Water polo at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Men's tournament

The men's water polo tournament at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, organised by the FINA, was held in Rome, Italy from 20 July to 1 August 2009. All matches were held in a temporary pool at the tennis stadium of the Foro Italico sports complex.

The men's tournament was won by Serbia.

Groups formed

 * Group A


 * Group B


 * Group C


 * Group D

Preliminary round
All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)

Tie-breaking criteria
If two teams shall have equal points, further classification shall be established as follows: If there is more than one tie in a group, the highest placed tie shall be determined first.
 * 1) The team winning the game between them shall be placed higher.
 * 2) If the game between them was tied, then the results against the highest placed team(s) in the group shall be considered.
 * 3) The first comparison shall be based on goal difference, and if still tied, then based on goals scored.
 * 4) The comparison shall be made first compared to the highest placed team (or teams, if tied) in the group.
 * 5) If still tied, the results against the next highest placed team (or teams, if tied) shall be used in succession until all results have been considered.
 * 6) If still tied, the teams shall shoot penalty shots to determine which team shall be placed higher.  Each team shall nominate five players and a goalkeeper who will participate in the penalty shoot out. The team shall shoot five penalty shots at the goal of the other team, alternating shots.  If a tie exists after each team has taken five shots, then teams shall take sets of alternate shots until one team scores and the other does not. The procedure shall be conducted following the final game of the round or at the first practical opportunity.

If three or more teams shall have equal points, further classification shall be established as follows: If there is more than one tie in a group, the highest placed tie shall be determined first.
 * 1) The results among the tied teams shall determine which team is placed highest.
 * If, at any time during the application of the procedure set out in this paragraph, the highest placed team is determined and the number of tied teams is reduced to two, then the above paragraph shall be used to determine which of the two remaining teams is placed higher.
 * 1) The comparison shall be made first, upon the points of the games among the tied teams, second, the goal difference, and third, based upon goals scored.
 * 2) If still tied, the games played against the highest placed team (or teams, if tied) shall be considered.
 * 3) The first comparison shall be based on goal difference, and if still tied, then based on goals scored.
 * 4) If still tied, the results against the next highest placed team (or teams, if tied) shall be used in succession until all results have been considered.
 * 5) If still tied, the teams shall shoot penalty shots to determine which team shall be placed highest. Each team shall nominate five players and a goalkeeper who will participate in the penalty shoot out. Each team shall shoot five  penalty shots at its opponent's goal in alternate succession. The first team shall take its first penalty shot and then each other team shall take its first penalty shot, etc.  If a tie shall exist after that procedure, the teams shall then take sets of alternate shots until one team misses and the other(s) score. The procedure shall be conducted following the final game of the round or at the first practical opportunity.

Source:

Brackets

 * 5th–8th place


 * 9th–12th place


 * 13th–16th place

Individual awards

 * Most Valuable Player
 * 🇷🇸 Vanja Udovičić (SRB)


 * Best Goalkeeper
 * 🇮🇹 Stefano Tempesti (ITA)


 * Topscorer
 * 🇷🇸 Filip Filipović (SRB) — 20 goals (2 in penalty shootout)