Eight matches were played on September 12 at the Men's European Championship. For Bulgaria, the day brought its first defeat – against Ukraine in Sofia, while in Group D in Cluj-Napoca, Germany and France continued without a loss. The developments in these two groups are most important from a Bulgarian perspective, as their participants will cross paths in the round of 16.

Group B: Ukraine stopped Bulgaria and took the lead

Bulgaria suffered its first loss at EuroVolley 2026, after falling to Ukraine with a score of 1:3 (23:25, 22:25, 25:21, 21:25) in "Arena 8888". The Ukrainians took the first two sets, Bulgaria reacted in the third, but in the fourth, the opponent again managed to exert pressure with their serve and closed out the match.
Statistics show a curious paradox. Bulgaria finished with higher attack efficiency – 55% against 48%, and with an advantage in blocks – 9:4. Ukraine, however, had 9 aces against 5 for Bulgaria and significantly fewer errors. Aleksandar Nikolov was the top scorer in the match with 27 points, while Oleh Plotnytskyi finished with 23 for the winners.

40 errors – the colossal number that decided the match

The total number of40 errors and unsuccessful actionsrecorded by the Bulgarian team is particularly heavy. The breakdown shows where this huge number comes from:

This averages 10 lost rallies per set in these three indicators alone – too high a price despite Bulgaria's good numbers in attack and blocking.
In the other match in Sofia, Poland decisively defeated Israel – 3:0 (25:16, 25:17, 25:17). The Poles finished with 60% attack efficiency against 38% for Israel, won the block battle 8:4, and had 3 aces against 1. Tomasz Fornal scored 10 points for the winners, and Shay Lieberman was the top scorer in the match with 14.

Group D: France without a lost set, Germany survived against Romania

The developments in Cluj-Napoca are directly related to the Bulgarian group, as the opponents for the round of 16 come precisely from Group D.
France recorded a second consecutive clean victory, this time against Turkey – 3:0 (25:19, 25:20, 25:19). The Turks stayed close to their opponent in certain periods of the sets, but the French were stronger in the decisive moments. Théo Faure finished as the top scorer with 18 points, and France made 43 attacks with 56% efficiency. Adis Lagumdzija was #1 for Turkey with 16 points.
In the second match, Germany faced a much more serious challenge against host Romania – 3:2 (25:22, 25:23, 22:25, 15:25, 15:13). The Germans took a 2:0 lead, but the hosts came back to win two sets and reached 10:9 in the tie-break. Germany managed to turn the decisive set around and remained undefeated.
Romania actually finished with more points won in the entire match – 108:102, as well as a clear advantage in blocks – 13:7, but Germany took the rallies that decided the fifth set.

Group A: Czech Republic survived after five sets, Italy again with 3:0

Sweden was close to a full comeback against the Czech Republic. The Czechs took a 2:0 lead, but the Swedes equalized before the Czech Republic reached 3:2 (25:22, 25:23, 23:25, 17:25, 15:13). Lukáš Vašina was the top scorer for the winners with 19 points, while Axel Enlund finished with 23 for Sweden.
Italy achieved a second clean victory – 3:0 (25:23, 25:23, 25:16) against Greece. The final score does not show how serious resistance the Greeks put up in the first two sets, which they lost by only two points each. Daniele Lavia finished with 15 points, Yuri Romano added 14, and Raptis scored 12 for Greece.

Group C: historic victory for Denmark, Finland won in front of a record crowd

Denmark delivered one of the most interesting results of the day, defeating the Netherlands 3:0 (25:17, 25:20, 25:20). This was the Danes' first victory at the current European Championship and, according to the material provided by CEV, their first victory against the Netherlands.
Finland recorded a second consecutive victory after a dramatic 3:2 (23:25, 25:20, 25:19, 23:25, 15:10) against Belgium. The match was played in front of 12,338 spectators at Nokia Arena, with CEV noting this attendance as a new record for a volleyball match in Finland.

Temporary Standings

Group A

Italy is the only team in the group with two 3-0 victories.

Group B

Ukraine is the leader with a perfect record, but has played one more match than Poland.

Group C

Finland leads with two wins and 5 points, while Serbia has played only one match.

Group D

Germany is first with 8 points, but France has one less match played and still hasn't lost a set.

Today's schedule – September 13

Times are Bulgarian time. Bulgaria rests today.