Water Polo Canada’s Men’s National Team Finishes 9th at the World Aquatics World Cup, Division 2 in Malta

Water Polo Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team concluded competition at the World Aquatics Men's Water Polo World Cup Division 2 event with very strong performances in both the preliminary / league phase and in the classification round, ultimately securing a 9th-place finish at the international event held April 7–13 in Malta.

The tournament brought together 23 national teams from around the world in a new World Cup competition structure, with the top two teams advancing to the Super Final occurring later this summer in Sydney, Australia.

The Canadian Men’s Team, participated in the Danube Cup, a preparatory tournament held in Slovakia, prior to the World Cup Division 2, finishing in 3^rd place.

The Canadian team’s event in Malta began with three wins in the preliminary/league phase of the event. They defeated Singapore 18 to 6, France 13 to 12 and Portugal 17 to 6. At the conclusion of the preliminary / league phase Canada ranked 2^nd overall.

The victory over France was significant as France was listed ahead of Canada in the world rankings going into the event and eventually ending up in 4^th place at the conclusion of the tournament.

In the round of 16 stage, the Canadian team had their only upset of the tournament, losing 15 to 13 against Ukraine sending the team into the 9–16 classification bracket. The team demonstrated their skill and resilience by closing the competition on a positive note, defeating Turkey 15 to 14, Slovakia 14 to 12 and the host Malta 14 to 12 to finish 9^th overall.

Canada’s result reflects a competitive showing in a large and demanding field. The tournament format ensured multiple high-level games over a condensed schedule, providing invaluable preparation opportunities and match experience as the program continues its development toward future major competitions.

“I feel we took a significant step forward, in this tournament”, says Head Coach Pat Oaten.  “A little blip in one of the games, it’s a shame we finish 6 and 1 in this tournament and the best we could finish is 9^th. A lot of good things happened, and this Team came together in and out of the water. We need to start moving forward, start getting ready for what’s up and coming, fix what we can fix, and keep building on that momentum.”

“I’m really proud of this Team, how we came together in such a short amount of time” says Team Captain Bogdan Djerkovic. “Obviously there was a disappointing loss to Ukraine… But moving forward, the Team showed a lot of resilience, a lot of fight and spirit. I think we started to show our identity as a Team, our energy… We brought some great new elements, and overall I think this was a really, really big step for us moving towards LA 2028.”

“We’re very happy with the tournament” added player Jérémie Coté. “We only suffered one loss. It wasn’t our best game, but we were able to bounce back, beat Turkey and Malta, and finish the tournament with six wins and just one loss. So that gives us a lot of confidence for the future. We’re really excited to continue with the group we have, and to build on what we’ve done in this tournament. We’re very excited about the future.”

Looking Ahead

The team’s focus will now shift to upcoming international opportunities, building on the lessons and momentum gained from competition in Malta towards the 2027 Pan Am Games and LA 2028 Olympic qualification.

Water Polo Canada sincerely congratulates the athletes and staff on their dedication, commitment to excellence and professionalism throughout the event, and we warmly thank supporters and partners for their continued support of the Senior Men’s National Team program. More specifically, Water Polo Canada wishes to sincerely thank the generous donors who, along with support from the government of Canada, make it possible to send our Teams to such critical international competitions, and support our athletes in their steadfast pursuit of excellence. Water Polo Canada continues to accept donations through our website at https://waterpolocanada.crowdchange.co/. 

Canadian Men’s Team at the World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup 2026, Division 2

• BLANCHARD, Jérémie (Longueuil, QC) - Saint Lambert
• CÔTÉ, Jérémie (Pointe-Claire, QC) - DDO
• DJERKOVIC, Bogdan (Ottawa, ON) - Ottawa Titans
• D’SOUZA, Reuel D'Souza (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) - Pacific Storm
• GARDIJAN, Aleksa (Gatineau, QC) - Club de water-polo de Gatineau
• GERAKOUDIS, Nikolas (Montréal, QC) - WPC
• HACHEM, Leo (Montréal, QC) - CAMO
• LANGIEWICZ, Kacper (Ottawa, ON) - WPC
• McKNIGHT, Brody (Regina, SK) - Team Sask
• MERRIL, Jack (Toronto, ON) - WPC 
• O’DONNELL, Jason (Beaconsfield, QC) - Tiburon Waterpolo
• POZARIC, Roko (Montréal, QC & Zagreb, CRO) - WPC
• RADENOVIC, Milan (Montréal, QC) - Mavericks Water Polo Club
• RADULOVIC, Nikola (Toronto, ON) - WPC 
• TANASIJEVIC, Bor (Toronto, ON) - Mavericks Water Polo Club
• TAYLOR, Jackson (Ottawa, ON) - Ottawa Titans

Coaches 
Pat Oaten (Pointe-Claire, QC) - Head Coach 
Gyula Toth (Calgary, AB) - Assistant Coach 
 
Support Staff 
Mitch Kaufman (Kitchener, ON) - Team Leader / Manager 
Sunny Marshall (Toronto, ON) - Athletic Therapist (IST) 

Referee

Evan Andrews

Following the conclusion of this exciting event, we now turn our attention to our Senior Women’s National Team, getting ready to compete in their own World Cup Division 2 event, also in Malta, April 21-26.