Australia and Greece will be taking part in the Water Polo World Cup in Sydney this July, with both teams having made the quarter finals. Australia will be facing Spain while Greece faces off against Montenegro on July 23 at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
Andrew Yanitsas is assistant coach of Australia’s men’s water polo team and with a Greek Australian background, he is looking forward to the possibility of the two sides coming up against each other in the tournament.
“I’m super proud of being Greek, I basically bleed Greek blood, but the only time that can come into contention is when Australia play Greece,” Yanitsas told The Greek Herald.
For Greek Australians who may not be familiar with the sport but want to rally behind their national teams, Yanitsas gave an insight into what people can expect.
“They can expect a lot of action, a lot of physicality, a lot of passion for the countries,” he said.
“For the Greeks, I would suggest they come along to support the Greeks and Australia on July 23 because we shouldn’t be facing each other until later on so it’s a good opportunity to support both teams.”
Yanitsas’ dad is from Kastellorizo and his mum from Kasos, with both arriving in Australia in the 1940s.
Yanitsas was head coach of Australia’s U20 squad and coach for the UNSW Wests Magpies and is looking forward to using his experience to push the men’s national team to a World Cup victory.
“Developing people and developing their skills to see them compete on the national stage is everything. That’s why you coach,” he said.
Also competing in the men’s World Cup tournament will be Italy, Georgia, Hungary and Croatia, with each team competing in the quarter finals on Thursday, July 23. Australia’s women’s team will also be facing Italy in their respective quarter finals match on Wednesday, July 22.
After a goals-fest at their last tournament in Malta, the men’s side will be hoping to repeat that effort against Spain. Yanitsas backed the efforts of his squad despite the lack of training facilities compared to their European opponents.
“The European nations like Greece have a professional league and we don’t, so we are amateurs that have to work and go to university and then we have to step up to that level,” he said.
“But scoring goals comes natural to the Hungarians, Greeks, Serbians, they all have this really good technical shooting ability, they all sit in front of a goal for hours and shoot.
“Whereas in Australia we have got to pay $200 an hour for some water time.”
Ahead of their World Cup run, Greece will also come face to face with Australia in a three-day tournament at Cranbrook, which Yanitsas says will be another great opportunity to cheer both sides on.
The Water Polo World Cup will run in Sydney between 22nd and 26th July 2026.
