The competition in Sofia and Plovdiv is expected to be extremely interesting.

The European Volleyball Championship for boys U18 has begun, taking place in Sofia and Plovdiv. The 'Levski Sofia' and 'Kolodruma' halls are the arenas for the battles on the Old Continent. For you, dear readers, we will provide a brief overview of each competition day – chronologically match by match.

Yesterday, the first 4 matches were played in Sofia, with the third on the program being ours – against the team from Portugal. Here's what happened on the first day of EuroVolley 2024 in Group A:

1. Austria – France 0:3 (11:25, 22:25, 21:25)

This was the opening match of the championship, with the French leaving no doubt as to who was the more skilled team. 'Les Bleus' started the first set with a phenomenal lead, which they subsequently increased to perfectly close the part at 25:11. This resounding slap seemed to sober up the Austrians, who in the second set kept the score even until 16:16, after which France opened a slight lead that they managed to hold until the end of the set. 'Les Bleus' also closed the second part after 25:22, but the 'Wunderteam' definitely showed its 'teeth'. The third set started in a familiar way – with an advantage for France, but Austria this time did not give up, making another equalizer at 16:16. Alas, this was the last serious resistance from the young Austrians for today, who succumbed to their much stronger opponent in the third part after 25:21 – France started the European Championship with a clean 3:0 sets victory.

2. Finland – Turkey 3:2 (25:23, 22:25, 25:14, 24:26, 15:12)

The second match of the day offered a far more intriguing scenario and can definitively be declared the 'cherry on top' not only in Group A but also of the tournament so far. Finland and Turkey delivered a true spectacle for both their own fans and, most importantly, neutral volleyball enthusiasts. Numerous comebacks further embellished the volleyball clash between the young Finns and Turks. The first set was a real roller coaster – now one team would lead, now the other, but in the end, 'Suomi' snatched the part after 25:23. The second was completely mirrored in terms of the final score, but not the intrigue. The set offered a new portion of comebacks, with Turkey being the winner of the final situation this time – 25:22 and a tie in sets for 1:1. The third set broke the tradition of the previous two, with Finland forging an early lead, which they subsequently maintained and slightly increased. The difference swelled alarmingly after the middle of the set, which was the key factor for 'Suomi' to calmly close the third part after 25:14 – again a lead of 2:1 sets. This shock had a positive effect on our southeastern neighbors, who once again 'clung' to the Finns, with the score being even for almost the entire set, although Finland slightly led. However, Turkey also briefly took the lead, but that was far from all in this part. 'Suomi' turned the score around again, even reaching match point, but the Turks managed to act correctly at the crucial moment once more. With calm and concentration, they overturned their opponent to win the set after a dramatic 26:24, which meant a new tie at 2:2 sets and a tie-break – the embellishment of this phenomenal match. The fifth set did not betray the others, again offering a host of twists – first Turkey, inspired by the previous part, took the lead, then Finland came back into the match after the middle, this time holding things entirely in their hands – Suomi forged a valuable 3:2 victory after 15:12 in the tie-break.

3. Bulgaria – Portugal 3:1 (23:25, 25:15, 25:20, 25:18)

Our debut at the home European Championship was successful, but it did not start in the best way. Here we will be shorter, as the match was covered by us in detail earlier yesterday. In the first part, we conceded a large early deficit, which was key for Portugal to take a 1:0 lead after 25:23, although in the end we almost melted the opponent's lead. In the remaining 3 sets, Bulgaria legitimately proved its higher class over the Iberians, to start EuroVolley 2024 with a victory.

4. Ukraine Poland 0:3 (12:25, 14:15, 12:25)

The last match of the day, played in 'Levski Sofia' hall, was also the 'most boring', as the Ukrainians were unable to oppose the Poles in any way, who arrived in Bulgaria with their familiar self-confidence for this sport – and how could it be otherwise, as Poland is a world volleyball power. 'Drużyna Polska' calmly won their first match of the tournament, having taken early and calm leads in all three played sets. Thus, the Poles made a serious statement that they will once again be a main favorite to win the gold.

Photos: Nikolay Varadinov and cev.eu