The Men's European Championship has entered the decisive part of the group stage, and September 14 brought results that are beginning to shape the picture before the eliminations. Bulgaria returned to winning ways against Israel, Ukraine remained the only team with four wins in Group B, and in Cluj-Napoca, Romania continued its impressive performance with a victory over Turkey.
For our national team, the events in Groups B and D, which cross over in the round of 16 in Sofia, are particularly important. There are still too many unknowns there – both regarding Bulgaria's position and our potential opponent.

After the defeat by Ukraine, Bulgaria achieved its third victory at EuroVolley 2026. Our national team prevailed over Israel with 3:1 (23:25, 25:22, 25:15, 25:20) in front of nearly 10,000 spectators at "Arena 8888".
The start was difficult again. Bulgaria led 22:18 in the first set, but allowed Israel to make a comeback and win it 25:23. Our national team made nine unforced errors in this set alone, and the opponent attacked with 65% efficiency against 54% for Bulgaria.
From the second set, the picture gradually changed. The serve started to create more problems, the attack became more effective, and after equalizing to 1:1, the strongest period for the Bulgarian team came. The third set was won 25:15 with an impressive 73% attack success rate.
Ultimately, Bulgaria finished the match with 59% attack efficiency against 45% for Israel and a significant superiority in blocks – 10:3. Denislav Bardarov and Aleksandar Nikolov scored 18 points each, as did Mark Rura, Israel's top scorer.
Before that, Ukraine left no chances for Portugal – 3:0 (25:18, 25:19, 25:19). Raul Lozano's team now has four wins and a full 12 points.
Again, one of the main Ukrainian weapons was the serve. Ukraine finished with 8 aces against only 2 for Portugal, and positive reception was 59% against 29%. In attack, the difference was also significant – 59% against 45%. Oleh Plotnytskyi finished as the top scorer with 19 points.
Thus, one of the key matches for the final standings is coming up tonight – Poland against Ukraine. The result will have a direct impact on Bulgaria before our last match with the Poles on September 16.

Temporary Standings – Group B

Ukraine leads with three points ahead of Poland and Bulgaria, but the Poles have one less match played. Bulgaria is already secure for the eliminations, but its position in the group and consequently its opponent in the round of sixteen remain undecided.

Group D: Romania no longer looks like an easy opponent

The events in Cluj-Napoca are directly related to Bulgaria, because the four teams that advance from Group D will meet the top four from Group B in the round of sixteen. Germany recorded their fourth consecutive victory after defeating Switzerland 3:1 (25:19, 25:17, 22:25, 25:21). The Germans were not as convincing as at the beginning of the tournament, but once again found a way to take all three points. Tobias Brand was the leading figure with 25 points, and Germany finished with 11 blocks. Switzerland managed to take the third set and keep the intrigue alive in the fourth, but the Germans closed the match with 25:21. The big result of the evening, however, was Romania's 3:1 victory over Turkey (25:19, 25:21, 20:25, 25:18), with which the hosts officially secured their place in the round of sixteen. Romania continued its upward trend after the victory over Switzerland and the five-set battle with Germany. Against Turkey, the hosts attacked with 58% efficiency, Alexandru Rata scored 22 points, and Cristian-Daniel Chitic added 16. The impact on the world ranking also shows how serious the result is. Before the match, Romania had 123.64 points against 255.70 for Turkey. The victory brought the Romanians a full 13.96 points, and they now have 137.60. Romania climbed to #27 in the world, making a jump of eight positions – the biggest in the current world ranking. Interestingly, a day earlier, the 2:3 loss to the strong German team cost the Romanians practically nothing – only 0.01 points. Thus, the team, which before the championship might have seemed like one of the more acceptable options for an opponent from Group D, must now be viewed in a completely different light. Romania defeated Switzerland, took Germany to five sets, and then took all three points against world #12 Turkey. For the Turks, the situation is now complicated. Slobodan Kovac's team has three losses from four matches and only 3 points, while Latvia also has 3 points but with one less match played. The fight for fourth position is particularly interesting for Bulgaria, because the fourth-placed team from Group D will meet the winner of Group B.

Temporary standings – Group D

Germany is in the lead, but France has a game in hand and is only two points behind. The direct clash between France and Germany tonight could be decisive for first place. In the bottom half, the battle between Latvia and Turkey for a place in the Round of 16 remains open.How Groups B and D cross overThe Round of 16 bracket in Sofia is B1–D4, B2–D3, B3–D2, and B4–D1. This means that any change in one group automatically alters the potential pairings in the other. That is precisely why Poland – Ukraine and France – Germany tonight are so important for Bulgaria as well.

Group A: Greece almost caused a sensation against Slovenia

The biggest surprise in Modena came from Greece, who defeated Slovenia 3:1 (25:18, 19:25, 25:23, 25:20). The magnitude of the result is clearly visible from the world rankings. Before the match, Slovenia had 346.71 points against only 143.07 for Greece. The victory brought the Greeks a full 15.97 points, which were deducted from Slovenia's total. After the match, the Slovenians remain No. 6 in the world with 330.75 points, while Greece is now No. 22 with 159.03. The difference between the two teams is huge both in terms of positions and points, and Slovenia comes to the European Championship after a strong summer in the Nations League. That is why the result can easily be described as almost a sensation. The Greeks won the first set 25:18, and after Slovenia equalized, they did not break. They snatched the crucial third set 25:23 and closed the match with 25:20 in the fourth. Dimitrios Mouchlias finished with 12 points, Alexandros Raptis added 11, and Angelos Markou – 10. For Slovenia, Nik Mujanović was the top scorer with 20 points. Czech Republic also continued without defeat after a convincing 3:0 (25:21, 25:14, 25:20) against Slovakia. Patrik Indra scored 18 points, finishing with an impressive 84% attack efficiency.

Temporary Standings – Group A

Italy and Czechia have three wins each and have already secured their participation in the eliminations. The success over Slovenia brought Greece seriously back into the fight for fourth place.

Group C: Serbia resurrected from 0:2

Serbia snatched one of the most dramatic matches of the day, after turning the Netherlands from 0:2 to 3:2 (20:25, 23:25, 30:28, 25:15, 17:15). The Dutch were only one set away from victory, but Serbia survived the dramatic third set, won 30:28, after which they took control. Dražen Luburić was the main figure in the comeback and closed the match with the last attack in the tie-break. Belgium also achieved a very important victory – 3:1 (25:17, 18:25, 25:21, 25:14) against Estonia. Sam Deroo finished with 22 points.

Temporary standings – Group C

Group C remains extremely competitive. Finland leads, but Belgium, Denmark, and Serbia are within three points of each other, and upcoming direct matches could significantly alter the standings.

Schedule for September 15
Today offers two matches of particular importance for Bulgaria – Poland against Ukraine in Sofia and France against Germany in Cluj-Napoca. They can provide a much clearer picture of the possible Round of 16 pairings.

The main focus for us tonight will be on Poland - Ukraine and France - Germany. After them, the picture in the cross-over groups B and D should become significantly clearer before Bulgaria - Poland on September 16.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov and cev.eu