Montenegro qualifies for 2027 World Cup Division 1

Montenegro clinched first place in the World Cup Division 2.

In the final of the tournament in Malta, the Montenegrins defeated Georgia 19:17 and thus advanced to Division 1 in the 2027 World Cup, regardless of their position in this year’s World Aquatics Rankings.

Both teams had already qualified for the 2026 World Cup Final Eight by reaching the final in Malta. Montenegro, as the Division 2 winner, will face Greece in the quarterfinals of the Sydney tournament, while Georgia will play against Italy.

Montenegro built a 2-goal lead in the first quarter of the final (6:4). Still, Georgia opened the second quarter excellently, with three straight goals and went ahead 7:6. Montenegro managed to level at 7:7, 8:8, 10:10, 11:11, and 12:12. Georgia entered the final period with a narrow lead of 13:12. However, Montenegro started the fourth quarter strong, going on a 3:0 run in just 1 minute and 26 seconds to take a 15:13 lead. Georgia managed to cut the deficit to 14:15. Montenegro quickly responded with two goals, extending its lead to three goals for the first time (17:14). In the final minutes, Georgia didn’t close the gap to fewer than 2 goals. Dusan Matkovic contributed six goals to a 19:17 win. Besarion Akhvlediani was Georgia’s top scorer with five goals.

Germany defeated France in a low-scoring 3rd-place match, 8:6. Australia finished in 5th place, after beating Romania in a penalty shootout, 16:14 (11:11)

The match for 7th place did not take place. The teams of Neutral Athletes and Ukraine were supposed to compete; however, the Ukrainian Water Polo Federation decided that its team would not participate in the match against Russian athletes, being aware of potential punishments. As a result, World Aquatics awarded a win to the Neutral Athletes with a technical score.

This World Cup marks the first World Aquatics water polo competition featuring Russian athletes since the start of the ongoing war four years ago. Meanwhile, today, World Aquatics announced that both Russian and Belarusian athletes in aquatic sports would be allowed to compete under their national flags and have their anthems played, rather than participating as Neutral Athletes, as they did in Malta. A few hours later, the Ukrainian Swimming Federation issued a statement expressing its indignation at this decision.

2026 World Cup Division 1, Day 7

Final

Montenegro – Georgia 19:17 (6:4, 2:6, 4:3, 7:4)

Montenegro: Matkovic 6, Vuckovic 3, Macic 2, Vujovic 2, Cetkovic 2, Stupar 1, Ukropina 1, V.Radovic 1, Gojkovic 1.
Georgia:Akhvlediani 5, Jakhaia 3, Shushiashvili 2, Tankosic 2, Pjesivac 2, Vlahovic 2, Theshelashvili 1.

3^rd-place match

France – Germany 6:8 (2:2, 1:0, 1:3, 2:3)

France: Vernoux 2, Drahe 1, Nardon 1, Vitrant 1.
Germany: Hofmann 2, E. Metten 2, L. Metten 1, Bozic 1, Chiru 1, Gansen 1.

5^th-place match: Romania – Australia 14:16 (3:3, 5:2, 1:2, 2:4, PSO 3:5)

7^th-place match: Neutral Athletes – Ukraine 5:0 (technical score)

9^th-place match: Malta – Canada 12:14 (1:5, 1:4, 3:2, 7:3)

11^th-place match: Brazil – Slovakia 13:12 (2:2, 3:4, 3:4, 5:2)

13^th-place match: Argentina -Turkiye 13:11 (4:3, 5:3, 3:1, 1:4)

15^th-place match:  Portugal – China 13:15 (3:6, 5:2, 4:4, 1:3)

1. Montenegro
2. Georgia
3. Germany
4. France
5. Australiia
6. Romania
7. Neutral Athletes
8. Ukraine
9. Canada
10. Malta
11. Brazil
12. Slovakia
13. Argentina
14. Turkiye
15. China
16. Portugal
17. Slovenia
18. Poland
19. Kazakhstan
20. Singapore
21. Great Britain
22. South Africa
23. Hong Kong

Visit Total Waterpolo Arena for all the scores and statistics of the World Cup Division 1

 More articles about the World Cup and the former World League

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