Russia have confirmed their 15-player squad for the 2026 World Aquatics Women’s Water Polo World Cup Final, which will be staged in Sydney from July 22 to 26.
Experienced captain Ekaterina Prokofyeva will lead Sergey Markoch’s team in Australia, while Diana Khamraeva and Elvira Karnaukh have been selected as the two goalkeepers.
Russia secured their place in Sydney after winning the World Cup Division 2 tournament in Malta in April. Markoch’s side completed an unbeaten campaign with a dramatic 18-17 victory over China in the final, decided by Daria Savchenko’s long-range goal in the final second.
Savchenko is included in the squad alongside Maria Makarova, Margarita Pystina, Polina Popova and Bella Markoch, while Anna Arbuzova, Olga Lupinogina and Anastasia Adikova are among the other players retained from the successful Division 2 campaign.
Russia will begin their World Cup Final campaign against the Netherlands on July 22.
Russia squad
Goalkeepers:
Diana Khamraeva, Elvira Karnaukh.
Field players:
Maria Makarova, Ekaterina Prokofyeva (captain), Margarita Pystina, Daria Savchenko, Polina Popova, Anna Arbuzova, Olga Lupinogina, Victoria Guskova, Anisa Sharafutdinova, Bella Markoch, Vladislava Nechaeva, Anastasia Adikova, Daria Klyueva.
Head coach:
Sergey Markoch.
Coaching staff:
Ivan Komarov, Evgeny Trubetskoy, Alexander Osipenko.
The tournament will feature eight of the world’s leading women’s national teams and will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. Matches involving Russia will be broadcast live across the Match TV network.
Follow Waterpolo 360 on Facebook, Instagram and X