The Bulgarian national U18 men's team suffered their first loss at the 2026 European Championship in Cisterna di Latina (Italy). After their victory over reigning champion France in the first round, Miroslav Zhivkov's players lost to Germany with a score of 1:3 (25:20, 23:25, 23:25, 17:25).
The Bulgarian team started strongly, and although they were trailing by 4-5 points several times in the first set, they managed to turn the tide and take the lead after a 25:20 win.
After that, the initiative gradually passed into German hands. In the second set, Bulgaria again overcame a deficit and remained in the fight until the end, but Germany snatched the set 25:23 and equalized the score.
The third set proved to be a key moment in the match. The two teams went point for point, and Bulgaria repeatedly took a two-point lead. However, at 23:23, our nationals committed two consecutive errors in the decisive rallies, and the Germans closed out the set 25:23 to take a 2:1 lead.
In the fourth set, Germany accumulated a solid lead early on, which the Bulgarian team never managed to erase. The Germans controlled the game until the end and deservedly secured the victory after a 25:17 set win.
The statistics clearly show where the match was decided. Germany dominated at the net with 17 kill blocks against only 5 for Bulgaria. The opponent also had an advantage in serving with 7 aces against 5, as well as in attack 42% success rate against 31% and 49 points from attack against 34 for the Bulgarian team.
It is interesting that Bulgaria failed to capitalize on the opponent's significantly higher number of unforced errors. The Germans gave away 44 points from their errors against 22 for Bulgaria, but this proved insufficient for a victory.
| Category | Bulgaria | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Points from Attack | 34 | 49 |
| Attack Success Rate | 31% | 42% |
| Block Points | 5 | 17 |
| Aces | 5 | 7 |
| Points from Opponent Errors | 44 | 22 |
The decisive factors for the outcome of the match were the Germans' blocking and more effective attack. Although Bulgaria won twice as many points from opponent errors, this did not compensate for the significant deficit in play at the net. The most productive players for Bulgaria were Milko Bagdasarov and Nikola Gradinarov with 11 points each. For Germany, four players finished with a double-digit score, with Noah Althoff being the top scorer with 16 points. Tomorrow, Bulgaria will face the Netherlands in their third group stage match of the European Championship.
photo: cev.eu
