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Greece men's national water polo team

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Greece
FINA codeGRE
Nickname(s)Galanolefki (The Blue-white)
Ethniki (The National)
AssociationHellenic Swimming Federation
ConfederationLEN (Europe)
Head coachThodoris Vlachos
Asst coachAnastasios Schizas
Emmanuel Vassiliades
CaptainKonstantinos Genidounias
Top scorer(s)Ioannis Fountoulis
FINA ranking (since 2008)
Current1 (as of 15 September 2026)
Highest1 (2021–2022 / 2026– [1])
Lowest16 (2011)
Olympic Games (team statistics)
Appearances17 (first in 1920)
Best result2nd place, silver medalist(s) (2020)
5-time Olympian(s)George Mavrotas (1984–2000)
Georgios Afroudakis (1996–2012)
Top scorer(s)Kyriakos Giannopoulos (44 goals, in Olympic Games, 1980–1992)
World Championship
Appearances19 (first in 1973)
Best result2nd place, silver medalist(s) (2023)
World Cup
Appearances11 (first in 1985)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2026)
World League
Appearances7 (first in 2002)
Best result3rd place, bronze medalist(s) (2004, 2006, 2016, 2020)
European Championship
Appearances21 (first in 1970)
Best result3rd place, bronze medalist(s) (2026)
Mediterranean Games
Appearances16 (first in 1951)
Best result2nd place, silver medalist(s) (2018)
Media
Websitekoe.org.gr (in Greek)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2020 TokyoTeam
World Championship
Silver medal – second place2023 FukuokaTeam
Bronze medal – third place2005 MontrealTeam
Bronze medal – third place2015 KazanTeam
Bronze medal – third place2022 BudapestTeam
Bronze medal – third place2025 SingaporeTeam
World Cup
Gold medal – first place2026 Sydney
Silver medal – second place1997 Athens
Silver medal – second place2025 Podgorica
World League
Bronze medal – third place2004 Long Beach
Bronze medal – third place2006 Athens
Bronze medal – third place2016 Huizhou
Bronze medal – third place2020 Tbilisi
European Championship
Bronze medal – third place2026 Belgrade
Mediterranean Games
Silver medal – second place2018 TarragonaTeam
Bronze medal – third place1951 AlexandriaTeam
Bronze medal – third place1991 AthensTeam
Bronze medal – third place1993 Languedoc-RoussillonTeam
Bronze medal – third place2013 TarragonaTeam
Last updated: 25 January 2026

The Greece men's national water polo team represents Greece in international men's water polo competitions and it is organized and run by the Hellenic Swimming Federation.

Greece has a long tradition of strong presence at international level, with their major successes being the silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games, the gold medal at the 2026 World Cup, and a silver medal won at the World Championship in 2023. The Greeks have also won four bronze medals at the World Championship in 2005, 2015, 2022 and 2025, two silver medals at the World Cup in 1997 and 2025, three bronze medals at the World League in 2004, 2006 and 2016, a bronze medal at the European Water Polo Championship in 2026, as well as one silver (2018) and four bronze medals (1951, 1991, 1993, 2013) at the Mediterranean Games.

Moreover, they have closely missed a medal in the 2016 European Championship, the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2003 World Championship and the 1999 European Championship, ending up in the 4th place in all four of them. Greece is one of only nine national teams in the world to have won (at least) a medal in the World Championship, currently occupying the eighth place on the medal table, one above Germany. They have qualified at least for the quarter-finals in all their World Championship participations since 1994, winning the two aforementioned bronze medals and never finishing below the 6th place from 2001 and on.

