GB Women secure ninth-place finish at European Aquatics Championships

The Great Britain Women’s water polo team showed impressive resilience and growing momentum at the 2026 European Aquatics Championships in Funchal, Portugal.

After eight days of competition, the team secured ninth place overall by winning all of their classification matches, including a final victory over Serbia.

The championship began with a challenging group stage for the squad, who were tested against some of Europe’s strongest teams. An opening defeat (14–4) to the defending European champions, the Netherlands, underlined the level of intensity and experience required against one of the tournament favourites, while a further loss to Israel (11–6) proved frustrating despite periods of competitive play and growing confidence.

A confident 18-6 victory over Switzerland in their last group stage match ensured the team remained competitive within the group but ultimately placed them into the 9–16 classification matches.

As the tournament progressed, the squad showed clear signs of improvement, something Head Coach Theo Nousios reflected on during the classification phase.

“We are only getting better as the tournament goes on and with more matches behind us, we’re gaining momentum,” he said.

“We’ve had lots of intensity and focus on defence, more composure in attack and better shot selection. Still, we need to work on our choices in passing in attack, but these have been a great couple of performances.”

Clear improvements followed, with convincing wins over Romania (20–2) and Portugal (15–8) underlining growing confidence, sharper execution and improved cohesion across the pool.

That momentum carried into the final classification match against Serbia, with ninth place at stake. In a tightly contested and high-intensity encounter, Great Britain left their heart in the pool and gave it their all to edge their opponents in the closing stages and secure a fourth consecutive victory of the tournament, winning with 10-9.

Reflecting on the team’s response following the earlier group stage setback against Israel, Nousios said: “After the game we lost in the group phase [to Israel], they were so determined to get ninth place.

“The work ethic they’ve shown all tournament has been fantastic, they work for each other and followed the plan – I think we all enjoyed this very challenging game.”

The ninth-place finish represents a strong outcome for the squad, reflecting their ability to learn quickly, adapt to challenges and compete consistently at European level.

Full results and competition details are available on the European Aquatics website. The full Great Britain squad list and tournament preview can be found here.

Image credit: European Aquatics