# 2012 FINA Men's Water Polo World League

The 2012 FINA Men's Water Polo World League is played between November 2011 and June 2012 and open to all men's water polo national teams. After playing in groups within the same continent, eight teams qualify to play in a final tournament, called the Super Final in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 12–17 June 2012. The two teams that reach the final of the Super Final will be the first teams to quality for the water polo tournament of the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona.
In the world league, there are specific rules that do not allow matches to end in a draw. If teams are level at the end of the 4th quarter of any world league match, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout. Teams earn points in the standings in group matches as follows:
* Match won in normal time - 3 points
* Match won in shootout - 2 points
* Match lost in shootout - 1 point
* Match lost in normal time - 0 points

## Draw
### Americas

As there were only 4 entries, all teams in this region will play in a single group.

### Asia/Oceania

As there were only 4 entries, all teams in this region will play in a single group.

### Europe

There were 10 entries into the league from Europe, and these were drawn into two groups of three teams and one group of four teams. The teams were placed into groups based on their performance in the 2011 FINA Men's Water Polo World League along with Great Britain, host of the 2012 Olympic tournament.
| Pool | Country | 2011 FINA Men's Water Polo World League result | Drawn into Group |
| 1 | Italy | 2nd, Super Final | A |
| 1 | Croatia | 3rd, Super Final | B |
| 1 | Romania | 2nd, Europe Group B (13 pts) | C |
| 2 | Spain | 2nd, Europe Group A (11 pts) | C |
| 2 | Germany | 3rd, Europe Group A (9 pts) | B |
| 2 | Russia | 3rd, Europe Group B (6 pts, Diff -3) | A |
| 3 | Greece | 3rd, Europe Group C (6 pts, Diff -7) | C |
| 3 | North Macedonia | 4th, Europe Group A (2 pts) | B |
| 3 | Turkey | 4th, Europe Group B (0 pts) | C |
| 3 | Great Britain | did not participate | A |

## Americas League

All teams played the other teams twice. All matches were held in Orange County, California from 10–13 May 2012. USA and Brazil, the top two teams, advanced to the Super Final.
| | Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 11 | 45 | 12 |
| 2. | Brazil | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 39 | -15 | 6 |
| 3. | Canada | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 49 | -30 | 0 |

## Asia/Oceania League

All teams will play the other teams twice. The first round-robin will be held from 1–5 May 2012 at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai and the second round-robin will be held from 8–12 May 2012 at the Chiba International Swimming Complex in Narashino, Chiba, Japan. Two teams advance to the Super Final, one of which must be Kazakhstan as they are the host.
| | Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Australia | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 25 | +55 | 18 |
| 2. | China | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 55 | -15 | 9 |
| 3. | Japan | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 49 | 53 | -4 | 9 |
| 4. | Kazakhstan | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 28 | 64 | -36 | 0 |

## Europe League

All teams play the other teams in their group home-and-away. The winner of each group advances to the Super Final.
* Team advances to Super Final

### Group A

| | Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Italy | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 16 | +38 | 12 |
| 2. | Russia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 43 | -11 | 6 |
| 3. | Great Britain | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 51 | -27 | 0 |
| 15 November 2011 19:00 CET (UTC+1) | Italy | 16–5 | Russia | Viale Lazio, Civitavecchia |
| 6 December 2011 20:00 GMT (UTC+0) | Great Britain | 6–14 | Italy | Manchester Aquatics Centre, Manchester |
| 11 January 2012 18:30 MSD (UTC+4) | Russia | 12–8 | Great Britain | Kinef Water Sports Center, Kirishi |
| 21 February 2012 18:30 MSD (UTC+4) | Russia | 4–10 | Italy | Kinef Water Sports Center, Kirishi |
| 6 March 2012 20:30 CET (UTC+1) | Italy | 14–1 | Great Britain | Cremona Municipal Pool |
| 20 March 2011 20:00 GMT (UTC+0) | Great Britain | 9–11 | Russia | Manchester Aquatics Centre, Manchester |

### Group B

| | Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Croatia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 33 | +15 | 11 |
| 2. | Germany | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 45 | -4 | 5 |
| 3. | North Macedonia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 41 | -11 | 2 |
| 15 November 2011 18:00 CET (UTC+1) | Croatia | 16–15 | Germany | Dubrovnik City Pool |
| 15 November 2011 18:00 CET (UTC+1) | Shootout win | Goals | | Dubrovnik City Pool |
| 17 December 2011 | Germany | 8–5 | North Macedonia | Schoeneberg Sports and Swimming Centre, Berlin |
| 5 January 2012 20:00 CET (UTC+1) | North Macedonia | 8–9 | Croatia | Central Olympic Pool, Skopje |
| 14 February 2012 | Germany | 6–11 | Croatia | Magdeburg Swimming Pool |
| 6 March 2012 17:00 CET (UTC+1) | Croatia | 12–4 | North Macedonia | Rijeka |
| 15 March 2012 20:15 CET (UTC+1) | North Macedonia | 13–12 | Germany | Mladost Swimming Pool, Skopje |
| 15 March 2012 20:15 CET (UTC+1) | Shootout win | Goals | | Mladost Swimming Pool, Skopje |

