995, 1999 and 2018.
YearPosition 1979 7 5 1 1 37 28+9 1981 6th 73 04 6456 +8 1983 7th 7 04 3 57 64 −7 1985 did not participate 1987 1989 5 3 0 240 36 +4 1991 4th 5 2 1 248 42+6 1993 54 0 1 39 30 +9 1995 5 4 1 051 34 +17 1997 5 3 1 1 38 29 +9 1999 5 4 0 1 44 24 +20 2002 6 3 0 3 48 43 +5 2006 5 4 0 1 57 35 +22 2010 did not participate 2014 6 4 2 0 61 35 +26 2018 6 5 0 1 70 57 +13 2023 4th 3 1 0 2 27 28 −1 2025 5 4 0 1 77 56 +21 2026 3 2 0 1 43 38 +5Total16/1985 51 10 24 801 635 +166
World League Hungary has taken part in the first edition of the FINA Water Polo World League in 2002. They have won the gold medal one and two years later. In 2006 and from 2008 to 2012, Hungary did not participate in the World League.
YearPosition 2002 16 13 0 3 188 119 +69 2003 5 5 0 0 56 35 +21 2004 14 11 0 3 150114 +36 2005 14 11 0 3 178 113 +65 2006 did not participate 2007 14 130 1 187 100 +87 2008 did not participate 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 6 40 2 66 59 +7 2014 10 8 02 103 73 +30 2015 6th 12 9 0 3156 105 +51 2016 did not qualify 2017 did not participate 2018 10 62 2 106 73 +33 2019 5th 6 3 2 1 78 67 +11 2020did not qualify 2022Total10/20 107 83 420 1,268 858 +410
European Championships
Hungary missed only one European Championship, in 1950, and they have won the tournament 13 times, which is (as in the World Championships) a record. No team has a better result than Hungary in history of the European Championship.
YearPosition 1926 3 3 0 0 16 3 +13 1927 3 3 0 0 14 6 +8 1931 6 5 1 0 52 7+45 1934 6 6 0 035 5 +30 1938 6 6 0 0 35 3+32 1947 4th4 2 1 1 1612 +4 1950 did not participate 1954 1958 1962 1966 5th 1970 1974 1977 1981 1983 1985 5th 1987 5th 1989 9th 1991 5th 1993 1995 7 6 0 1 9553 +42 1997 1999 2001 2003 2006 2008 2010 4th 2012 2014 2016 7 5 1 1 80 45 +35 2018 8th 72 1 4 52 54 −2 2020 6 4 2 0 8943 +46 2022 6 5 0 1 92 44 +48 2024 4th 62 1 3 58 59 −1 2026 8 5 1 2 112 82 +30Total36/37
Friendship Games YearPosition 1984 5 3 1 1 68 43 +25Total2/65 3 1 1 68 43 +25
Europa Cup 2018 – 6th place 2019 – Gold medal
Team Current squad Roster for the 2026 Men's European Water Polo Championship.
Head coach: Zsolt Varga
NameDate of birthPos.ClubCsoma Kristóf Budapesti Honvéd SEDániel Angyal Olympiacos PiraeusKrisztián Manhercz (C) FTC-TelekomNagy Ákos FTC-TelekomVince Vigvári CN BarcelonaÁdám Nagy CN MarseilleGergő Fekete FTC-TelekomTátrai Dávid BVSC Manna ABCPéter Kovács BVSC Manna ABCVigvári Vendel FTC-TelekomSzilárd Jansik FTC-TelekomBenedek Batizi BVSC Manna ABCSoma Vogel FTC-TelekomVismeg Zsombor FTC-TelekomVince Varga FTC-Telekom
Former squads Olympic Games Roster for the 2025 World Championships.
