The Polish national team is already in Sofia, where they will begin the defense of their European title. "Druzyna Polska" landed at noon at "Vasil Levski" Airport with a LOT flight from Warsaw, and head coach Nikola Grbić brought a group of 15 volleyball players to the Bulgarian capital.
Polish media confirmed the team's arrival in Bulgaria, as well as that Grbić had realized his intention to travel to EuroVolley 2026 with all 15 players with whom he completed the preparation.
The reason is the Serbian specialist's desire to have all his players available for the training process in Sofia as well. However, the official squad for the European Championship can include 14 volleyball players.
Particular attention in recent days has been focused on the condition of Bartłomiej Lemański. The middle blocker suffered an ankle injury during the Hubert Jerzy Wagner Memorial, but his recovery is going well and he also arrived with the team in Sofia.
The 15 Poles in Sofia are:
Setters:Marcin Komenda, Jan Firlej
Opposites:Bartłomiej Bołądź, Kevin Sasak
Outside Hitters:Tomasz Fornal, Wilfredo León, Kamil Semeniuk, Artur Szalpuk, Aleksander Śliwka
Middle Blockers:Szymon Jakubiszak, Bartłomiej Lemański, Jakub Majchrzak, Jakub Nowak
Liberos:Jakub Popiwczak, Maksymilian Granieczny.
This is the group with which Poland conducted the final part of their preparation for the European Championship. In their last test, the Poles defeated Finland 3:0 (25:21, 28:26, 25:19), and then also won the pre-arranged additional set 25:21.
Poland is the reigning European champion and is one of the big favorites for the title at EuroVolley 2026. "Druzyna Polska" is in Group B in Sofia along with Bulgaria, Ukraine, Portugal, Israel, and North Macedonia.
Nikola Grbić's team's first match is on September 10 against Portugal, and the big clash with Bulgaria is on September 16.