Four groups, eight matches, and several results that are seriously beginning to shape the picture of the Men's European Championship. For Bulgaria, the most important events on Sunday happened in Sofia and Cluj-Napoca – Groups B and D cross over in the Round of 16. Poland continued without losing a set, Israel took its first victory, and France remained the only team undefeated in the Romanian group.
Group B – Sofia: Poland without a lost set, Israel with first victory
Poland recorded their third consecutive clean victory in "Arena 8888", this time defeating North Macedonia 3:0 (25:19, 25:16, 25:13). The European champions have 9 points and an impressive set ratio of 9:0.
North Macedonia managed to stay in the match only in the initial parts of the first two sets. Poland gradually imposed its huge superiority – 61% vs 34% attack efficiency, 12:4 blocks, 4:0 aces, and 64% vs 34% positive reception. Bartosz Bolondz finished with 13 points.
The first match of the day was far more dramatic. Israel defeated Portugal 3:2 (19:25, 25:20, 20:25, 25:22, 15:7) and recorded their first success at EuroVolley 2026. The Portuguese twice took the lead in sets, but Israel reached a tie-break, and completely dominated there.
Mark Rura was the top scorer in the match with 23 points, and Shay Lieberman added 21. Alexandre Ferreira scored 20 for Portugal. The Portuguese had an advantage in blocking – 10:5, but conceded 36 points from errors against 31 for Israel.
This result is particularly important before today's match Bulgaria – Israel. Israel already has a win and 2 points, while Bulgaria is third with 2 wins and 6 points after the defeat by Ukraine.
| Place | Team | W | L | D | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9:0 | 9 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9:2 | 9 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7:3 | 6 |
| 4 | Israel | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4:8 | 2 |
| 5 | Portugal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2:9 | 1 |
| 6 | North Macedonia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0:9 | 0 |
In Group D in Cluj-Napoca, France continues without a mistake, and Turkey finally recorded its first victory.
This is the other group that we are following particularly closely, because it is with this group that Bulgaria's group crosses paths in the round of 16.
France achieved its third victory after defeating Latvia 3:1 (25:12, 25:16, 22:25, 25:13). The French lost their first set in the championship, but generally controlled the match. The huge difference came in blocking – 20:5. Mathis Henno was the top scorer for the winners with 16 points.
Turkey, on the other hand, finally recorded its first victory after defeats by Germany and France. Slobodan Kovač's team outplayed Switzerland 3:0 (25:23, 25:19, 25:19). Adis Lagumdzija finished with 17 points, and the Turks had a huge advantage in blocking – 10:1.
| Place | Team | W | L | D | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9:1 | 9 |
| 2 | Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9:3 | 8 |
| 3 | Romania | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6:7 | 4 |
| 4 | Turkey | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4:6 | 3 |
| 5 | Latvia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4:7 | 3 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1:9 | 0 |
France and Germany are already pulling away at the top, while behind them the situation remains completely open. The positions in this group are of direct importance for Bulgaria – in the round of 16, B1 plays against D4, B2 against D3, B3 against D2, and B4 against D1.
In Group C in Tampere, Finland crushed Serbia, and Denmark continued its surprising streak.
Finland achieved one of the most impressive victories so far, after defeating Serbia 3:0 (25:19, 25:21, 25:23) in front of 10,929 spectators in Tampere. Joonas Jokela scored 19 points, Noah Marttila – 12, and Luka Marttila – 9.
Denmark confirmed that their victory over the Netherlands was not a fluke. The Danes also defeated Estonia 3:0 (28:26, 25:22, 25:16), with Mads Kyed Jensen finishing with 19 points.
| Place | Team | W | L | D | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9:2 | 8 |
| 2 | Denmark | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6:3 | 6 |
| 3 | Belgium | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5:4 | 4 |
| 4 | Serbia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3:4 | 3 |
| 5 | Estonia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1:6 | 0 |
| 6 | Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1:6 | 0 |
Finland now has three wins, and Denmark is becoming the big surprise in the group. Serbia, Belgium, and the Netherlands have one less match played, so the standings can still change significantly.
In Group A in Modena, Italy and Slovenia continue undefeated.
Italy lost their first set of the tournament but defeated Slovakia 3:1 (25:17, 25:27, 25:10, 25:19). Pardo Matti had an exceptional match – 22 points, 6 blocks, and 15 successful attacks with 88% efficiency.
Slovenia decisively dealt with Sweden with a 3:0 (25:16, 25:21, 25:12) victory. Nik Mujanovic was the top scorer with 17 points.
| Place | Team | W | L | D | Games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9:1 | 9 |
| 2 | Slovenia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6:0 | 6 |
| 3 | Czech Republic | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6:3 | 5 |
| 4 | Sweden | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2:9 | 1 |
| 5 | Greece | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1:6 | 0 |
| 6 | Slovakia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1:6 | 0 |
Italy leads with a perfect record, but Slovenia and the Czech Republic are also still undefeated and have a game in hand.
Today, September 14, EuroVolley continues with eight new matches, and the Bulgarian focus is once again on Sofia and Cluj-Napoca.
Group B:Ukraine – Portugal 16:00, Bulgaria – Israel 19:00. CEV confirms these exact start times for Sofia.
Group D:Germany – Switzerland 17:00, Romania – Turkey 20:00.
Group C:Serbia – Netherlands 17:00, Estonia – Belgium 20:00.
Group A:Slovakia – Czech Republic 17:00, Slovenia – Greece 22:00.
photo: cev.eu
