Twenty teams entered the Men's category at the World Championship 2026 in Dreux, and after two days of pool play and knockout rounds it was Poland who stood at the top for the first time in the category's history. Poland beat the United States 4-1 in Thursday's final to win a first-ever Men's World Championship medal, and make it gold.
Pool stage
Poland topped Pool A with a 3-1-0 record and a 13-9 point margin, drawing 3-3 with debutants Colombia before beating France 4-3 and Portugal 2-1 to take the pool. Portugal had opened the tournament by beating France 3-2, a result that helped push the reigning champions toward an early exit.
The United States were untouchable in Pool B, conceding just one point across four games to finish 8 points clear of Germany. Mexico took Pool C with an 8-point return, beating Norway 4-3 in the final pool game to edge a tight group that also included Finland, Italy and Latvia. Great Britain won Pool D at 8 points, holding off Belgium with narrow 2-1 and 4-3 wins over Belgium and South Africa respectively.
Knockout rounds
The quarter-finals set up a final four of Poland, Mexico, the United States and Great Britain. Poland beat Germany 4-2, Mexico beat Belgium 4-0, the United States beat Portugal 4-1, and Great Britain edged Norway 4-3 in the tightest of the four games.
Poland made the final in emphatic fashion, beating Great Britain 4-0 in the semi-final, while the United States needed a 3-1 win over Mexico to book their place opposite them. Great Britain took bronze with a 4-3 win over Mexico, a result that gave Great Britain their first-ever Men's World Championship bronze medal.
The final
Poland closed out their tournament with a 4-1 win over the United States in the final, played at 17:50 on the NXL Pro field. It was the last game of Poland's day, coming after the same national federation had already lost an Under 19 semi-final and the Veterans final earlier that afternoon. The Men's title turned Poland's day around entirely.
What it means
Poland's gold is the country's first Men's World Championship medal of any colour. Their previous best finish in the category was fourth, a result they had recorded four times before, in 2016, 2022, 2023 and 2025. Breaking through to gold in the same season is a significant step for a federation that has been knocking on the door for a decade.
For the United States, silver extends a run of Men's medals that includes six all-time golds, the most recent in 2024, and back-to-back silvers now in 2025 and 2026.
Great Britain's bronze is their first in the category, adding to an earlier gold in 2022 and silvers in 2013, 2023 and 2024, a podium record matched by few other nations in the field.
France, the reigning champions from 2021 and 2025, were eliminated in the pool stage on home soil after their opening loss to Portugal, a result that will sting for a federation that has twice been Men's champion this decade.
Portugal's run to the quarter-final was the country's first ever in the category, an improvement on a previous best finish of eighth. Mexico's fourth place finish was their second in a row, continuing a run of consistent results at the top end of the category.
Twenty nations, four rounds of pool play and a full knockout bracket condensed into two days, and a first gold for a federation that has been building toward this moment for years. Poland's Men's team head into 2027 as defending champions for the first time.
