History warned of one thing, and the summer of 2026 – of another. Israel showed in the very first game why before the match we considered this team much more dangerous than the opponent, against whom Bulgaria had accumulated six consecutive victories without losing a set. Itamar Stein's young squad took the first set 25:23 and ended Bulgaria's 18:0 set streak in direct matches between the two teams.
However, the reaction of the world vice-champions was emphatic. Bulgaria turned Israel around with a 3:1 (23:25, 25:22, 25:15, 25:20) victory in front of 9865 spectators in "Arena 8888" and recorded their third win in Group B of the European Championship in Sofia. The match lasted 109 minutes.
Gianlorenzo Blengini made one change to the starting lineup compared to the match against Ukraine – Asparuh Asparuhov started instead of Martin Atanasov. The decision paid off, as Asparuhov became one of the most valuable Bulgarian players in the match.
However, the beginning confirmed everything Israel had shown this summer. Bulgaria led 8:6 in the first set, but the opponent turned it around to 16:15 and gradually took the initiative. The national team managed to close the gap at the end, but Israel closed the set 25:23.
The second set proved to be the psychological turning point. Bulgaria led 5:1, Israel came back, and after the middle, the game continued practically point for point. At the end, the tension sharply increased after a referee's decision and a subsequent yellow card for Aleksandar Nikolov. The crowd reacted vehemently, but the situation seemed to give additional energy to the national team. Bulgaria won 25:22 and leveled the score.
After that, the difference became much more apparent. In the third set, Bulgaria led 8:3, 16:9, and 21:14 and closed it with a decisive 25:15. The national team converted 11 out of only 15 attacks – an impressive 73%.
Bulgaria maintained control in the fourth set as well – 8:3, 16:9, and 21:13. Israel reduced some of their deficit at the end, but the national team finished the match at 25:20.

The statistics show why, after the difficult first two sets, Bulgaria managed to break the opponent. The national team finished with 59% attack efficiency, and the 10 aces and 10 blocks provided another 20 direct points.
Aleksandar Nikolov and Denislav Bardarov finished with 18 points each, but behind the identical total stand different indicators. Bardarov scored 16 out of 26 attacks for 62% and added 2 blocks, while Nikolov made 15 out of 29 in attack for 52% and recorded 3 aces.

Particularly valuable was the fact that the attacking burden did not fall solely on Aleksandar Nikolov. Bardarov played a very strong match, Asparuhov made a significant contribution in all elements, and captain Alex Grozdanov finished with 67% in attack and 3 blocks. Simeon Nikolov also added 7 points – 5 from attack and 2 aces. Zhasmin Velichkov continued his strong performance in his new role as libero. He received 20 serves and finished with 60% positive and 45% perfect reception with only one direct error. For Israel, Mark Rura once again showed why he is among the most interesting young players in the team. He scored 18 points, including 17 from attack with 57% success rate. Shay Mayo Lieberman added 14 points. The two 20-year-old volleyball players, who were among the main figures in Israel's strong performance in the European League in the summer, were once again the team's leading weapons.

The victory was also important for Bulgaria's other big goal – the world ranking. Due to the huge difference between the two teams in the ranking, the success brought only 1.04 points, but the national team fulfilled the mandatory task and increased their assets from 268.54 to 269.58 points, remaining No. 9 in the world. Thus, after four matches, Bulgaria has three wins – against North Macedonia, Portugal, and Israel – and one loss to Ukraine. The last match in Group B is against European champion Poland on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov