Officially, only Pro Recco’s first place in their group has already been confirmed, while everyone else has something to play for on the last day of the Group Stage as Champions League action resumes on Wednesday after the European Championships break. The Serbian sides, with freshly crowned continental champions on board, face tough away games, with Radnicki needing a win in regular time in Piraeus against Olympiacos, while Novi Beograd play a do-or-die match in Herceg Novi against Jadran m:tel.
2025/26 Champions League Men
Group Stage, Day 6
Wednesday 11 February
(All games start 20:00 CET)
Group A
Olympiacos SFP (GRE) v SPD Radnicki (SRB)
HAVK Mladost (CRO) v Vasas Plaket (HUN)
Standings: 1. Olympiacos 12pts, 2. Radnicki 9pts, 2. Mladost 9pts, 4. Vasas 0pts
Group B
Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (MNE) v VK Novi Beograd Tehnomanija (SRB)
VK Jadran Split (CRO) v Pro Recco (ITA)
Standings: 1. Recco 15pts, 2. Jadran m:tel 6pts, 2. Novi Beograd 6pts, 4. Jadran Split 3pts
Group C
VPK Primorac Kotor (MNE) v FTC Telekom Waterpolo (HUN)
AN Brescia (ITA) v CSM Oradea (ROU)
Standings: 1. FTC 13pts, 2. Brescia 11pts, 3. Primorac 3pts, 4. Oradea 3pts
Group D
KEIO CN Sabadell (ESP) v CN Marseille (FRA)
Zodiac CNAB (ESP) v Waspo 98 Hannover (GER)
Standings: 1. CNAB 12pts, 2. Hannover 9pts, 3. Marseille 6pts, 4. Sabadell 3pts
Group A
Standings: 1. Olympiacos 12, 2. Radnicki 9, 3. Mladost 9, 4. Vasas 0
Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v SPD Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB)
Head-to-head: 5-1 (1d)
Day 3: 13-12. 2022-23: 13-7, 10-10. 2021-22: 11-7, 8-10. 2014-15: 13-7, 8-7
This is one of the big matches in the last round. The Greeks have almost reached safe waters, as only an eight-goal loss would prevent them from making the top eight – it’s a hard to imagine scenario.
At the same time, the Serbs need a regular time win to force a three-way tie, which would favour them in any case and would relegate Mladost to the Euro Cup. With several of their stars fresh from their European Championships triumph, an away win may not be out of reach for the Serbs, though Olympiacos, filled with happy bronze medal winners from Belgrade, will go all-out to avoid a home defeat.
The Greeks are also aware a two-goal loss would drop them to the second place and that would possibly send them to a lot tougher road to Malta, where they may face at least two of the other three group winners, Recco, Barceloneta and most probably FTC.
(A possible three-way tie, to be achieved if Radnicki claim a regular-time win, would only consider the results the three sides had among each other; as of now, Olympiacos’ goal difference stands at +4, Radnicki’s at 0, Mladost’s at –4 – this latter one is final)
Elvis Fatovic, Olympiacos coach: “We are expecting a very hard match against Radnički. I think that both teams have the same goals. We want to win. Comparing to the first game, now they’re playing with Jakšić and we saw him playing at a really high level at the European Championships in Belgrade.
“But we know that we are also a good team and I believe the fact we had a similar number of the players who participated in the European Championships will be a very important factor.
“So because of this really short time to recover, I believe the team who recovers faster will have more of a chance to win. So, definitely, we are expecting a great game. I believe in our quality and we are optimists.”
Dinos Genidounias, Olympiacos: “The match against Radnički is very important for us because we want the win to secure first place in the group.
“It is the first significant and difficult game in quite a while for both teams, and we certainly expect a tough match from the Serbians, who also desperately want the win to qualify.
“We are excited to be playing in front of our home crowd and our fans after a long time, and our goal is to pick up exactly where we left off before the break.”
Mladost Zagreb (CRO) v Vasas Plaket (HUN)
Head-to-head: 5-0
Day 3: 13-10. 2011-12: 10-6 (qualifications), 11-7 (bronze medal). 2010-11: 9-8, 8-7
It’s a must-win game for Mladost and it still might not be enough to make the top eight. The Croatians’ faith is in the hands of Olympiacos – provided the Croats beat Vasas, which should not be a problem based on what happened in this group so far, all they need is at least a single point gained by Olympiacos against Radnicki in the other match. A regular-time win for the Serbs – provided it’s not by 8+ goals, would end Mladost’s CL campaign for this season.
Bence Bátori, Vasas: “If you are playing in the Champions League there is always something at stake. For Mladost, it will be a very important match for them, so we are expecting a special atmosphere.
“In Budapest, we were close to them, and in Zagreb we will also try to show our best face.”
Group B
Standings: 1. Recco 15pts, 2. Jadran m:tel 6pts, 2. Novi Beograd 6pts, 4. Jadran Split 3pts
Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (MNE) v Novi Beograd Tehnomanija (SRB)
Head-to-head: 1-0
Day 3: 12-11
The winners of this match will reach the top eight, while the losers would continue in the Euro Cup. The Montenegrins may have stunned their Serbian arch-rivals in Belgrade, but it’s yet to be seen what level the two sides could reach after such a long break and less than two weeks in practice with the full rosters. Amid these circumstances, there is no way to call this match in advance, it can really go either way.
Miodrag Mirovic, Novi Beograd coach: “The stakes are huge for both teams. Jadran are a mature European team with a distinctive style of play, characterised by a lot of swimming and aggression, a blend of youth and experience.
“Their greatest strength comes from organisation and discipline. In these matches, the winners are the ones who have greater desire in every attack and every defence throughout all four quarters, and we will strive to be that team.
“We still have to play calmly, patiently and stick to our plan. We must manage the swimming rhythm and make quality decisions based on the team, both by the coaching staff and the players. Our goal is a victory.”
Milos Cuk, Novi Beograd: “We have had seven days since we managed to be together after the European Championships. We have tried to get our chemistry right and to cement some basics of our game through the match with Partizan last weekend. We have an idea of how we should look.
“It will be crucial to respond to their aggression and swimming with even greater force, to impose our rhythm, and then we will not have any problems.
“We will do everything in our power to continue competing in the Champions League. I think we are ready, thank God, we are healthy, which is the most important thing. I believe we will be right on Wednesday and bring the points home.”
Jadran Split (CRO) v Pro Recco (ITA)
Head-to-head: 0-5
Day 3: 9-15. 2023-24: 10-13, 9-18. 2022-23: 8-13, 7-14
Whatever would be the outcome of this clash, it won’t affect the ranks of these two. Even a surprise win for Jadran would not move them from the fourth place, while Recco have already secured the top spot.
Indeed, the Italians are the only unbeaten side in the League, and they are ready to maintain their perfect record in Split too.
Francesco Di Fulvio, Pro Recco: “We travel to Split in high spirits after winning the Coppa Italia at home. We know this match has no impact on the standings, but after a 40-day break for the European Championships it will be very important to regain our rhythm.
“We’ve been back together for two weeks and the season is still long. The game in Croatia will be very useful to get back into match sharpness.”
Group C
Standings: 1. FTC 13pts, 2. Brescia 11pts, 3. Primorac 3pts, 4. Oradea 3pts
Primorac Kotor (MNE) v FTC-Telekom (HUN)
Head-to-head: 0-1
Day 3: 15-26
Title-holders FTC are looking to bounce back from their somewhat shocking end to 2025, when Brescia managed to hand them a shootout defeat in Budapest in December, before the club season break commenced.
Still, Fradi are all set to finish on top of the group, they just need a single point to cement their first position in the group and based on their first encounter with Kotor, even a close tie would be surprising.
Still, the young Montenegrins may have a shot at forcing an exciting match – though the Hungarians have been on a roll, as the core team members were the engine behind the Magyars’ silver medal run in Belgrade, together with their foreign aces.
Dusan Mandic, MVP in the final, and Stylianos Argyropoulos both made the MVP Team of the championships, just like Krisztian Manhercz and Akos Nagy, the wingers of Fradi. All in all, four of the Belgrade Best Seven may be in the pool to secure another win for the Hungarians, creating a huge challenge for Primorac.
AN Brescia (ITA) v CSM Oradea (ROU)
Head-to-head: 6-1
Day 3: 16-11. 2024-25: 7-7, pen: 6-7. 2019-20: 18-1 (qualification). 2018-19: 16-4 (qual.). 2017-18: 15-8 (qual). 2013-14: 10-6, 18-7
Back in December, Brescia achieved what other teams had been unable to do since May 2023 – beat FTC in Budapest. Though it came after a shootout, it’s still a win, and it also kept the Italians in the race for the top spot – even if they would be the most surprised perhaps if they end up in the first position, as that would require a miraculous win from Primorac in the other match.
