The Bulgarian men's national team has begun its preparations for the European Volleyball Championship, which will take place from September 9 to 27. Head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini gathered 15 players for the first camp in Samokov, with outside hitter Georgi Tatarov joining the 14 volleyball players who were part of the squad in the Volleyball Nations League in Chicago.
The national team will train at "Arena SamElion" until August 28. During the camp, Bulgaria will play two friendly matches against the Czech Republic on August 25 and 26.
The second stage of preparation begins on August 30, when the team moves to Sofia. Training sessions will be held at "Arena 8888 Sofia", and on September 1 and 2, the "Lions" will face Serbia in their final tests before the championship.
Bulgaria is hosting one of the groups of EuroVolley 2026, with the national team's first match on September 9 against the Republic of North Macedonia. In Group B, the "Lions" will also face the reigning European champion Poland, Ukraine, Israel, and Portugal.
Bulgaria's squad for the start of preparation:
Setters: Simeon Nikolov, Stoil Palev.
Middle Blockers: Alex Grozdanov, Boris Nachev, Iliya Petkov, Preslav Petkov.
Outside Hitters: Aleksandar Nikolov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Georgi Tatarov, Denislav Bardarov, Martin Atanasov, Rusi Zhelev, Zhasmin Velichkov.
Opposite Hitter: Venislav Antov.
Libero: Damyan Kolev.
We remind you that Georgi Tatarov played in the second tournament of the Volleyball Nations League in Ljubljana, where he replaced Zhasmin Velichkov, who at the same time was participating in the European Championship for men U22. After the friendly matches, coach Blengini will decide which 14 players will continue to EuroVolley 2026.
