The Worlds in Fukuoka is a case in point: we saw how closely the top eight teams were situated. In the quarter-final stage, all the men’s matches were decided by one goal. Even for the eventual world champions of Hungary, each of their knockout stage matches was decided by one point.

Another extra goal of the Doha 2024 men’s water polo tournament is the Olympics, as five more teams could earn their tickets to Paris in the Qatari capital.

TOP 10 | Men’s Power Ranking, Pre-Doha 2024

• Hungary &  Spain
• Italy
• Serbia
• Montenegro
• Greece
• France
• Croatia
• USA
• Japan

There's no way to decide - Hungary and Spain are the current standouts. Spain has already shown their excellent form by winning their first European Champion title earlier this month and there does not seem to be a way to stop them this year. Spanish talisman Felipe Perrone is preparing for his last World Championship and looking forward to leaving with a medal. The Spaniards are in their prime - the average age of their squad was 27, and at the Euros in Croatia they displayed a perfect combination of youth and experience.

The Hungarians will arrive in Doha as defending World Champions, with half the squad rested as nine of the world champions from Fukuoka did not play at the European Championships.

So, the Hungarians are full of energy and ready to defend their title, led by Gergo Zalánki, Varga and Jansik, it will certainly not be easy to play against them – especially with Vogel Soma back in goal. But who knows what head coach Zsolt Varga keeps in store for the Worlds in Doha?

The Italians have not been qualified yet for the Olympics, but they could easily do it at the World Cup. In Zagreb, we saw the their structure sometimes get blocked down, but the Italians can always count on goals from Francesco Di Fulvio and Edoardo Di Somma.

Serbia finished fourth in Fukuoka and then followed this up with only a seventh in Zagreb, which they were not very happy with. Dusan Mandic has returned to the team, but it was clear that there was a lack of consistency. They can improve on that, now is the time to prove that the Serbian men’s water polo team return to the top?

Team Montenegro was the only team who beat the hosts Croatia in the Group Phase of the European Championships, showing that Vladimir Gojkovic has put together a serious team. Montenegro's strength lies in its team unit. They have a very balanced game, but they need to improve in defence, conceding more than 10 goals a game.

Team Greece was the runner-up at the last year’s World Championships and with that, they got an Olympic quota. In fact, they participated at the European Championship with the Fukuoka team, plus Angelos Vlachopoulos, who returned to the team after not travelling to Japan last year. The Olympics is certainly the main goal for them.

After the European Championship, Bruzzo noted that Les Bleus were not in their best shape, but they are getting ready for the Olympics. With Michael Bodegas the French team has been much stronger. They had some great matches at the Europeans, but they need to improve in their defence and attack as well.

Croatia is at the bottom half of the power ranking - and for good reason. They wanted to get the Olympic quota and of course, the European Championship’s title in their home pool. But they failed to do. The silver medal was probably seen as a disappointment; however, the Croatian team was sometimes shaky and lacked confidence. The squad for the World Championships will be without Luka Bukic and their second goalkeeper Toni Popadic, who Ivica Tucak will have to replace. Despite all this, Croatia is still in with a chance of winning, but it will need to do better than the others.

Team USA has plenty of youth, and in Fukuoka we saw that the team is so fast and pushing the pace. But for the Americans, its the experienced players are still carrying the team. Ben Hallock and Alex Bowen are starting to be joined by youngsters. Hannes Daube, who plays for Jug Dubrovnik, is starting to stand out among this younger player crowd. 

Team Japan is always a tough opponent, they play uncomfortable water polo, with a lot of man-ups and they are always ready for a surprise. If they can hold on for more than three quarters, they could make a surprise in Doha.

The field is very tight, and the teams are very close to each other, so an accurate prediction is hard to give. Serious battles are expected during the World Championships in Doha and on 17 February it turns out who the champion will be.