Of course, Brescia also need to beat Oradea, but that looks a lot easier task, as they already did that on Day 3, when they won by five in Romania.
Petar Kovacevic, CSM Oradea coach: “Unfortunately, this season has been divided, with a very long period without official matches.
“We played the first official game last weekend and now we are focusing for the next Champions League game.
“We want to end our participation in this competition with a good performance, but we are also aware of the quality Brescia has.
“I believe that by the end of February we will have the team at a high level and will be ready for the difficult games that await us.
“In the meantime, we are eagerly awaiting the game in Italy, but also the Euro Cup draw to identify our opponents and start preparing for them.”
Vlado Popadic, Brescia: “Oradea are a team that have a certain quality, they have a couple of excellent experienced players.
“Although we have already passed to the next round, we should not relax because we are playing on home ground where we always go for victory.
“This game can be useful for us to better prepare tactically for the rest of the season, after a long break due to the European championships.
“If we are at our level, I believe we can get another three points.”
Group D
Standings: 1. CNAB 12pts, 2. Hannover 9pts, 3. Marseille 6pts, 4. Sabadell 3pts
Zodiac CNAB (ESP) v Waspo 98 Hannover (GER)
Head-to-head: 9-0 (1d)
Day 3: 27-11. 2022-23: 20-5, 16-7. 2021-22: 12-8, 12-10. 2019-20: 16-8. 2018-19: 13-12, 13-7. 2016-17: 9-9, 12-10
After all the surprises in this group, at the end, Barceloneta had already booked the top spot. At least theoretically, but the only way to lose their first rank would be a 17-goal defeat to Hannover, which is not even in the category of fairy-tales.
At the same time, the Germans would need a single point to secure their Quarter-final Round berth on their own. They could still lose in Barceloneta in regular time, which on paper is the likeliest outcome, but then they need to wait for the news coming from some 50km away in Sabadell where they’ll be hoping for anything other than a Marseille victory.
Fran Fernández, CNAB coach: “The challenge is to bring the players back to peak physical and mental condition after the stress of a major tournament, while at the same time giving match rhythm to those who have barely competed since early December.
“For us, having done our homework before the break by securing qualification and first place in the group, this match marks the start of the second and most important part of the season.
“We are aware that Hannover arrive with more than real chances of qualifying for the next phase, as they depend on themselves.
“After the first-leg match, where we won comfortably, the challenge is to avoid relaxation. We must approach the game with great seriousness.
“I hope my team plays with the joy of being back together, in front of our fans, and with the desire to find good feelings in order to face the coming months with ambition and confidence.
“We are really looking forward to the Champions League starting again, to competing against the best, to the return of those magical water polo nights, and to seeing what we are capable of.”
Marko MACAN, Hannover: “It’s hard and probably too optimistic to count on a surprise in Barcelona, even though we’ve managed a few this season.
“At this moment, we just need to give our best. We’ve already done a great job in the Champions League this year, but we want to keep growing – whether it’s in the Champions League or the Euro Cup, it doesn’t matter.”
KEIO CN Sabadell (ESP) v CN Marseille (FRA)
Head-to-head: 2-1
Day 3: 12-11. 2022-23: 13-11, 6-9
It’s an all-in match for the French, who must beat Sabadell in regular time to have a chance to go through. They may count on Barceloneta that the Spaniards would beat Hannover in 32 minutes, then three points would send Marseille to the top eight as the head-to-head results favour them above the Germans (20-7, 14-16).
However, Sabadell are not famous for offering free gifts for any rivals, not even in their position when they have little to fight for – a win would lift them to the third place and drop the French to the bottom.
Apart from pride and prestige, that may offer them a bit of an easier match-up for the Euro Cup eight-finals (to be paired against a runner-up, not a group winner), that’s all they can achieve as they have no chance to make the next round in the Champions League.
Milos SCEPANOVIC, Marseille coach: “It is a crucial match that comes just after Euro 2026 in Belgrade, a period that is always challenging for players, who are often physically and mentally drained after such an intense competition. Nevertheless, we quickly got back to work to prepare for this game in the best possible conditions, with a true winning mind-set against a very talented Sabadell team.”
Ugo CROUSILLAT, Marseille: “We are highly motivated and fully determined by the stakes of this match, which at this point stands as the most important of the season.
“We are aware of its sporting and symbolic significance, so the team approaches this game with maximum commitment and a genuine desire to make the difference.”
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