Head coach: Zsolt Varga
1 Kristóf Csoma 2 Dániel Angyal 3 Krisztián Manhercz 4 Erik Molnár 5 Márton Vámos 6 Ádám Nagy 7 Gergő Fekete 8 Gergely Burián 9 Péter Kovács 10 Vendel Vigvári 11 Szilárd Jansik 12 Vince Vigvári 13 Márton Mizsei 14 Ákos Nagy 15 Zsombor Vismeg
Individual all-time records
Most appearances and goals Total number of matches played in official competitions only.
#PlayerYearsMatchesGoals1Tibor Benedek 1990–20083842ifj. István Szívós 1966–19803083Dániel Varga 2005–20162784Norbert Hosnyánszky 2005–20212584Tamás Faragó 1970–19852586Dénes Varga 2004–20242467György Gerendás 1975–19862308Zoltán Kósz 1986–2001, 20062289Endre Molnár 1966–198018910László Sárosi 1966–1978634 Statistics accurate as of matches played 18 January 2016
Olympic statistics
Five-time Olympians Dezső Gyarmati: 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964; Tibor Benedek: 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008; Tamás Kásás: 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012.
Olympians with four or more medals Dezső Gyarmati: 5 medals, 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze (1948 , 1952 , 1956 , 1960 , 1964 ); György Kárpáti: 4 medals, 3 gold and 1 bronze (1952 , 1956 , 1960 , 1964 ). András Bodnár: 4 medals, 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze (1960 , 1964 , 1968 , 1972 ). ifj. István Szívós: 4 medals, 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze (1968 , 1972 , 1976 , 1980 ).
Olympians with three gold medals Dezső Gyarmati: 1952 , 1956 , 1964 ; György Kárpáti: 1952 , 1956 , 1964 ; Tibor Benedek: 2000 , 2004 , 2008 ; Péter Biros: 2000 , 2004 , 2008 ; Tamás Kásás: 2000 , 2004 , 2008 ; Gergely Kiss: 2000 , 2004 , 2008 ; Tamás Molnár: 2000 , 2004 , 2008 ; Zoltán Szécsi: 2000 , 2004 , 2008 .
World Championship statistics Players with four or more medals Norbert Madaras: 4 medals, 2 gold and 2 silver (2003 , 2005 , 2007 , 2013 ); Rajmund Fodor: 4 medals, 1 gold and 3 silver (1998 , 2003 , 2005 , 2007 ); Tamás Kásás: 4 medals, 1 gold and 3 silver (1998 , 2003 , 2005 , 2007 ); Gergely Kiss: 4 medals, 1 gold and 3 silver (1998 , 2003 , 2005 , 2007 ); Tamás Molnár: 4 medals, 1 gold and 3 silver (1998 , 2003 , 2005 , 2007 ); Tibor Benedek: 4 medals, 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze (1991 , 1998 , 2003 , 2007 ).
Players with two gold medals Norbert Madaras: 2003 , 2013 . Dénes Varga: 2013 , 2023 Márton Vámos: 2013 , 2023
World Cup statistics Players with four or more medals Rajmund Fodor: 6 medals, 2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze (1993 , 1995 , 1997 , 1999 , 2002 , 2006 ); Tamás Kásás: 5 medals, 2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze (1995 , 1997 , 1999 , 2002 , 2006 ); Tibor Benedek: 4 medals, 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze (1993 , 1995 , 1997 , 2002 ); Gergely Kiss: 4 medals, 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze (1997 , 1999 , 2002 , 2006 ); Tamás Molnár: 4 medals, 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze (1997 , 1999 , 2002 , 2006 ).
Players with two gold medals Rajmund Fodor: 1995 , 1999 ; Tamás Kásás: 1995 , 1999 ; Zoltán Kósz: 1995 , 1999 ; Frank Tóth: 1995 , 1999 ; Balázs Vincze: 1995 , 1999 .
Awards Hungarian Sport Team of the Year: 1958, 1961, 1962, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2013
See also Blood in the Water match Hungary men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics Hungary women's national water polo team List of Olympic champions in men's water polo List of men's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics List of world champions in men's water polo List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
References
External links
Hungarian Water Polo official website