### Group C

| | Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Spain | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 40 | +20 | 12 |
| 1. | Romania | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 46 | +19 | 12 |
| 1. | Greece | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 40 | +15 | 12 |
| 4. | Turkey | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 27 | 81 | -54 | 0 |
3 teams equal on points, therefore only the matches between each other are considered to break the tie - FINA By-Law 9.6.3
| | Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Spain | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 6 |
| 2. | Greece | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 6 |
| 3. | Romania | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 35 | -2 | 6 |
| 12 November 2011 16:30 EET (UTC+2) | Romania | 16–8 | Turkey | Iona Alexandrescu Olympic Pool, Oradea |
| 15 November 2011 20:30 CET (UTC+1) | Spain | 8–7 | Greece | Horta Sports Union, Barcelona |
| 6 December 2011 17:00 EET (UTC+2) | Romania | 9–8 | Spain | Iona Alexandrescu Olympic Pool, Oradea |
| 17 December 2011 20:00 EET (UTC+2) | Greece | 14–5 | Turkey | Kapagerof Indoor Pool, Athens |
| 5 January 2012 20:00 EET (UTC+2) | Turkey | 3–16 | Romania | Enka Swimming Pool, Istanbul |
| 7 January 2012 19:00 EET (UTC+2) | Greece | 9–7 | Spain | Antonios Pepanos Indoor Pool, Patras |
| 21 February 2012 17:00 EET (UTC+2) | Romania | 8–6 | Greece | Iona Alexandrescu Olympic Pool, Oradea |
| 21 February 20:00 EET (UTC+2) | Turkey | 5–14 | Spain | Enka Swimming Pool, Istanbul |
| 6 March 2012 20:30 CET (UTC+1) | Spain | 11–7 | Romania | Barcelona Swimming Club |
| 17 March 2012 18:00 EET (UTC+2) | Turkey | 3–9 | Greece | Turkish Water Polo Federation Pool, Istanbul |
| 20 March 2011 20:00 EET(UTC+2) | Greece | 10–9 | Romania | Kapagerof Indoor Pool, Athens |
| 20 March 2011 20:30 CET (UTC+1) | Spain | 12–3 | Turkey | Sant Jordi Swimming Pool, Barcelona |

## Super Final

The Super Final was held on 12–17 June 2012 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

### Preliminary round: Group A

| | Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Italy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 24 | +6 | 9 |
| 2. | United States | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 6 |
| 3. | China | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 28 | -2 | 2 |
| 4. | Kazakhstan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 37 | -7 | 1 |
June 12
| Italy | 10 – 9 | China |
| United States | 11 – 8 | Kazakhstan |
June 13
| United States | 6 – 4 | China |
| Italy | 13 – 10 | Kazakhstan |
June 14
| Italy | 7 – 5 | United States |
| China | 13 – 12 | Kazakhstan |

### Preliminary round: Group B

| | Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points |
| 1. | Croatia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 20 | +21 | 9 |
| 2. | Spain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 6 |
| 3. | Australia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 3 |
| 4. | Brazil | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 43 | -31 | 0 |
June 12
| Croatia | 14 – 11 | Australia |
| Brazil | 3 – 8 | Spain |
June 13
| Croatia | 7 – 6 | Spain |
| Brazil | 6 – 13 | Australia |
June 14
| Croatia | 20 – 3 | Brazil |
| Australia | 7 – 8 | Spain |

### Quarter-finals

June 15
| United States | 7 – 5 | Australia |
| Spain | 11 – 1 | China |
| Italy | 14 – 1 | Brazil |
| Kazakhstan | 6 – 13 | Croatia |

### Medal round

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| June 16 | June 16 |
| Croatia | 11 |
| Croatia | 11 | June 17 | June 17 |
| United States | 10 | June 17 | June 17 |
| United States | 10 | Croatia | 18 |
| June 16 | June 16 | | Croatia | 18 |
| June 16 | June 16 | Spain | 17 |
| Italy | 7 | Spain | 17 |
| Spain | 9 | | |
| Spain | 9 | Bronze-final | Bronze-final |
| | | June 17 | June 17 |
| | | Italy | 7 |
| | | United States | 6 |

### 5th–8th places

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | 5th-place match | 5th-place match |
| June 16 | June 16 |
| Kazakhstan | 7 |
| Kazakhstan | 7 | June 17 | June 17 |
| Australia | 6 | June 17 | June 17 |
| Australia | 6 | Kazakhstan | 7 |
| June 16 | June 16 | | Kazakhstan | 7 |
| June 16 | June 16 | China | 5 |
| China | 10 | China | 5 |
| Brazil | 7 | | |
| Brazil | 7 | 7th-place match | 7th-place match |
| | | June 17 | June 17 |
| | | Australia | 13 |
| | | Brazil | 2 |

## Final ranking

| RANK | TEAM |
| | Croatia |
| | Spain |
| | Italy |
| 4. | United States |
| 5. | Kazakhstan |
| 6. | China |
| 7. | Australia |
| 8. | Brazil |
* 2012 FINA Men's World League
* Croatia First title

### Awards

| Top Scorer | Player of the Tournament | Goalkeeper of the Tournament |
| Maro Jokovic | Felipe Perrone | Stefano Tempesti |