Bulgaria faces Ukraine today in their third match of Group B at the Men's European Championship. The match starts at 7:00 PM in "Arena 8888 Sofia", pitting two teams against each other who are still undefeated in the tournament.
Our national team started EuroVolley 2026 with two wins without losing a set – 3:0 (25:17, 25:19, 25:18) against North Macedonia and 3:0 against Portugal. Ukraine also has two victories – 3:1 against Israel and 3:0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:10) against North Macedonia. Thus, Bulgaria has a 6:0 set record, and Ukraine has 6:1.
Today's match will be Bulgaria's first at this European Championship against a team from the Top 12 of the world rankings. After their first two victories, our national team is No. 9 in the world with 277.51 points, while Ukraine is No. 12 with 251.30. Bulgaria started EuroVolley with 272.25 points and added 5.26, while the Ukrainians increased their total from 247.16 to 251.30 points.

The difference between the two teams in the world rankings before the direct clash is 26.21 points. The outcome of the match will affect their totals, but we will not specify concrete values for individual possible results in advance. Only three official matches in the last decade: Bulgaria and Ukraine have rarely met in official tournaments in the last 10 years. Before today's match, we find three such encounters – at EuroVolley 2023 and in the Nations League in 2025 and 2026. The record is in favor of Bulgaria – two wins against one for Ukraine and 7:5 sets.

It is curious that all three matches ended 3:1. Bulgaria won the matches in 2023 and 2026, while Ukraine prevailed in 2025. The last match was only 76 days ago. The most recent benchmark is in favor of Bulgaria. On June 28, 2026, our national team defeated Ukraine 3:1(25:20,18:25,25:23,25:17) in Ljubljana in the Nations League. 76 days have passed since that match until today's game. A year earlier, on June 29, 2025, the two teams met in Burgas, again in the Nations League. Bulgaria won the first set, but Ukraine turned it around and won 3:1(20:25,25:19,26:24,25:22). The last clash between Bulgaria and Ukraine at a European Championship was on September 2, 2023, in Varna. The Ukrainians took the first set 25:20, after which Bulgaria won the next three and the match 3:1(20:25,25:17,25:20,25:23). The match was watched by 5060 spectators, and Martin Atanasov was the top scorer for Bulgaria with 18 points. Two teams with a perfect record in Sofia. History, however, is only part of the context. Much more important for today's match is the performance of the two teams in Sofia. CEV specifically noted Bulgaria and Ukraine as the two teams that continued their flawless start with a second consecutive victory in Group B. Bulgaria has not yet lost a set, while the only one conceded by Ukraine was against Israel. Today, at least one of the two winning streaks will end. For our national team, the match is also the beginning of the tougher part of the group stage. After Ukraine, matches with Israel are scheduled for September 14 and with Poland for September 16. The final place in Group B will also determine the position from which Bulgaria will enter the eliminations. Therefore, the match with Ukraine brings together several important aspects – two undefeated teams, No. 9 against No. 12 in the world ranking, a direct battle for positions in the group, and opponents who know each other very well from the last two editions of the Nations League. And the closest direct match in time is a categorical fact: on June 28 in Ljubljana, Bulgaria defeated Ukraine 3:1(25:20,18:25,25:23,25:17). Today, 76 days later, the two teams face each other again – this time at the European Championship and in front of the Bulgarian audience in Sofia.