Brazil. The Bulgarian men's national volleyball team held its first training session in the Nilson Nelson Arena in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, where tomorrow marks the start of the first week of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) for "the Lions".

Gianlorenzo Blengini's players arrived after a long and exhausting journey, which lasted nearly 21 hours from the Argentine city of Rosario to the Brazilian capital.

We remind you that before their departure for Brazil, the national team played its last friendly match against Argentina in Rosario. Bulgaria will face "the Gauchos" again on June 13th in one of its tournament matches.

The Bulgarians' first training session in Brazil primarily focused on serves. Blengini's staff also included various technical exercises, as well as a short scrimmage. The training lasted about an hour, with the main goal being adaptation to the hall's conditions after the long journey.

Bulgaria will open its participation in this year's edition of the Volleyball Nations League on Wednesday against tournament debutant Belgium. The match is at 8:00 PM Bulgarian time (1:00 PM local time in Brazil).

Photos by Nikolay Varadinov