France inflicted a second consecutive defeat on Turkey at the European Championship and achieved a result that directly affects Bulgaria – both for the world ranking and for our potential path in the eliminations.
The "Roosters" won convincingly in Cluj-Napoca with a 3:0 score (25:19, 25:20, 25:19). The official CEV protocol shows complete dominance by the French, who closed the match in 82 minutes and won the total points with 75:58.
The result is particularly interesting from a Bulgarian perspective. Before EuroVolley 2026, Bulgaria started as #9 in the world with 272.25 points, placed exactly between France – #8 with 302.59, and Turkey – #10 with 268.49.
Even after the first matches, the difference changed significantly. France received 2.39 points for their 3:0 victory over Switzerland and reached 304.98 points. Turkey, on the other hand, lost a full 8.98 points after their 1:3 defeat to Germany and dropped from 268.49 to 259.51. Thus, the Turks, who before the start of the European Championship were only 3.76 points behind Bulgaria, have now moved significantly away from ninth place.
France's victory over Turkey further contributes to this – the French will increase their points and pull even further ahead of Bulgaria, while Turkey will lose new points. The exact change for the two teams is not yet reflected in the available update of the Volleyball World ranking, so at this stage, it is not correct to state a specific value. The official ranking is updated dynamically after the results.
However, there is a second, perhaps even more important aspect for Bulgaria – the standings in Group D. This very group in Cluj-Napoca crosses over with Bulgaria's Group B in the round of 16. The scheme is: first from Group B against fourth from D, second against third, third against second, and fourth against the winner of D.
Turkey already has two defeats – 1:3 against Germany and 0:3 against France. Germany started with two victories, including a 3:0 over Latvia, and France already has two clean wins – against Switzerland and Turkey.
This begins to outline France and Germany as the main contenders for the top two positions in Group D, while Turkey has put itself under serious pressure in the battle for a spot in the Top 4. For Bulgaria, any shift there is important, because our position in Sofia will directly determine who from Cluj will be on the other side of the net in the round of 16.
In the match itself, France had a significant advantage in attack – 43 successful attacks with 56% efficiency. Théo Faure finished as the top scorer for the winners with 16 points, including 15 from attack with 60% success rate. The French also recorded 5 aces, while Turkey had only 1.
For the Turks, Adis Lagumdzija also scored 16 points, but it was not enough – the opposite hitter finished with 14 successful attacks from 32 attempts.
The upcoming matches will provide an even clearer picture. France plays Latvia on September 13, and Turkey plays Switzerland. The big clash France – Germany is on September 15 and could prove decisive for first place in Group D.
For Bulgaria, the calculations in Cluj are definitely worth following now – both because of the world Top 10 and because of the opponent who might await us in the very first elimination match.

photo: cev.eu