Honours

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Competition1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Total
Olympic Games –1–1
World Championship –145
World Cup 12–3
World League ––44
European Championship ––11
Mediterranean Games –145
Total151319

Olympic Games

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World Championship

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World Cup

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World League

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European Championship

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Mediterranean Games

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Competitive record

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Olympic Games

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Greece has participated 16 times at the Olympic Games, always present in the tournament since 1980. Their best result is the 2nd place at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, after losing 13–10 to Serbia in the gold medal game. The Greeks have secured a quarter-finals' presence in six occasions.[2]

Year Position
Belgium 19208th
France 192413th
United Kingdom 194815th
Mexico 196814th
West Germany 197214th
Soviet Union 198010th
United States 19848th
South Korea 19889th
Spain 199210th
United States 19966th
Australia 200010th
Greece 20044th
China 20087th
United Kingdom 20129th
Brazil 20166th
Japan 2020
France 20245th
Total17/28

World Championship

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Greece has a strong presence at the World Aquatics Championships, where they have been placed third in the world in two occasions.[2] The first was in 2005 in Montreal, after their 11–10 victory over Croatia in the bronze medal game, with Georgios Afroudakis scoring the winning goal, with a spectacular backhand shot, with only 11 seconds left in the overtime.[3] The second one was in 2015 in Kazan, after their penalty shootout win over Italy in the bronze medal game. Greece has qualified at least for the quarter-finals in all their tournament participations since 1994, with a 7th place being their lowest position from 2001 and on when the team qualified.

Christos Afroudakis (left) and Manolis Mylonakis (right) are the two players who have won both the 2005 and the 2015 bronze medals of Greece at the World Championship.
Year Position
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 197312th
West Germany 197812th
Ecuador 198212th
Spain 198611th
Australia 199110th
Italy 19947th
Australia 19988th
Japan 20016th
Spain 20034th
Canada 2005
Australia 20076th
Spain 20136th
Russia 2015
Hungary 20174th
South Korea 20197th
Hungary 2022
Japan 2023
Qatar 20245th
Singapore 2025
Total19/22

World Cup

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Greece had qualified for the FINA Water Polo World Cup in all but two occasions between 1985 and 2006, first winning the silver medal in 1997 in Athens, losing 5–8 to the United States in the final.[2] They have subsequently won another silver medal in 2025, losing to Spain, then won gold in 2026 against Hungary. In the 2026 final in Sydney, Greece defeated Hungary 15–14 to win the first global title in the men's team's history. Captain Stelios Argyropoulos scored the winning goal with 12 seconds remaining and was named the tournament's most valuable player, while Panagiotis Tzortzatos received the best goalkeeper award.[4]

Year Position
West Germany 19858th
Greece 19878th
Greece 19937th
United States 19956th
Greece 1997
Australia 19997th
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 20025th
Hungary 20067th
United States 20235th
Montenegro 2025
Australia 2026
Greece 2027Qualified
Total12/20

World League

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Greece had a regular presence at the FINA Water Polo World League during the first years of the competition, starting from 2002. They have won four bronze medals so far in 2004, 2006, 2016 and 2020.[2]

Year Position
Greece 20024th
United States 20035th
United States 2004
Serbia and Montenegro 20055th
Greece 2006
Italy 20088th
China 2016
Georgia (country) 2020
Total8/20

European Championship

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As one of the most competitive European nations in water polo, Greece is a regular contestant at the European Water Polo Championship since 1989, winning a bronze medal in 2026 in Belgrade.

Year Position
Spain 197010th
Bulgaria 19858th
West Germany 198911th
Greece 19916th
United Kingdom 19937th
Austria 19959th
Spain 19977th
Italy 19994th
Hungary 20017th
Slovenia 20038th
Serbia 20066th
Spain 200811th
Croatia 20109th
Netherlands 20126th
Hungary 20146th
Serbia 20164th
Spain 20185th
Hungary 20207th
Croatia 20225th
Croatia 20245th
Serbia 2026
Total21/37

LEN Europa Cup

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Year Position
Spain 20187th
Italy 20197th

Mediterranean Games

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Year Position
Egypt 19513rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Tunisia 19674th
Turkey 19714th
Algeria 19754th
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 19794th
Morocco 19835th
Syria 19874th
Greece 19913rd place, bronze medalist(s)
France 19933rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Tunisia 20017th
Spain 20055th
Italy 20097th
Turkey 20133rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Spain 20182nd place, silver medalist(s)
Algeria 20225th
Italy 20266th

