2020 Olympic Water Polo Men’s and Women’s Finals Odds and Picks – USA Women’s Team Listed at -500 to Win Gold Against Spain

• The Women’s Water Polo gold medal game takes place on Saturday while the men take to the pool early Sunday morning.
• After the Americans rallied against Russia, they are -450 favorites to win the gold over Spain. Can they seal the deal?
• Check out the odds, analysis, and betting predictions below

The men’s and women’s water polo gold medal matches are upon us. Now, the gold medal game begins at 3:30 am ET on Saturday for the women and 3:30 AM EST Sunday for the men.

All events take place at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre in Tokyo. They will be live or streamed on USA Network, NBC Olympics, and Peacock.

Here are the odds for the men’s water polo.

Olympic Men’s Water Polo Final Odds

All odds as of August 6 at DraftKings

Can Greece Upset the Serbians?

The Greeks have always had a strong international presence in men’s water polo. However, that has never translated to Olympic success err medals. The closest they came was a fourth in Athens in 2004. Hungary was a very slight favorite in a wide-open field. Our Olympic Men’s Water Polo preview felt Hungary could be vulnerable, and Greece slammed the door shut in their semifinal. They outscored Hungary 4-2 in the final period and coasted to a 9-6 victory.

The water polo team wants to do this for their country.

"I want to apologize for the joy and enthusiasm we are displaying for after our victory. Our hearts and minds are with Greece" says 🇬🇷 water polo captain, Yannis Foundoulis.

Such incredible ethos by our Olympic athletes this year. Chapeau! #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/7bCvL63SGe

— Niko Efstathiou (@NikoEfst) August 6, 2021

Greece has seen a wave of wildfires ravage its country over the past days and weeks. There is no doubt the men’s water polo team is performing with their hearts and minds on their homeland.

The Greeks have momentum on their side. They dispatched Hungary with far more ease than expected. Greece only had a draw against Italy. Their defense and timely scoring has only improved as the tournament progressed. They held Hungary to just six goals.

Can they slow down the Serbians? That is the big question. Greece has nothing to lose.

Serbia Rises Up

Serbia lost twice in the round-robin to Spain and Croatia. However, when it came to the knockout rounds, they defeated Italy 10-6 and stunned Spain in an epic comeback.

#waterpolo men's tournament

What a comeback for the Rio2016 Olympic champions #SRB! They will play again for #gold on Sunday 8th against Greece!

FINAL SCORE: SERBIA 10- 9 SPAIN pic.twitter.com/cw7Gz2vSS8

— FINA (@fina1908) August 6, 2021

Again, Serbia was down 7-5 against Spain staring down another loss. They rallied for five goals, including the final one off a six-meter penalty throw with just 26 seconds left. Serbia played to win and in the end, were rewarded.

The question is can the defending gold medalists defeat Greece? That answer is yes, in another close affair.

The Pick: Serbia (-200)

Olympic Women’s Water Polo Final Odds

USA Looking Like Best Bet

The defending gold medalists have looked every bit the part of a champion poised to repeat. Their younger generation of players has stepped up. In our Olympic Women’s Water Polo preview, Spain was expected to be their toughest competition. They did have to rally to defeat Russia 15-11 in the semifinals. However, Team USA won the match going away as Russia had no answers for the Americans’ ability to play at a higher pace.

The game was a physical match, unlike their round-robin matchup, which was an easy USA win. It was a tournament where the Americans even lost early to Hungary committing uncharacteristic mistakes. Much the same thing happened for most of the Russia match until the 7-6 point where the United States outscored Russia 9-4 the rest of the way.

Had to give some love to water polo team! Damn they full fighting in the water omg!! @TeamUSA pic.twitter.com/1rE1aT80gy

— Leslie Jones 🦋 (@Lesdoggg) July 30, 2021

Spain is going to provide a sustained and tough test much as Hungary did. However, Spain had a stumble early against the Netherlands. It is going to come down to Maddie Musselman and Ashleigh Johnson. They calmed the younger American players down, and their level of play helped Team USA rise to the challenge.

Spain can also be as physical or more physical than Russia. The difference is that the Spanish can turn up their intensity and pace like the Americans. History is on the United States’ side as they defeated Spain 8-5 in London to win the 2012 gold medal. With a chance to win a third straight gold, the Americans are our pick and use the 3-way moneyline for better odds.

The Pick:  Team USA 3-way Moneyline (-450)