Poland already has its final 14 volleyball players for EuroVolley 2026, and Nikola Grbić's selection brought two interesting pieces of news before the start of the championship. The Serb left only three middle blockers in the squad, and Jakub Majchrzak, who also came to Sofia in the group of 15 players, remained outside the group.
Thus, Poland will be at the European Championship with Bartłomiej Lemański, Szymon Jakubiszak, and Jakub Nowak in the middle of the net.
Grbić's final choice also disproved the emerging information that Artur Szalpuk might be among those dropped. The experienced outside hitter is among the 14 and will be available to the coach for EuroVolley.
Poland's final squad for EuroVolley 2026:
Setters:
Marcin Komenda
Jan Firlej
Opposites:
Bartłomiej Bołądź
Kévin Sasak
Middle Blockers:
Bartłomiej Lemański
Szymon Jakubiszak
Jakub Nowak
Outside Hitters:
Wilfredo León
Aleksander Śliwka
Artur Szalpuk
Kamil Semeniuk
Tomasz Fornal
Libero:
Jakub Popiwczak
Maksymilian Granieczny
Grbić's choice is particularly interesting from a Bulgarian perspective as well. Just a day earlier, Gianlorenzo Blengini's decision to leave Bulgaria with three middle blockers caused serious discussions. The Italian preferred Alex Grozdanov, Iliya Petkov, and Preslav Petkov, while Lazar Buchkov and Dimitar Peychinov were left out of the final 14.
Now it turns out that one of the big favorites for the European title and Bulgaria's main competitor for first place in Group B will use the same configuration in this position.
The difference is in the distribution of the remaining spots. Grbić has taken five pure receivers, while Blengini opted for six – Aleksandar Nikolov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Georgi Tatarov, Denislav Bardarov, Martin Atanasov, and Zhasmin Velichkov. Bulgaria has only one nominal opposite – Venislav Antov, while Poland has two – Bolondz and Sasak.
This, of course, does not mean that the decisions of the two coaches are dictated by identical tactical considerations. The qualities and re-configuration possibilities of the two teams are different. But Grbić's final choice certainly puts Blengini's decision in a different light.
The scheme with three middle blockers is obviously not an unusual experiment by the Bulgarian coach, since the coach of one of the main favorites for the title is resorting to the same model.
Bulgaria and Poland are in Group B of EuroVolley 2026 along with Ukraine, Portugal, Israel, and North Macedonia. The two teams will meet on September 16 at "Arena 8888 Sofia".