Greece edged Hungary in a thrilling World Cup final in Sydney to complete a historic achievement.
With a dramatic last-gasp 15:14 victory, the Greeks captured their first-ever gold medal in a major men’s water polo competition.
Greece dictated the pace for most of the final, while Hungary led only once throughout the match. Nevertheless, the Hungarians stayed within striking distance until the closing seconds. Then, with just 12 seconds remaining, Stylianos Argyropoulos scored the winning goal to crown Greece as the new World Cup champion.
Italy secured the bronze medal with a convincing 16:10 victory over surprise semifinalist Australia. The Italians claimed their first medal in two years and their first since winning silver at the 2024 World Championships.
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2026 World Aquatics Men’s World Cup Final Eight
Final
(quarters 3:5, 3:2, 4:4, 4:4)
Hungary: Zalanki 4, Manhercz 3, Ad.Nagy 1, Fekete 1, Ak. Nagy 1, Jansik 1, Vismeg 1.
Greece: Skoumpakis 5, Gkiouvetsis 2, Argyropoulos 2, Papanasatsiou 2, Pouros 2, Kakaris 1, Gardikas 1.
Greece imposed its rhythm from the opening whistle. The Greeks converted a penalty on their first possession to take an early lead, but Hungary responded immediately. Still, Greece gradually took control and built a three-goal advantage. In the seventh minute, Nikolaos Gardikas capped a well-worked passing move to make it 5:2. Krisztian Manhercz replied right away.
Hungary raised its defensive intensity after the first break and began to find its way back, largely thanks to its efficient power play. Vendel Vigvari leveled the score at 6:6 with a man-up goal. But, shortly after, Dimitrios Skoumpakis restored Greece’s lead in the 15th minute, firing home one of his trademark long-range shots.
Dimitrios Skoumpakis (Greece) Photo by Krsto Vulovic
In the second half, the momentum shifted in Hungary’s favor. The Hungarians took control and moved ahead for the first time in the 19th minute, when Gergo Zalanki converted a 6-on-5 opportunity to make it 9:8. At that stage, Hungary had converted five of its seven man-up chances. However, the lead proved short-lived, as Greece responded with two consecutive goals to regain a narrow 10:9 advantage. Vigvari struck again on another power play in the 23rd minute to level the score at 10:10, but Evangelos Pouros answered immediately with a superb long-range effort, sending Greece into the final quarter with a slim 11:10 lead.
Fekete and Kelogeropoulos Photo by Krsto Vulovic
At the beginning of the fourth period, the teams exchanged goals. Zalanki made it 11:12 before Dimitrios Skoumpakis scored two very important goals. In less than a minute, he netted twice from almost the same place and Greece built a 3-goal lead (14:11). But the Greeks started missing their chances, including a penalty shot (Csoma saved a shot from Skoumpakis), and Hungary, led by Zalanki (who scored three goals in the fourth period), made the most of it. Just 45 seconds before the final buzzer, Krisztian Manhercz tied the score (14:14).
Captain Stylianos Argyrorpoulos took responsibility in Greece’s final possession, and he made it. He scored with 12 seconds left on the clock. There was still enough time for Hungary to equalize, but the man of the match, Skoumpakis, blocked a shot from Manhercz in the dying seconds, and a big celebration of the Greek players started soon.
Bronze-medal game
(quarters 1:2, 3:6, 4:3, 2:5)
Australia: Constantin-Bicari 3, Mercep 3, Edwards 2, Byrnes 1, Schuler 1.
Italy: Cannella 5, Ferrero 4, Condemi 3, Cassia 1, Gianazza 1, Iocchi Gratta 1, Balzarini 1.
Italy played very well in defense in the opening minutes. Australia had no solution to break their deep pressing. A good defensive play allowed the Italians to score from counterattacks. Both of their goals in the first quarter were from counters. Australia got on the scoresheet only a second before the end of the first period, when Jacob Mercep scored with an extra man. Before that moment, the Sharks had missed four man-up opportunities, while Italy had not been awarded any man-up attacks in the first quarter.
The Australians committed their first personal foul in the 9th minute, and Matteo Iocchi Gratta converted Italy’s first man-up to a 3:1 lead. Shortly after, Balzarini made it 4:1 with an extra player. In the final minutes of the first half, the Italians built a four-goal advantage (7:3 and 8:4).
Filippo Ferrero (ITA) Photo by Krsto Vulovic
The Europeans controlled the match, but the “Aussies” battled hard until the end. Late into the third period, the hosts netted two quick goals (Edwards and Byrnes), cutting the deficit from 6:10 to 8:10. However, Ferrero closed the third quarter with a powerplay goal, and Cannella added one in Italy’s first possession in the final period to restore a four-goal lead (12:8). But the contest wasn’t decided yet. Center-forward Nicolas Constantin-Bicari scored two back-to-back goals within 50 seconds, keeping Australia’s hopes alive (10:12).
However, Italy shut Australia out over the final five and a half minutes. It closed the game with a 4:0 run to secure a comfortable victory against a team that had already demonstrated its strong potential at the Final Eight.
All World Cup medalists (since introducing the current format)
2023 (Los Angeles): 1. Spain, 2. Italy, 3. USA
2025 (Podgorica): 1. Spain, 2. Greece, 3. Hungary
2026 (Sydney): 1. Greece, 2. Hungary, 3. Italy
All winners of the former World League (the competition that was replaced by the new World Cup) – 2002: Russia, 2003: Hungary, 2004: Hungary, 2005: 1. Serbia and Montenegro, 2006: Serbia and Montenegro, 2007: Serbia, 2008: Serbia, 2009: Montenegro; 2010: Serbia, 2011: Serbia, 2012: Croatia,2013: Serbia,2014: Serbia,2015: Serbia,2016: Serbia, 2017: Serbia, 2018: Montenegro, 2019: Serbia, 2020/21: Montenegro, 2022: Italy.
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