Bulgaria is obviously becoming a happy place for the Romanian national team. Three years after their historic breakthrough to the EuroVolley 2023 quarterfinals in Varna, the Romanians are once again among the top eight teams on the continent – this time in Sofia.
Romania eliminated one of the favorites in the 1/8-finals, Ukraine, with a convincing 3:0 (25:22, 25:21, 30:28) and advances. The achievement is even more impressive because the Ukrainians had a very strong group stage precisely in Sofia, where they finished with four wins and only one loss, including a 3:1 victory against Bulgaria.
However, history seems to be repeating itself. In 2023, Romania again reached the knockout stages of a European Championship in Bulgaria. In the 1/8-final in Varna, the Romanians defeated Croatia 3:2 (25:17, 25:20, 17:25, 26:28, 15:12) and qualified among the top eight in Europe for the first time since 1985.
Then, their opponent in the 1/4-final was France. The match was again played in Varna, and the French won 3:0 (25:22, 25:14, 27:25), ending the Romanian campaign.
Three years later, we might get almost the same scenario. After the victory over Ukraine, Romania awaits the winner of France – Portugal in the 1/4-final. If the French overcome the Portuguese tonight in Sofia, we will once again have France – Romania in a 1/4-final of a European Championship in Bulgaria – only this time in "Arena 8888 Sofia" instead of Varna. The official CEV scheme confirms that the winners of the two 1/8-finals will meet in the next round.
And here the story becomes even more interesting. Just four days ago, Romania already pulled off one of the biggest upsets of EuroVolley 2026 precisely against France. In their last match of Group D in Cluj-Napoca, the Romanians were down 0:2 but made a complete comeback and defeated the two-time consecutive Olympic champions 3:2 (16:25, 25:27, 25:20, 35:33, 15:12). France used different players from their squad, but the hosts' success remains one of the big results of the tournament.
It is curious that a similar story already happened in 2023. Then, Romania also defeated France in the group stage – 3:1 in Tel Aviv – before the two teams met again in the 1/4-final in Varna. In the elimination match, however, the French took revenge.
Now the Romanians first had to get past Ukraine, and they did so without losing a set. The first set ended 25:22, and in the second, two consecutive aces by Cristian-Daniel Chițigoi helped secure the decisive break and a 25:21 win. The biggest battle was in the third set. Ukraine reached a 26:25 lead but failed to turn the match around, and Romania closed the match at 30:28.
Alexandru Rață was the top scorer for the winners with 16 points, while Marian Iulian Bala and Cristian-Daniel Chițigoi added 11 each. For Ukraine, Oleh Plotnytskyi finished with 15 points, and Dmytro Ianchuk with 10.
The defeat is painful for Ukraine also because of the world ranking. The Ukrainians are immediately behind Bulgaria in the standings and are among the teams with whom our nationals are in a direct battle for positions. The loss against lower-ranked Romania takes away valuable points at a time when every change around the Top 10 matters.
For Romania, the direction is exactly the opposite. The team has already accumulated a significant asset from its performance at EuroVolley, and the victory over Ukraine is another result that shows its rise. Sergiu Stancu's team has already defeated France, and now eliminated Ukraine.
And all this again leads back to Bulgaria. Varna 2023 – 1/4-final. Sofia 2026 – 1/4-final. And if France defeats Portugal, history will make another curious full circle: three years later, Romania will once again meet the French among Europe's top eight, and again on Bulgarian soil.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov