One of the biggest sensations of EuroVolley 2026 is a fact. Finland eliminated world champion Italy after a dramatic 3:2 (21:25, 28:26, 25:16, 20:25, 15:13) in the quarter-final in Turin and qualified among the four best teams in Europe.
In front of 8260 spectators in "PalaVela", the Scandinavians endured the 135-minute battle and dealt a painful blow to the hosts. Italy won the first set 25:21, but Finland snatched the second 28:26, then literally crushed the world champions 25:16 in the third. The "Azzurri" came back with 25:20 and sent the match to a tie-break.
One of the keys to the sensation was reception. Italy finished with only 35% positive reception, while Finland reached 51%. It was the pressure from the serve that took Simone Giannelli off the net and seriously limited his play through the middle. In the other main indicators, the differences were minimal - Italy had a slight advantage in blocking, and both teams finished with 6 aces each and practically equal efficiency in attack.
In the tie-break, Italy led 5:2, and later had an advantage at 11:8. However, the Finns once again showed incredible resilience - this was their fourth consecutive match that went to a fifth set. At 12:12, an ace by Luka Marttila tied the score, and after an error by Mattia Bottolo at the net, Finland reached match point. A long rally followed, ending with an attack out by Yuri Romano - 15:13 and the sensation became a reality.
The big hero was Joona Jokela, who finished with 28 points and an impressive 68% in attack - 27 successful attacks out of 40 attempts.
Luka Marttila also played an incredible match. The former player of Monza, where he was a teammate with Zhasmin Velichkov and Martin Atanasov, recorded 22 points, 3 aces and 58% in attack. His serve was one of the main factors for the problems of the Italian reception.
For Italy, Romano finished with 20 points, Giovanni Sanguinetti added 14, including 4 blocks, and Mattia Bottolo scored 13.
Thus, the EuroVolley 2026 semi-finals are now fully set - Poland - Slovenia and France - Finland. With Italy's elimination, the need for the planned rescheduling of the program due to the national team's football match is also eliminated.
And Finland now has nothing to lose. After putting the world champion "on skis" in Turin, now the Olympic champion France stands before the Scandinavians and one victory away from the final.

photo: cev.eu