The Bulgarian national team started its Euro 2024 campaign in front of a home crowd with difficulty, but recorded an important 3:1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25:18) victory over Portugal in 97 minutes.. The match took place in the capital's "Levski Sofia" hall. Our team started nervously and under pressure, with the Portuguese leading by seven points at times. Gradually, the Bulgarians shook off their stiffness and managed to find their rhythm, closing within two points at the end of the set. Unfortunately, their strength only lasted until the 23rd point, which marked the end of the first set.
In the second set, we saw a different home team, who left no doubt about their superiority and closed the set with a large lead. The third set unfolded in an identical way, with our boys not allowing any surprises and finishing with a 5-point difference in their favor.
A balanced fourth set followed, with the Bulgarians taking the lead early on, but briefly allowing the Portuguese to lead in the score.
At the end of the set, the leadership qualities of captain Petyo Ivanov and the attacking efficiency of Zhasmin Velichkov became evident, which was the reason Bulgaria closed the set and the match, registering valuable three points. The rotation made by the staff - Velichkov as a receiver and Ivanov as an opposite - proved to be a winning move for the favorable outcome of the match. In this match, we scored only 1 point from a serve, but we made 13 blocks, statistics show.
Velichkov finished as the top scorer for our team with 27 points (5 blocks). Captain Petyo Ivanov contributed 15 points (2 blocks), and Nikolay Nikolaev scored 12 points (1 ace, 1 block).
Georgi Salparov, son of legendary libero Teodor Salparov, who was in the hall, also recorded his first playing minutes for the national team. Georgi's mother, Boyka, was also there.
Starting lineup for Bulgaria: Petyo Ivanov, Nikolay Nikolaev, Zhasmin Velichkov, Ivan Uzunov, Kristiyan Ivanov, Konstantin Manolev, Dimitar Dobrev - libero (Daniel Yeniy, Georgi Salparov).
Tomorrow (July 11), our boys face Ukraine, again at 5:30 PM, and it will be broadcast live on MAX Sport 2.
Photos: Nikolay Varadinov
