The Bulgarian national U18 men's team starts its participation today in the European Championship 2026, which is taking place in Cisterna di Latina (Italy). The proteges of head coach Miroslav Zhivkov will open the championship with a match against France, which begins at 4:00 PM Bulgarian time (3:00 PM local time) in the hallPalazzetto dello Sport.

The match will be officiated by first referee Vasilios Nikakis (Greece) and second referee Kamala Asgarova (Azerbaijan).
The good news for Bulgarian fans is that the match can be watched not only on CEV's official YouTube channel, but also on the new television channelMAX One, which from this summer includes in its program the most significant volleyball tournaments featuring Bulgarian national teams.
Bulgaria has been placed in an extremely strong group, where over nine days they will play a total of seven matches. After the opening match against France, the national team will consecutively face Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Belgium, Czechia, and Spain. The first two teams in the final standings will qualify for the championship semifinals.
Bulgaria's schedule:
July 7, 4:00 PM France Bulgaria
July 8, 1:30 PM Bulgaria Germany
July 9, 4:00 PM Netherlands Bulgaria
July 11, 6:30 PM Bulgaria Romania
July 12, 6:30 PM Belgium Bulgaria
July 14, 4:00 PM Czechia Bulgaria
July 15, 9:00 PM Bulgaria Spain
Bulgaria is at the European Championship with the following squad:
Head coach:Miroslav Zhivkov.
Setters:Pavel Dzenev, Georgi Dimitrov.
Opposites:Adrian Ganev, Antoine Veselinov.
Outside Hitters:Nikola Velikov, Nikola Gradinarov, Petar Antonov, Kristiyan Kosev.
Middle Blockers:Orlin Drumev, Milko Bagdasarov, Danil Richiu, Kristian Ivanov.
Liberos:Alexander Dikov, Ivaylo Donov.
The Bulgarian volleyball players will aim to start the European Championship with a victory and take an important first step towards qualifying among the top four teams on the continent.