The head coach of the Bulgarian men's national team, Gianlorenzo Blengini, officially reduced the extended squad for the 2026 Nations League from 31 to 30 players, as required by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).
A comparison between the initially announced list from the beginning of the week and today's official group reveals that outside hitter Samuil Valchinov has been dropped from the Italian specialist's plans.
Valchinov, who played for Italian Ravenna last season, was among the 10 outside hitters in the initial extended squad but did not make it into the final registered 30 volleyball players for VNL 2026.
Thus, Bulgaria enters the tournament with nine outside hitters:
Aleksandar Nikolov
Asparuh Asparuhov
Vladimir Garkov
Denis Karyagin
Georgi Tatarov
Rusi Zhelev
Denislav Bardarov
Zhasmin Velichkov
Kristiyan Aleksov
Martin Atanasov
It is noteworthy that Blengini maintains strong competition precisely for this position, where both established national players and several young athletes are gathered.
Bulgaria begins its participation in the Nations League on June 10 against Belgium during the first tournament in Brazil. Matches against Iran, Argentina, and Serbia follow.
Before the start of the tournament, the 'Lions' are already participating in the international 'Silesia Cup' tournament in Poland, and the last friendly match is scheduled for June 6 in Rosario against Argentina.
Bulgaria's squad for VNL 2026
Setters:
Simeon Nikolov, Lyuboslav Telkiyski, Stoil Palev, Viktor Zhekov, Anton Stanchev
Outside Hitters:
Aleksandar Nikolov, Martin Atanasov, Jasmin Velichkov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Vladimir Garkov, Denis Karyagin, Georgi Tatarov, Rusi Zhelev, Denislav Bardarov, Kristian Aleksov
Middle Blockers:
Iliya Petkov, Boris Nachev, Preslav Petkov, Alex Grozdanov, Ivaylo Damyanov, Kiril Kolev, Lazar Buchkov
Opposite Spikers:
Dimitar Dimitrov, Hristiyan Dimitrov, Venislav Antov, Dimitar Peychinov
Liberos:
Dimitar Dobrev, Damyan Kolev, Yasen Petrov, Kaloyan Botev
According to the VNL 2026 regulations, each team is allowed to register 30 players for the entire tournament, but for each individual week, the coach can select a squad of a maximum of 14 volleyball players. Among the new FIVB test rules for this season is greater flexibility regarding the libero position, with coaches being able to definitively name the two liberos up to an hour before the start of the match.
photo: Nikolay Varadinov
