Water calculation: how Russia beat the European champions in the quarter-finals of the KM

The Russian women's water polo team has won the 2026 World Cup superfinal in Australia. In the very first match of the tournament, our girls knocked out one of the strongest teams on the planet, the Netherlands, with a score of 11:6. The goalkeeper of our team, Diana Khamraeva, was recognized as the best player of the match.

The Russians returned to the international stage only in April — due to a long suspension, they had to start from the second division of the World Cup. Considering the level of our women's team, there were no problems expected. Everything really went smoothly — the girls, led by Sergey Markoch, scored five defeats and only faced serious resistance from the Chinese national team in the final (18:17). It should be noted that the Russians performed in Malta with a flag and an anthem.

Thanks to the victory in the second division, the Russian national team earned the right to compete in the elite next year, as well as a ticket to the superfinal of the World Cup in Australia. The Sydney tournament is not just a prestigious start, but also one of the opportunities to get to the 2027 World Cup, so Markoch's team approached the trip with a special attitude.

The first opponent of the Russians at the tournament was the national team of the Netherlands. The team is extremely difficult — the European champion in 2026, the bronze medalist of the Olympic Games in 2024 and the World Cup in 2023. The Netherlands ranks second in the current ranking of the international federation. In this match, no easy walk was expected anywhere near.

Indeed, from the very beginning, the meeting was held in an intense struggle. The first quarter ended with a score of 2:2, in the second the Russians were able to gain a lead (2:1) and repeated the result in the third, leaving for the last break with a score of 6:4.

Everything was decided in the final quarter. The Dutch national team, in an attempt to recoup, began to act more riskily, to open up more, and shot the goalkeeper several times. However, the Russians not only resisted, but also punished their rivals for an open game, completing the segment with a score of 5:2. Not least thanks to goalkeeper Daria Khamraeva, who played a great match, saved a lot and took several penalties. As a result, she was recognized as the best player of the match.

"We've been seriously preparing for this game, tuning in," Daria Khamraeva told Izvestia. — Everyone had to do their job. I did what I had to do, and the team helped me with that. In general, the whole game went according to plan. We defended well and attacked well. We walked step by step, not paying attention to the bill. Everyone worked out in their position, all the girls gave their best. Therefore, the game turned out to be exciting, emotional and intense. I am very happy and grateful to the team for this victory. But this is only our first step in the tournament. We will continue to try to show our best game.

Thanks to the success (11:6), the Russian national team reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. There, Markoc's team will have to play Spain, which in turn beat the Hungarian team (8:7). The three best World Cup teams will directly qualify for the 2027 World Aquatics Championships, which will be held in Budapest.

"We were calm and understood that there would be no easy game with the Netherlands," Russian national team player Maria Makarova told Izvestia. — At the very beginning, the opponent crushed us with pressure, something we did, something we didn't. Initially, the throws didn't go a bit, they were aiming. Then everything started to work out for us. We played defensively, and I think we did well. Overall, it's a pleasure to be in Sydney. To be honest, it's been so long since we've played with foreign teams that we really miss the fierce rivalry. That's why I look forward to every game here with special impatience.

The World Cup superfinal will end with the gold match on July 26. At this tournament, Russian women perform with a flag and an anthem thanks to the decision of the international federation, which separated sports and politics even before the relevant IOC recommendations appeared.