Team

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Current squad

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Roster for the 2026 World Cup Super Final.[5]

GR – Greece (as of 8 January 2026)
No. Player Pos. L/R Height Weight Date of birth (age) Club
1 Panagiotis Tzortzatos 10GK 4B 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 85 kg (187 lb) (1992-05-11) 11 May 1992 (age 34) Greece Olympiacos
2 Aris Chalyvopoulos 50D 2R 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) (2002-03-20) 20 March 2002 (age 24) Greece Panathinaikos
3 Dimitris Skoumpakis 20CB 2R 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 119 kg (262 lb) (1998-12-18) 18 December 1998 (age 27) Greece Panathinaikos
4 Konstantinos Gkiouvetsis 50D 2R 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 90 kg (198 lb) (1999-11-19) 19 November 1999 (age 26) Greece Panathinaikos
5 Stelios Argyropoulos (C) 50D 4B 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 105 kg (231 lb) (1996-08-02) 2 August 1996 (age 30) Hungary Ferencvárosi
6 Alexandros Papanastasiou 55W 2R 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 94 kg (207 lb) (1999-02-12) 12 February 1999 (age 27) Greece Olympiacos
7 Evangelos Pouros 50D 2R 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) (2003-08-27) 27 August 2003 (age 23) Greece Olympiacos
8 Efstathios Kalogeropoulos 55W 2R 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (2001-06-28) 28 June 2001 (age 25) Greece Panathinaikos
9 Ioannis Alafragkis 50D 2R (1999-06-23) 23 June 1999 (age 27) Greece Olympiacos
10 Kostas Kakaris 40CF 2R 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 115 kg (254 lb) (1999-07-02) 2 July 1999 (age 27) Hungary Ferencvárosi
11 Dimitris Nikolaidis 40CF 2R 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 88 kg (194 lb) (1999-06-10) 10 June 1999 (age 27) Greece Panathinaikos
12 Nikos Gardikas 55W 2R 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) (1998-08-20) 20 August 1998 (age 28) Greece GS Apollon Smyrnis
13 Manos Andreadis 10GK 4B 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) (2002-06-12) 12 June 2002 (age 24) Greece Vouliagmeni
12 Semir Spachits 40CF 2R 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) (2005-11-18) 18 November 2005 (age 20) Greece Vouliagmeni
15 Dimitris Chatzis 55W 2R 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) (2008-01-15) 15 January 2008 (age 18) Greece Vouliagmeni

World Championship medal-winning squads

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The following are the medal-winning Greek rosters in the men's water polo tournaments of the Water polo at the World Aquatics Championships:

Notable coaches

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Alessandro Campagna

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "World Rankings". worldaquatics.com. 23 September 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. pp. 4, 14, 25, 40, 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Το χάλκινο μετάλλιο της Εθνικής ομάδας πόλο των ανδρών στο Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα του 2005 στο Μόντρεαλ sport24.gr, 30 July 2014 (in Greek)
  4. ↑ McKinnon, Russell (26 July 2026). "Greece men win historic first global crown". World Aquatics. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Η 15άδα για το Σίδνεϊ και όλα τα μέλη της αποστολής". koe.org.gr. 8 July 2026.
  6. ↑ Water polo at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships – Final Standings – Games – Rosters www.worldaquatics.com
  7. ↑ "Water polo at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships – 3rd place match: Greece – Italy 11–9" (PDF). waterpolo.sportresult.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "Water polo at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships – 3rd place match:: Greece – Croatia 9–7" (PDF). waterpolo.sportresult.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2023. waterpolo.sportresult.com
  9. ↑ "Water polo at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships – Final: Hungary – Greece 14–13 (pen.)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2024. waterpolo.sportresult.com
  10. ↑ "2025 World Aquatics Championships - Water polo final" (PDF). omegatiming.com/. World Aquatics. 24 July 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 January 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
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