Bulgaria faces Israel tonight at 7:00 PM in their fourth match of Group B at the European Championship in Sofia. History is entirely on the side of our national team, but the present warns that this time they will face a significantly different Israeli team.
In official matches between the two countries, which can be traced in international archives since 1962, Bulgaria has an impressive record – 6 wins from 6 matches and not a single lost set. The set ratio is 18:0.
The streak began at the 1962 World Championship, when Bulgaria won 3:0 (15:3, 15:3, 15:4). This was followed by three more clean victories at major championships – at EuroVolley 1967, at the 1970 World Championship, and at EuroVolley 1971.
The match in 1970 is particularly interesting. Bulgaria hosted the World Championship and met Israel precisely in Sofia, winning 3:0 (15:5, 15:4, 15:8). Thus, 56 years later, the two teams meet again in the Bulgarian capital at a major international forum.
After the match at EuroVolley 1971, there was a break of nearly half a century before Bulgaria and Israel met officially again. This happened in January 2021 in the qualifiers for the European Championship. Due to the pandemic situation, the two tournaments in Group B, which included Bulgaria, Israel, and Austria, were held one after another in Hadera. Thus, each team met the others twice.
Bulgaria defeated Israel in both matches. On January 14, our national team won 3:0 (27:25, 25:16, 25:22), and on January 17, they again prevailed 3:0 (25:20, 25:21, 25:23). Bulgaria finished the qualification with four wins from four matches and won the group.
It is interesting to note that five of the volleyball players in Bulgaria's current squad were part of the team in the last encounter with Israel – Aleksandar Nikolov, Martin Atanasov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Alex Grozdanov, and Iliya Petkov.

The numbers are categorical – six matches, six Bulgarian victories, and 18:0 sets. But precisely here, historical statistics should be set aside, because Israel arrived at EuroVolley 2026 after one of its strongest summers in recent years. In the European League in 2026, Itamar Stein's team reached the semifinals. Israel finished among the top four in the main phase and, by qualifying for the semifinals, secured participation in the European Championship in 2028. In the semifinals, Israel met the Netherlands and lost both matches 1:3, but the first match showed how dangerous this young squad can be. The Dutch won 3:1(25:23,28:30,25:23,25:19), and two of Israel's great hopes – 20-year-olds Shay Mayo Lieberman and Mark Rura – scored a total of 45 of the team's 95 points. The growth is not limited to the men's national team. This summer, Israel reached a semifinal at the European Championship for men U22 for the first time in its history – another sign of the generation that is gradually entering the senior national team. And in Sofia, Israel has already shown that it should not be viewed as an opponent from the past. Against Ukraine, the team took a set in a 1:3 loss (22:25,19:25,25:22,19:25), and against Portugal, they achieved their first victory in the championship. Thus, before today's match, two completely different trends meet. Bulgaria has absolute historical dominance – 6:0 victories and 18:0 sets. Israel, however, comes after its most significant international breakthrough in years and with a young generation that is already beginning to change the country's place in European volleyball. History says Bulgaria. The summer of 2026 says that this Israel should be taken much more seriously than any of the previous six opponents against whom our nationals have not lost even a set.

photo: cev.eu