Germany suffered a second serious personnel blow at EuroVolley 2026 just days before the round of 16 match against Bulgaria. Setter Johannes Tille is out for the remainder of the tournament due to a fractured bone in his foot, leaving head coach Massimo Bottie with only one player in that position – Jan Zimmermann. The German Volleyball Federation (DVV) confirmed that Tille has already returned to Germany and will be out for six to eight weeks.
Tille is out for the rest of EuroVolley
The DVV specifies that it cannot be said for certain when exactly the injury occurred, but the assumption is that it happened during the last group stage match against France. Germany lost the match 0:3 (21:25, 17:25, 19:25) and finished second in Group D with four wins and one loss.
Germany's initial squad for EuroVolley included only two setters – Johannes Tille and Jan Zimmermann. Following Tille's withdrawal, the experienced Zimmermann is the only one remaining in this position.
Germany has already used its medical substitution
This is the second serious injury in the German squad during the championship. Before the match against Switzerland, outside hitter Moritz Karlitzek dropped out due to hip problems and returned to Germany. Libero Lenny Graven was included in the squad in his place.
Here comes the important detail from the CEV regulations. After the Preliminary Inquiry, one player change is allowed for medical reasons, and the substitute must be among the pre-registered volleyball players.
Germany has already used this option with the Karlitzek – Graven change. In the official announcement of Tille's injury, the DVV did not name a replacement. Thus, for the round of 16 match against Bulgaria, the Germans are left with only one nominal setter – Jan Zimmermann.
A year ago, Bulgaria defeated Germany 3:0
The upcoming round of 16 match comes just over a year after the last official encounter between the two teams. On September 13, 2025, Bulgaria and Germany met in their first match of Group E at the World Championship in the Philippines. Bulgaria won 3:0 (40:38, 25:22, 25:20).
The match went down in history mainly for the incredible first set. Bulgaria took a 17:11 lead, but Germany managed to come back, leading to a real marathon. The Germans had 11 opportunities to close the first set but failed to convert any of them. Bulgaria eventually snatched the set with an impressive 40:38.

After that 43-minute battle, our national team won the next two sets 25:22 and 25:20 and closed the match with a clean victory. And from this match began our team's journey to the final.
Aleksandar Nikolov was the big figure
Aleksandar Nikolov played an outstanding match against the Germans and finished as the top scorer with 27 points. Bulgaria also had an advantage in successful attacks – 53 against 43, as well as in blocks – 10 against 6.
Interestingly, the Germans themselves recall this match before the new encounter with Bulgaria. Middle blocker Anton Brehme spoke about the loss at the World Championship and stated that the Germans have an “unsettled score” with the Bulgarian team. The DVV also rewinds the tape to that marathon first set and the missed German opportunities to win it.
Now the stake is a place in the quarterfinals
Just over a year after that memorable match in the Philippines, Bulgaria and Germany face each other again. This time, however, the match is in the direct eliminations, and the winner will advance to the quarterfinals of EuroVolley 2026.
The round of 16 match Bulgaria – Germany is on September 19 at 7:00 PM in "Arena 8888 Sofia". Germany reached the eliminations as second from Group D, and Bulgaria finished third in Group B, after defeating European champion Poland 3:2 (19:25, 25:23, 22:25, 25:22, 15:13) in their last match.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov