There is hardly a more telling example of the demands in modern international volleyball than what 18-year-old French talent Noah Duflo Rossi experienced. The outside hitter, who was a teammate of Aleksandar Nikolov in the Italian giant Lube Civitanova during the 2025/26 season, appeared on the court in two official matches for two different French national teams in two different countries within less than 24 hours, and this evening he will almost certainly be among Bulgaria's opponents at the European Championship for Men U22.
On Sunday evening, Duflo Rossi was part of "the Roosters'" squad in their last match of the Volleyball Nations League against Japan in Orleans. The match started at 17:00 local time and ended shortly before midnight Bulgarian time after a dramatic 2:3 (30:28, 25:19, 17:25, 33:35, 12:15) loss.
Although he did not start, the young outside hitter entered the fourth and fifth sets. During his time on the court, he scored 6 points  4 from attack and 2 directly from serve (aces), showing why he is considered one of the greatest talents in French volleyball.
However, there was no rest after the match. Duflo Rossi immediately departed for Portugal, where the French national U22 team began its participation in the European Championship in Albufeira.
Just hours after his arrival, he was already in the squad for the first match against the Czech Republic. The French won 3:2 (16:25, 25:22, 22:25, 25:17, 15:9), and the young outside hitter appeared in the first, fourth, and fifth sets, finishing with 6 points  4 from attack and 2 aces.

After the match, head coach Slimane Belmadi specifically addressed the situation surrounding Duflo Rossi. The coach admitted that the team felt a lack of cohesion with some of the players who arrived at the last moment and explicitly noted Noah's fatigue, as he arrived on the day of the match directly after his participation in the Volleyball Nations League against Japan.
This evening, France faces Bulgaria in their second group stage match of the European Championship. The game starts at 22:30 Bulgarian time, and Duflo Rossi will almost certainly be among Belmadi's options again.
In just a single 24-hour period, the 18-year-old Frenchman traveled through two countries, two time zones, two official tournaments, and two national teams. This is undoubtedly one of the most unusual stories in European volleyball this summer.