title: 2018 Men's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers
text: # 2018 Men's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers
  
  2018 Men's European Water Polo Championship Qualifiers are series of qualification tournaments to decide the participants of the 2018 Men's European Water Polo Championship.
  
  ## Qualified teams
  
  Teams directly qualified to the 2018 European Water Polo Championship:
  
  * Serbia – winners of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship
  * Montenegro – runners-up of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship
  * Hungary – 3rd place of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship
  * Greece – 4th place of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship
  * Spain – Host nation and 5th place of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship
  * Italy – 6th place of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship
  * Croatia – 7th place of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship
  * Russia – 8th place of the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship
  
  ## Qualifying round 1
  
  | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Switzerland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 9 |
  | Czech Republic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 6 |
  | Austria | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 3 |
  | Bulgaria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 38 | –18 | 0 |
  | 17 March 2017 19:15 | Bulgaria | 7–16 | Austria | Prague |
  | 17 March 2017 21:00 | Czech Republic | 7–8 | Switzerland | Prague |
  | 18 March 2017 18:00 | Switzerland | 12–7 | Bulgaria | Prague |
  | 18 March 2017 20:00 | Czech Republic | 11–10 | Austria | Prague |
  | 19 March 2017 09:30 | Switzerland | 9–8 | Austria | Prague |
  | 19 March 2017 11:30 | Czech Republic | 10–6 | Bulgaria | Prague |
  
  ## Qualifying round 2
  
  ### Group A
  
  | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Ukraine | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 22 | +17 | 9 |
  | Portugal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 6 |
  | Lithuania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 42 | –15 | 3 |
  | Czech Republic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 40 | –18 | 0 |
  | 6 October 2017 16:30 | Ukraine | 18–7 | Lithuania | Rio Maior |
  | 6 October 2017 18:30 | Portugal | 17–9 | Czech Republic | Rio Maior |
  | 7 October 2017 16:00 | Lithuania | 13–8 | Czech Republic | Rio Maior |
  | 7 October 2017 18:00 | Portugal | 10–11 | Ukraine | Rio Maior |
  | 8 October 2017 09:30 | Czech Republic | 5–10 | Ukraine | Rio Maior |
  | 8 October 2017 11:30 | Portugal | 16–7 | Lithuania | Rio Maior |
  
  ### Group B
  
  | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Belarus | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 14 | +18 | 9 |
  | Israel | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 6 |
  | Poland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 24 | –5 | 1 |
  | Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 31 | –16 | 1 |
  | 6 October 2017 17:00 | Belarus | 14–5 | Switzerland | Gorzów Wielkopolski |
  | 6 October 2017 18:30 | Poland | 7–8 | Israel | Gorzów Wielkopolski |
  | 7 October 2017 17:00 | Belarus | 9–4 | Israel | Gorzów Wielkopolski |
  | 7 October 2017 18:30 | Poland | 7–7 | Switzerland | Gorzów Wielkopolski |
  | 8 October 2017 08:30 | Poland | 5–9 | Belarus | Gorzów Wielkopolski |
  | 8 October 2017 10:00 | Switzerland | 3–10 | Israel | Gorzów Wielkopolski |
  
  ## Qualifying round 3
  
  No teams were eliminated in round 2, but their results will determine the matches of the following round (play-off format with home and away games) held in 2018. These eight teams will face the teams classified 9 to 16 in the latest edition of the tournament, the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship.
  
  | Seeded | Unseeded |
  | - | - |
  | From the 2016 European Championship ||
  | France | Slovakia |
  | Romania | Georgia |
  | Germany | Malta |
  | Netherlands | Turkey |
  | From the Qualifying round 2 ||
  | Ukraine | Lithuania |
  | Belarus | Poland |
  | Portugal | Czech Republic |
  | Israel | Switzerland |
  
  ### Playoffs
  
  * 1st leg: 24 February 2018
  * 2nd leg: 3 March 2018
  
  | Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | France | 30–6 | Switzerland | 18–1 | 12–5 |
  | Romania | 37–11 | Czech Republic | 20–5 | 17–6 |
  | Poland | 8–44 | Germany | 2–21 | 6–23 |
  | Netherlands | 42–13 | Lithuania | 28–7 | 14–6 |
  | Portugal | 6–25 | Slovakia | 4–16 | 2–9 |
  | Georgia | 23–11 | Israel | 12–1 | 11–10 |
  | Belarus | 17–23 | Malta | 8–7 | 9–16 |
  | Ukraine | 15–18 | Turkey | 8–8 | 7–10 |
  